Chapter 476
Chapter 476:
“I can walk,” she spat.
Lucian smirked. He gestured to the massive double doors.
“After you, Ms. Sterling p>
The heavy oak doors swung open, revealing a foyer that reeked of opulence. Crystal chandeliers dripped from the ceiling like frozen tears. The floor was checkered black-and-white marble, polished to a mirror shine.
A line of staff stood at attention along the left wall—maids in crisp uniforms, houseboys in vests. Their heads were bowed, their hands clasped behind their backs.
Skye scanned their faces, her mind racing. In a hostage situation, information was currency. She needed an ally. A sympathetic glance. A nervous twitch.
Her gaze traveled down the line and stopped at the very end.
The head housekeeper stood there, her posture rigid. She was an older woman with graying hair pulled back into a severe bun.
Skye froze. Her breath hitched in her throat.
She knew that face.
It was Tessa—the maid from the Poseidon. The woman who had brought her soup when she was seasick, who had whispered kind words while Skye was strapped on Lucian’s yacht weeks ago. The woman Skye had thought was a fellow victim of Lucian’s tyranny, who had bravely helped her send the SOS signal that led to her first rescue.
Tessa looked up.
Her eyes were not the eyes of a friend. They were wide, rimmed with red, and filled with a terror so profound it looked like madness. A fresh, purpling bruise blossomed on her cheekbone.
“Welcome home, sir,” Tessa said to Lucian, her voice shaking violently. She didn’t dare look at Skye.
Skye felt a cold knot form in her stomach.
“Tessa?” she whispered. “I thought you escaped p>
Lucian laughed. It was a low, resonant sound that bounced off the marble walls. He stepped up behind Skye, his hand resting possessively on the nape of her neck. He felt her pulse jump.
“Escaped?” Lucian mocked, walking toward the trembling housekeeper. “Nobody escapes me, Skye. Tessa here thought she could be a hero on the yacht. She thought she could help you send that little signal p>
He reached out and tilted Tessa’s chin up, forcing her to look at him. Tessa whimpered, tears leaking from her eyes.
𝘚𝗁а𝗿e yo𝘂𝗿 𝖿𝖺𝘷𝗼𝘳𝘪𝘵𝖾𝘀 𝘧r𝗈𝗺 bе𝗅𝗇𝘰𝘷е𝗹𝘀.c𝗈𝗆
“I brought her back,” Lucian said, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. “And I showed her exactly what happens to heroes. I made her watch the livestream of her son’s… accident. Didn’t I, Tessa p>
Tessa nodded frantically, sobbing. “Yes, sir. Please, sir p>
“Loyalty isn’t bought, my dear,” Lucian said, turning back to Skye with a cruel smile. “It is forged in terror. Tessa will serve you now. And she won’t make a single mistake. Will you, Tessa p>
“No, sir. Never again,” Tessa choked out.
Skye clenched her fists. The nausea in her stomach wasn’t just from the sedatives anymore. It was disgust. Lucian hadn’t just captured her; he had dismantled the humanity of everyone around him.
“You are a monster,” she spat.
Lucian smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “I am a businessman, Skye. Asset protection is a messy business p>
He snapped his fingers. A hulking figure stepped out from the shadows of the hallway.
“Marcus,” Lucian said.
The man was a mountain of muscle, with a shaved head and dead, shark-like eyes. He moved with the silent weight of a tank.
“Take her to the guest wing,” Lucian ordered, pouring himself a drink from the crystal decanter on the sideboard. “Lock it down. No internet. No phone. If she gets within five feet of an exit, break her legs p>