MAFIA'S ANGEL

CHAPTER 18

The TV was blaring with the tragic news. A young man, Dale O'Conner, found dead near gas station, brutally beaten by what police assumed were bandits. They had done a decent job making it appear as if he was killed for a petty penny. They took his wallet and damped him in an alleyway for rats to feast on. 

A couple of street gangsters were arrested on suspicion of his death. If only they knew...If only she could tell someone why he was dead. 

Guilt was eating her alive. It took her apart piece by piece. Amanda had dropped out from the school, claiming she was moving to New York with family. She had promised not to say a word for her own and Angelique's sake. And it was killing her. 

Life had become a mere existence in marble walls of Nikolai's mansion. Her father had tried to call a couple of times, but eventually gave up when Angelique didn't pick up. Never in her life she had felt so alone. If that monster's goal was to crush her...to make her suffer....he was succeeding. 

"Miss, you have to eat something." Irina's voice cut through the silence. 

Angelique didn't respond. 

"It's been a week...." The maid carried on, pulling open the thick curtain to let some sunlight into the room. 

The sudden brightness made Angelique hiss like she was a bat huddled up in its cave. "Leave me alone." 

"I can't do that." Irina stepped towards the bed where the blond woman was cowering under the thick duvets. "Mr. Ivanov wants to see you." 

"Tell him I don't want to see him." For a week now he had requested her to eat dinner with him, and gotten her refusal. 

"He won't tolerate another excuse, miss..." 

"What makes you think I care." Angelique snapped, turning to face away from the obedient servant. Irina's loyalty to that monster made her sick. "How can you work for him? After all the terrible things he has done?" 

The mattress dipped. Irina sat down on the edge of the bed. Silence settled between the two. It seemed to stretch on for forever until her voice came to life. "When I was eight, I lost my parents and my home. I had nowhere to go. My foster family only adopted me for money. I was beaten and...." She gulped. "Worse." Her voice was quite, sad. "Mr. Ivanov saved me. Back then he had just taken over the Empire at age of sixteen. He was young and fearsome already." She chuckled. "But he was the only one who offered to help when I was laying near dead on the streets. He took me in. In exchange, I swore my loyalty." 

Angelique turned to face Irina. No words of comfort would be enough to express the pity she felt for the young girl. "I'm sorry that happened to you." 

Irina shook her head. "Don't be. I have had a good life since then." She smiled. "Back then, he said I reminded him of someone he knew. He does many things wrong. I am not supposed to say this but I think....he doesn't know how to do things differently. He was brought up to be the next leader of Russian mob. I don't know much about his past, but it hasn't been better than mine, I assure you." She paused, timidly glancing down at her hands. "I think he just needs someone...to show him that things can be different." Her eyes trailed to Angelique. 

"I don't think someone like him can change." Her hands ballet into fists. "He's a monster." 

"Everyone can change, Miss." Irina smiled and then clapped her hands. "But now, please allow me to draw you a bath. With all due respect, you need it badly."

A genuine laugh slipped past her lips. "I suppose." She hadn't gotten out from the bed in far too long. If she didn't plan on playing a skunk, she did need a shower.