Salvation

Chapter 7

"Excuse me gentlemen, I have to use the restroom. " Sylvia stated standing up from her seat.

"It's in the first floor, second door on you left. " Theodore explained, making her nod.

She started walking, she didn't need to use the restroom, the restroom was merely her excuse. She wanted to snoop around, find out any possible crucial information. She walked up the stairs reaching the first floor. No guards were around.

The first floor must have been open to the guests, since he'd placed the bathroom there. He would never leave a whole floor unguarded if something important was there. A tap on her shoulder snapped her out of her thoughts, she turned around and saw Antonio. Had he been in the ball the whole time? She didn't even notice him.

"There are two guards at the top of the stairs in the second floor. I can easily take care of them for you. " He was offering his help. It was the second time Sylvia had heard the man's voice, the first being when he introduced himself. Like Giovanni and Lucio, he was also incredibly attractive. His features were completely different than what most italians looked like, his hair was blonde and his eyes a bright green.

"I want you to distract them for a while, if anything bad happens to them the rest of the bodyguards will get alarmed." She spoke as quietly as possible.

"Got it." He said nodding. He took a look at the watch on his wrist, calculating in his mind. "Go upstairs in exactly 7 minutes. " It was Sylvia's turn to nod, she heard something behind her. When she turned back around Antonio had already disappeared.

She made her way into the bathroom, looking at her watch, patiently waiting for the seven minutes to pass. When the six minute mark hit, she got out and started walking. She was constantly looking around her in case anyone spotted her.

She was holding her dagger, ready to throw it, as she walked up the stairs. She looked around for the guards only to find them nowhere in sight. Antonio must have done a good job.

She finally reached the second floor only to be faced with a dimly lit hallway. The only source of light was coming from the door at the very end of the hallways. A lightbulb hang right outside. She took quiet steps to the door.

The colour of the door intrigued her, it was gold. Of course a man like Theodore Devlian would have a kitsch door like this. She rolled her eyes, reaching for the handle of the door. The door was locked and she was running out of time. Her hand found her hair, taking one of the pins that kept it in place.

She got on her knees, searching through her memory to find lock picking. At the start of her career she desperately needed money, therefore she was forced to steal. Learning how to pick locks was one of the skills she'd acquired after those miserable two years.

After some painfully long minutes, she heard a satisfying click. She got back to her feet, reaching for the handle once again. The door opened, a victorious grin taking over her face.

She entered the room, looking around. Her eyes first landed to the red candles beneath a wall of photographs. There were about a hundred photos or more. This place looked like an altar of some sort.

She took another step closer, interested in seeing the pictures. The first picture her eyes landed on was one of a little girl. A little girl she knew a little too well. Her mouth draped open, her eyes widened, this wall, this whole wall was pictures of her. She could see pictures of her childhood she'd never seen before. Her playing with her parents. Pictures of her with her baby brother, pictures of her having her first kiss. There were several of her just being alone in her room.

She swiftly turned to her right to see another wall full of her pictures. A picture of her over her family's dead bodies. Pictures of her and her victims. Pictures of her in every gala she ever went to.

She turned to the left, there was just one giant picture of her, in her underwear, right after she'd had sex for the first time. She took a step closer to the huge photo. Exactly beneath it scratched into the wall was her name repeatedly and over the name were white splashes of something.

She felt vomit ready to raise up her throat. She looked at her shoes to find them sticking a little to the floor. On the floor there were more pictures of her. Pictures of her and Liliana from their shopping trip. Her head was spinning, she was ready to throw up.

She run outside the room, running down the stairs. She didn't stop running. Her feet hurt, her dagger was still in her hand. She found Lucio through the crowd. He stood up, noticing her whitewashed face. He pushed away everyone on his way, getting to her side.

"Get me out. Lucio get me out of here." She managed to breathe out. Lucio picked her up bridal style, once again pushing everyone out of the way.

When he let her down, she felt vomit raising from her throat, remembering what she'd seen. She started emptying her whole stomach. Lucio got hold of her hair as she continued throwing up. She heard footsteps and Giovanni's voice, but she had muted all sounds.

Her mind was solely focused on the vile things she'd witnessed in that room. As her vomiting stopped, her vision began getting blurry. Strong arms holding her was the last thing she remembered.