Scorching Love

Brave like a true Queen

Chapter 5

Third Person POV

The quartet, their escort hot on their heels, entered the mansion with hesitant steps. After walking through a massive mahogany wood front door, they reached a decadently luxurious hall.

On the left side, on a long ebony sideboard, several marble busts and Chinese porcelain vases were tastefully aligned. The walls on the opposite side were decorated with beautiful paintings from different periods, which nevertheless matched each other perfectly.

The walls were a sober but elegant white. The mansion was built on at least three floors.
From where they were standing, the upper part of the hall, probably leading to private quarters, was visible. In the middle of the hall, two symmetric staircases led to the first floor and elegantly rose to a balcony. The curved iron framing of the stairways was a masterpiece.

The second floor was not accessible to view. The dizzyingly high walls ended in a vaulted ceiling covered in exquisite paintings.

At the back, hidden by the right staircases, was an elevator with glass doors. An alcove entrance faced the elevator on the left side; it led to the west wing of the mansion. The marble floor beautifully complemented the decor.

The surrounding atmosphere was simply majestic.
The sumptuous hall was a statement of power displaying the wealth of this old Italian family.

Cassandra belonged to an established real estate dynasty; her mother was a world-renowned architect. As her parents' eldest child, she had been raised to inherit the family business, but medicine was her calling. She had stepped down in order for her younger brother to assume the position. Since then, her relationship with her hot - tempered father was tense; as a Daddy's girl, their strained relation pained her a lot. Her mother didn't care as long as she was happy.

The connoisseur in her was deeply impressed by the hall's architectural sophistication. Despite the precariousness of their situation, she was eager to explore the rest of the mansion.

Jade's mood darkened further... Her gut feeling had been right all along; these men were bad news with a hell lot of money.

Juliana's nervousness increased. In her experience, powerful people were accustomed to having their way. Most of the times they couldn't cope with rejection. They had the tendency to resort to underhanded methods, worst to violence, when facing the slightest opposition.

Her calm demeanour was a mirage. It contrasted tremendously with the tumult in her mind. "Shoot, what a mess!" She thought.

She didn't have time to ponder further over their predicament due to the sudden ruckus.

To their left, at least six young women dressed in frilly maid outfits ran around, panting loudly. They were trying to catch Alessandro, who, with the agility of a monkey, managed to escape each of them. An elderly lady followed at a much slower speed, with tottering steps, while loudly expressing her displeasure in Italian.

They had an impression of Deja vu, and before Juliana could take a step in the child's direction, Jade tightly gripped her right hand and sternly said, "Stay where you are, woman! "

Juliana rolled her eyes and clicked her tongue at her friend's overbearing behaviour. Cassandra just chuckled, clearly amused by her friends' drama. Same old, same old ...

Tommaso, who had been following a few steps back, rushed past them with amazing speed for someone of such herculean stature. Apparently, having Usain Bolt's physical fitness was a prerequisite for employment by this family; especially, if babysitting Alessandro was part of the job.