BRIA
"Here, I rule and you follow them. No questions, no complaints. And if you think that this deal has made you immune from getting killed before the agreed time then you are very wrong. Don't test my patience, Miss Maxwell, ever!"
Those words had kept me frozen at my spot for the past fifteen days.
Yes! It had been fifteen days since I was thrown into this cave of the devil. And so much had happened in these fifteen days.
The first couple of days passed in acceptance of my fate, the path I had chosen for myself and my family. After bowling my eyes out for the first three days, I gave up on crying anymore.
If they wanted to keep me as their captive, then I wanted to show how they should deal with Bria Maxwell.
The place was quite comfortable to be honest, something that I only imagined in my dreams. His house was the epitome of beauty and elegance. It was hard for me to believe that such a beautiful place belonged to such a dark-souled person.
After initial tantrums and skirmishes with his dogs, I began to ease out. And now I was free to roam around the whole house except the third floor and the devil's office on the ground floor.
I couldn't step out of the house without his permission. There were no modes of communication in the house. The only device accessible to me was the wall-sized television in the living room.
Everyone was hostile towards me except two people- Nora and Adam.
Yes!
In these fifteen days, I found these people who came like breaths of fresh air in my fucked up life.
Nora was the only maid working here and was respected by everyone, including the devil himself.
And now the most interesting person- Adam- Gabriel's son!
Yes! That psycho had a son who was nothing like him at all. Adam was this cute bundle of joy that always brought a smile to my face. Yet he was the one who made me miss my family even more.
But not everything was sunshine and rainbows. I realised that when I witnessed another murder.
The murder of the crime investigation journalist- Patrick Becker!
-"I can already see you holding y-your downfall in your own arms!"-
Those were the last words that left his bruised lips on that unfaithful night.
The devil held me in place and made me watch the man die right in front of my eyes.
Was Patrick Becker talking about me? If yes, then I wanted to prove him right! I wanted to be the downfall of that monster who had no heart in his chest.
That murder only fueled my nightmares. They were getting worse and worse each day. I couldn't sleep well nor I could concentrate on anything.
Every time I closed my eyes, all I saw was red, the blood and the lifeless eyes of Cody and Patrick Becker staring back at me just like the couple that haunted me for years.
I was determined to punish the devil and for that, I could go to any extent!
"Bria? Bria??"
I was brought out of my thoughts as someone shook my shoulder gently.
I blinked blankly before my mind registered Nora's face. "Adam is asleep!"
I realised that Adam was asleep in the room that was specially made for him by the devil. Though I had never seen any one of them, even Gabriel interacting with adam, except Cameron, I was quite surprised to know that Adam had a separate room in this house decorated in his favourite space theme.
This was the only place that made me feel lively in this hell!
I ran my fingers through adam's hair, and a smile naturally came to my face.
"Where is his mom?" I blurted out unknowingly but then didn't hold myself back because I genuinely wanted to know.
The only woman I had seen or heard of was Nora. There was no mention of Adam's mother.
I sensed Nora's hesitation, and that only sparked my curiosity even more.
"Is he adopted?"
"No"
"Is he kidnapped by Gabriel?"
"No, Bria. Adam is Gabriel's own flesh and blood!" She said annoyingly.
My eyes widened at that possibility. "Don't tell me she left Gabriel because of his dirty work. Or was it a one night stand or something and then she left Adam at Gabriel's doorstep as they show in the movies? Oh, or was it-"
"Bria... you watch too many movies!" Nora gave me an incredulous look.
Well... I couldn't deny it!
I kept bugging Nora to tell me about Adam's mother, but she kept avoiding answering, saying it was not her place to tell that.
She fed me that shitty excuse every time I asked her about the devil or his dogs. And I knew she knew much about all of them that if I managed to squeeze out some information from her, then I could use it against them.
"What's wrong with you Nora? You can't tell me shit about the devil! You can't tell me anything about their business. And now this! Why can't you tell me anything, huh? I told you that I will not ask anything about him but I know there is something wrong between Adam and Gabriel. I can feel it. I don't care whether it's your place to tell me or not but I want answers and I will get them anyway." I threatened her.
She waited for me to back down, but I remained firm on my stance, leaving her no other option than to sigh dejectedly.
Yesss!!!
"Promise me that you will not bring this topic up in front of Gabriel." She asked the expected thing.
"Promise!" I agreed instantly, though I had my fingers crossed behind my back.
'We will see about that Nora!'
"Adam is the only child of Gabriel. He... he was married to a beautiful young woman, Jessica. She was a kind girl, always smiling. I met her a couple of times at the parties they hosted together. She changed Gabriel and his life. His whole world used to revolve around her and at some extent it still does!"
Wow!
I didn't see that coming. I didn't interrupt her and listened carefully.
"I don't know how, when and where they met for the first time but they were deeply in love with each other. Eventually, they got married with Cameron's support even though..." She paused and hesitated.
"Even though what?" I urged.
"Even though King told Gabriel to not marry."
I couldn't help but gasp at that. How could he?
"That pig told Gabriel not to marry the love of his life?"
What a nosy bastard!
"Yes. But I don't know why he was against their marriage. He never told any of us. I am sure there must be some reason behind it! But we all attended the wedding along with King. They were so happy!" Her eyes glistened with moisture at the memory.
"They started the new beginning of their lives and were very happy together. After a few months, Jessica found that she was pregnant. I can't even describe how happy Gabriel was!" She laughed at that memory, and I didn't realise how I was also smiling hearing that.
"He was bouncing with joy when he told me about it. But Jessica... she was more scared than happy. She had - some medical problem. The doctor told her that there will be complications in pregnancy and not to take the chance. But-" a sob escaped her mouth as she began crying with her face in her hands.
My heart began beating fast in nervousness. I tried to calm down Nora because I wanted to listen to everything.
"She was desperate. Gabriel always wanted a child and pamper him with love and affection. She wanted to give birth to that child for Gabriel. She wanted to give him that happiness which he deserved. She kept this thing about doctor's advice secret from him. Poor guy didn't realise her deteriorating health. She told him it was normal in pregnancy, and he believed every word she said."
I gulped down the lump that formed in my throat.
"One night we got a call from him that Jessica had gone through the labour. As the only trustable woman, King took me with him along with Cameron to the hospital. She gave birth to this beautiful child... Adam! When the doctor brought him out of the operation theatre, Gabriel cried like a child holding his own flesh and blood. But when the doctor told us about Jessica, his whole world collapsed around him in a matter of moment. That was the first, and the last time he ever touched Adam with love."
Only I knew how I prevented that dam of emotions from breaking!
"W-what happened to Jessica?" I whispered, holding my breath even when I got a fair idea of the answer.
"She died! Jessica died right after giving birth to Adam. Without a single goodbye to Gabriel."
And I sucked a deep breath as my heart cried for that innocent child and sympathised with that man who was a psycho criminal in my eyes!
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