CHAPTER 6: Rules

Sybil

I folded my last sweater and placed it into the small suitcase. Three bags. That was all it took to pack up my entire life.

The logistics team Elias sent had cleared out my apartment in less than an hour. They moved efficiently and in total silence, boxing up the few things I wanted to keep in storage and hauling away the rest.

It was terrifying to witness how easily a billionaire's money could erase a person's old life in a single afternoon.

I zipped the suitcase shut. My phone vibrated in my pocket. It was a text message from the hospital administration, confirming the massive deposit had cleared their escrow account. Maya's surgery was officially scheduled for tomorrow morning.

I closed my eyes and let out a long, shaky breath. I had just sold nine months of my life, but my sister was going to live.

A black town car waited for me at the curb. The driver took my bags without a word and opened the back door for me.

The ride out of the city was completely silent. The privacy partition between the front and back seats was already raised. I sat alone in the spacious leather interior, watching the crowded city streets slowly fade into wide, tree-lined roads.

The reality of my isolation began to settle over my shoulders. I was completely cut off. Maya was asleep in a sterile hospital room, completely unaware of the contract I had signed to save her.

No one else in the world knew where I was going. My old coworkers on the forty-second floor would simply assume I transferred departments.

After an hour, the car slowed down. We turned onto a private road and pulled up to a set of massive iron gates. They opened automatically, revealing the Stavros estate.

I pressed my hand against the tinted window, struck by the sheer scale of the place. It was not just a house. It was a modern fortress.

The sprawling mansion was built from pale stone and dark glass, sitting on acres of perfectly manicured lawns.

Elegant marble columns framed the main entrance, and a sprawling fountain sat in the center of the circular driveway.

It was breathtakingly beautiful. The estate radiated a quiet, ancient kind of wealth that made my stomach twist with nervous energy and I felt entirely out of place.

The car stopped and the driver opened my door.

I stepped out into the cool evening air. An older woman in a crisp black dress stood on the front steps. She offered a polite, professional nod.

"Ms. Adams," she said. "I am Helen. I oversee the household staff. The driver will take your bags up. Please follow me."

"Thank you, Helen," I said.

I followed her through the towering wooden double doors. The interior was even more intimidating than the outside.

The foyer featured a massive sweeping staircase, imported marble floors, and vaulted ceilings. It felt like walking into a museum. Every footstep I took echoed in the vast, empty space.

"The kitchen and dining rooms are through the east corridor," Helen explained as we walked up the stairs. "But Mr. Elias instructed me to place you in the west wing. It is highly private."

We reached the second floor. Helen pointed down a wide, softly lit hallway lined with oak doors.

"Your suite is the last door on the right," she said. "Dinner will be sent to your room shortly. I will leave you to settle in."

Helen turned and walked back down the stairs.

I stood alone on the landing. I took a deep breath, gripped the strap of my purse, and started walking down the massive hallway.

I did not make it halfway down the corridor before a shadow detached itself from the wall.

I stopped dead in my tracks.

Casimir stepped directly into the center of the hall. He wore a dark button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, exposing thick, corded forearms. He did not say anything at first. He just stood there, blocking my path entirely.

My heart gave a hard thump against my ribs. I remembered the cold hostility he had shown me in the office earlier today. He made it very clear he did not trust me, and now I was standing directly in his territory.

"Mr. Stavros," I said. I kept my voice steady, though my hands were trembling slightly.

"Casimir," he corrected. His voice was a low, vibrating rumble that seemed to echo in the quiet space.

"Casimir," I repeated. "I am going to my room."

"I know exactly where you are going," he said. He did not yell. He did not need to. The quiet authority in his tone was enough to command the entire floor. "Before you settle in, we are going to establish how things work inside this house."

I swallowed hard. "Mr Stavros already gave me a contract."

"Elias runs the company," Casimir said. He took a slow step forward. "I run the security of this estate. My rules are not negotiable.".

I forced myself to maintain eye contact. "I am listening."

"The west wing is yours. You do not cross over into the east wing. Ever," he stated. "If you need something from the kitchen after hours, you call the staff line. You do not wander the halls at night."

I frowned. The sheer strictness of the rule caught me off guard. "What if I just want to stretch my legs? Or get a glass of water?"

"Keep water in your room," Casimir replied. "The perimeter is heavily guarded. The internal alarms are armed at ten o'clock. If you are found roaming the estate in the dark, my security team will treat you as an intruder. They do not ask questions."

A cold chill rushed down my spine. He was not exaggerating. I could see the absolute seriousness in his icy blue eyes.

"I am your brother's assistant," I said. I took a deep breath, trying to push past the heavy intimidation radiating off of him.

I was terrified, but I could not let him completely bulldoze my dignity. "I understand you value your security. But I am an employee. I am not an inmate. I expect basic respect while I live here."

He tilted his head slightly. The harsh lines of his face did not soften.

"You are an unknown variable living inside my house," he said. "Respect is earned. Right now, you are a security risk."

"I am just a woman trying to do a job," I pushed back, keeping my tone polite but firm. "I am not a threat to you or your family. I will follow your rules because I want to keep this job, but you do not need to treat me like a criminal."

Casimir stared at me. The silence stretched between us, thick and suffocating. He studied my face, his gaze dropping to my clenched hands before dragging back up to my eyes.

"We will see," he murmured.

I waited for him to step aside. I needed to get to my room. I needed to lock the door and finally let myself breathe.

"If we are done," I said, "I would like to unpack."

He did not move. He stood before me like a mountain of solid muscle. I was trapped in the middle of the hallway, entirely blocked from reaching my door.

"We are done," he repeated. His voice dropped even lower, becoming a dark whisper that sent a sudden spike of heat through my chest. "But understand this. I have sensors on every single access point in this wing. I will know every single time your bedroom door opens."

My breath hitched. I looked up at him, expecting him to finally shift his weight and let me pass.

But he remained exactly where he was. The intense proximity between us was overwhelming. I could smell the faint scent of cedar and expensive scotch on his clothes.

My heart raced wildly against my ribs, trapping the air in my lungs as I stood frozen in his shadow, wondering exactly what he was going to do next.