2

Chapter 2 —I'm in charge

Narrator:

“Stay here. Someone will come to take your details,” he ordered.

Aylin blinked, still dazed.

“No. I'll come back tomorrow.”

Roman nodded slightly, with the patience of someone who already knows the answer.

“No. You're staying.”

Aylin felt her body tense.

“I don't have to...”

She didn't finish the sentence. Before she could react, his firm hands closed around her shoulders. The contact shook her like an electric shock. The heat of his skin penetrated the fabric of her clothes. His eyes caught hers. Impenetrable. Too close. Her breathing became erratic.

Warm air brushed against her cheek. He leaned in slightly. Just a little. Enough for her to feel the threat in his proximity. “You will obey.” Aylin opened her mouth, but the lump in her throat prevented her from speaking. His scent enveloped her, woody and dark, like a poison seeping into her system.

And then, without warning, he pushed her, with just enough force to make her fall back into the leather armchair. The air escaped her lips in a gasp of surprise. Her pulse pounded in her neck. Roman stood up straight, imposing, looking down at her with complete control of the situation. “If you really want to pay your debt,” his voice sounded deep, slow, devastating, “and get along with me...” Aylin swallowed, feeling a chill run down her spine. “...then you'd better start obeying.” His gaze held her like invisible shackles. “Because here,” he whispered, as if it were a dark secret, “I'm the one in charge.” He turned to leave, but before reaching the door, he paused. He looked at her over his shoulder, with that air of superiority so characteristic of him. “Tell me one thing,” he asked, unhurriedly, as if curiosity had suddenly struck him. “Do you know who I am?”

Aylin looked up, swallowing hard.

“Of course I do...” she replied, her voice low but firm. “The most famous mobster in the state.”

Roman raised an eyebrow, amused.

“Oh, really?”

“It's an open secret,” she added, shrugging slightly, as if she didn't want to go into further detail. “Everyone knows who you are.”

He smiled slightly, in that dangerous way that promised nothing good.

“Good. Then I hope you also know what happens to those who disobey me.”

And without another word, he opened the door and left, leaving her with her heart pounding in her ears and the certainty that she had signed her own death warrant.

And in that moment, Aylin understood the gravity of her mistake. She remained in the chair, her chest rising and falling at an uncontrolled pace. A gasp escaped her lips. Fear, excitement, uncertainty. The air around her was still hot, charged with the tension of what had just happened.

She didn't understand what terrified her more: the absolute power he had over her, or the reaction her body had had to his closeness.

She brought a trembling hand to her chest, trying to calm her frantic heartbeat.

But the taste of Roman's threat was still in the air.

In the hallway, Adler walked with his usual relentless confidence.

Dominic Russo, his right-hand man, waited for him on the other side with a half-smile, leaning against the wall.

“That was quick,” he murmured.

Roman barely glanced at him.

“The young woman who broke the sculpture is in the private room.”

Dominic raised an eyebrow.

“She's still alive?”

Roman didn't smile.

“Go and take her details. Give her the address of the mansion.”

Dominic looked at him more closely, as if searching for something in his expression.

“And what else?”

“Tell her to report to work tomorrow at eight.”

Dominic let out a low whistle.

“Well, well... this will be interesting.”

Roman didn't respond.

He just adjusted his shirt cuffs with his usual meticulous calm.

But in his mind, it was already clear that Aylin Escalante had just entered his world. And he wouldn't let her leave easily.

Dominic opened the door calmly, as if he hadn't just witnessed from afar the scene that everyone in the gallery was whispering about.

Aylin looked up when she heard him enter.

She was still sitting in the armchair, her hands clenched on her knees and her breathing still uneven. The tremor in her fingers betrayed her, but she tried to compose herself.

Dominic closed the door behind him, leaning casually against the frame, watching her as if she were just another curiosity at the event.

“What a night, huh?” he commented in a light, almost amused tone, as if he hadn't just been dragged away by Roman Adler as if it were nothing. “It's not every day that someone manages to break a piece of that magnitude.”

Aylin pressed her lips together.

“I'm sorry...” she murmured, though she didn't know if she was talking to him, to herself, or to the damn fate that had put her there.

Dominic smiled slightly, as if silently enjoying the spectacle.

“Well, bad news: there's no point in regretting it now. But at least,” he paused briefly, giving her an appraising look, “it looks like you survived the first part.”

She didn't answer. She couldn't. Her heart was still racing and her throat was dry. “I'll explain how this works,” he continued, taking a couple of steps into the office. “You're going to give me your details. Full name, phone number. Everything I need.” Aylin nodded silently, obeying without question. Dominic took out his cell phone and wrote down what she dictated in a low, still trembling voice. When she finished, he put the device away and crossed his arms. “Good. Now listen. Tomorrow, at eight o'clock sharp, I want to see you at this address.” He handed her a black card with gold lettering. “It's the Adler mansion.”

Aylin took the card, reading it as if it suddenly had the power to change her destiny.

“Tomorrow...?”

“Tomorrow,” Dominic repeated, as if there was no room for error. “Eight o'clock sharp. And believe me, sweetheart, you'd better be there early.”

She swallowed hard, clumsily putting the card in her purse.

“And... what... what am I supposed to do there?”

Dominic smiled, amused.

“You'll have to ask the boss that. Although I'll give you a hint...” He looked her up and down, without dissimulation. “It's going to be interesting to see you try to manage Sasha.”

Aylin frowned slightly.

“Who's Sasha?”

Dominic laughed softly before turning toward the door.

“Roman's daughter.” Dominic paused before opening the door, turning slightly toward her with that carefree half-smile that seemed to take nothing seriously. “Oh, I almost forgot,” he said, as if it were a minor detail. “There's a car waiting for you outside. It will take you home.”

Aylin looked at him, still unable to process everything that had happened.

“That's not necessary, I can...”

Dominic shook his head gently.

“It's not a suggestion. It's an order from the boss.”

She pressed her lips together, realizing she had no room for argument.

“I understand... thank you.”

Dominic nodded briefly.

“Get some rest. Tomorrow is when the real work begins.”

He winked at her and left, closing the door behind him and leaving her in silence once again. Without giving her time to respond, the card trembled between her fingers, and she was absolutely certain that she had just gotten herself into a mess that she had no idea how to get out of.

She left the room, closing the door behind her. He walked down the hallway with his usual calm, as if nothing that had just happened mattered. At the end of the hall, Roman was waiting for him, checking his cell phone with the impassive expression of someone who is never in a hurry.

As soon as Dominic reached him, Roman looked up.

“Everything ready?”

“Yes, I have his information,” Dominic replied, putting his phone in his pocket. Full name, contact number... everything.“ Roman nodded emotionlessly, but Dominic didn't stop there. ”Although, the address...“ He paused briefly. ”I don't know if it's real. She gave me one that's in a pretty rough part of town.“

Roman stared at him, his expression unchanged.

”Did she lie to you?"

Dominic shrugged.

“Maybe. Or maybe she really lives there. Anyway, I told her you'd ordered a car to take her.” Roman narrowed his eyes but said nothing. He just turned toward the window and looked out at the street, where his driver was already waiting with the car by the entrance. Dominic followed his gaze, smiling slightly. “Do you want me to make sure she gets in?”

Roman shook his head.

“I'll take care of it.”

When Aylin stepped out onto the street, her purse clutched tightly to her chest and the card still trembling between her fingers, she paused for a moment when she saw the vehicle parked in front of the gallery.

It was impossible not to recognize it. Black. Impeccable. Tinted windows. Roman Adler's car. And the passenger door open, waiting for her.