Chapter 1

“Welcome to Salvino Manor, Ms. Hadley. You are hired now,” 

A smile formed on Esme's face, hearing the woman, Maeve, in front of her, who looked like she was in her mid forties. Maeve was the head of the Salvino Mansion's staff where Esme had been hired as a maid today.

“Thank you so much, ma’am,” Esme thanked Maeve, who passed her a gentle nod.

“You and your daughter can live here in this room,” Maeve said, looking at Esme's 4 years old daughter, Elea, whom she was holding in her embrace.

“Thank you,” Esme thanked her again while tightening her hold around her kid.

“But yes, make sure to keep your daughter away whenever Mr. Salvino is going to be here because our boss doesn't like children. He mostly returns home in the evening and leaves early in the morning, so be mindful of it,” Maeve clarified in a serious tone.

“I will take care of it,” Esme passed her an assuring nod. After numerous efforts, she had received this job here in this Salvino Manor, which was owned by a billionaire business tycoon….Luka Salvino and where she was going to get a very good salary, so she could not dare to mess this opportunity up.

She needed money to look after her daughter, Elea, who was her only family in this world. 

“You need to be extremely cautious and careful here because our boss doesn't believe in giving second chances, so please be careful with your work,” Esme patiently listened to Maeve.

“I will put in my best efforts, ma’am. I will try not to disappoint either you or Mr. Salvino,” Esme uttered, failing in identifying that fear hidden beneath Maeve's warning because 26 years old Esme Hadley had no idea of the havoc prevailing in that mansion and what kind of a cruel and cold blooded person owned that manor, where she had gotten this job of a maid.

“Okay then, now you can start your work here after settling in,” saying that Maeve walked out of the room, causing Esme to exhale a heavy breath.

“Mumma, is this our new home?” Esme heard her toddler asking her. Turning her head around, she looked at her child.

“This is not our home, baby, but we are going to live here from now on,” Esme answered her daughter, diminishing the shine in her child's light grey eyes because her little daughter was thinking of this huge mansion as their new home and Esme had noticed everything clearly.

Esme sighed and checked Elea’s body temperature.

“You are not having any pain in your head anymore, right, Lea?” She asked her toddler, placing her palm on her forehead. Two days ago, Elea had caught a fever and cold, which had brought very bad headaches to the kid.

“No,” the kid shook her head. 

“My pain flew away, mumma, after I ate that pink colour medicine,” Elea told her mother while giggling. Esme chuckled. Luckily, Elea's cold and fever completely dropped yesterday as Esme had taken her to the doctor immediately after she fell ill.

“Mumma, I want my choco,” Elea forwarded her tiny hands towards her mumma to have her favourite chocolate because she knew her mumma always carried them for her.

Smiling, Esme took the chocolate from her handbag.

“Here…” Esme extended the chocolate towards her child.

The kid grabbed the chocolate, happily.

“Mumma, papa sent this choco for me again?” Elea's question paused Esme’s hand who was zipping back her handbag.

Her smile completely diminished.

Papa? 

Esme looked towards her child and saw that happiness shining in her daughter's eyes. The happiness of believing that these chocolates were sent to her by her father because Esme had been telling this lie to her child for the past one year just to make her child happy.

“Yes, your papa has sent these chocolates for you,” Esme uttered to her kid, intensifying her happiness. The kid clapped in excitement and started eating the chocolate.

Esme's heart ached. She was aware of how unacceptable and wrong those lies were which she was telling her child, but only she knew how much her child prayed to meet and see her papa. And how could she tell her child where her father was when she herself didn't know who he was?

Esme didn't even know that man's name to whom she lost her virginity, 5 years ago in that hotel, in a drunk state, and then escaped from him in the early morning, completely terrified and broken after seeing what kind of work and things he did?

That was why Esme came up with the thought of buying things for her child in secret and telling her that they were sent to her by her papa, who lived in a different country.

“Mumma, tell papa to come back soon. I miss him so much,” little Elea uttered because she loved her papa a lot, even though she didn't even know the name of her father and what he looked like.

Esme held back her tears because she didn't

want that man to even know about their existence.

What Esme had seen that morning after she woke in the arms of that man, he had become her worst nightmare. That was why she ran away from him when he was sleeping. Since that day, Esme had been hoping to never come in front of that man again.

But only if she knew what her fate was going to show her tonight when it was going to make her stand in front of her worst nightmare once again.

………

“All the work is done,” Esme said to Maeve after she completed all the tasks Maeve had given to her today. It took her some time but she finished all the work.

“Good,” Maeve passed her a gentle nod which she returned with a smile.

“Where is your daughter?” Maeve asked. 

“She fell asleep after eating her dinner. Elea sleeps early,” Esme replied, earning a nod from Maeve again. She saw Maeve checking the time on her wrist watch.

“It's quite late now. You should head back to your room too,” Maeve uttered to Esme.

“Surely. Good night,” Esme offered her a polite smile again. Maeve bobbed her head, which made Esme turn around and walk towards the exit of the hall, unaware of Maeve's eyes, which continued to stare at her until she didn't walk out of the hall.

Only after Esme left, the woman exhaled a heavy breath and then she also left the hall.

Meanwhile, Esme was returning to her room. The lights of the entire manor had already been dimmed completely. Maeve had told her that the owner of this mansion had made this rule which was to dim all the lights of the mansion sharp at 11 in the night, and it was almost 12 already.

Suddenly, Esme recalled something. She needed to bring some water to her room because sometimes, Elea woke up in the middle of the night and started asking for water. 

Sighing, Esme turned around and went back to the kitchen to get some water. 

Clutching the jug of water, Esme walked out of the kitchen and was going back to her room when her eyes caught something on the floor.

Esme turned on the flash of her phone and saw blood stains on the pale white floor, like a bleeding person had been dragged from here.

Her feet froze. Her grip tightened around the jug of water.

Whose blood was this?

Fear washed over her, especially when all the lights around her were completely dimmed too. Her throat had dried up.

What was happening around her? She roamed her eyes everywhere, terrified, but caught no one and nothing around her, so she hurriedly turned around to go back to her kid, but the moment she turned around, Esme witnessed a tall and broad figure standing right behind her.

A scream escaped from her mouth. The glass jug fell from her hand on the floor and shattered into pieces.

Tears of fear stung her eyes. Esme backed away but when she witnessed all the lights getting turned on and those icy grey eyes of that tall figure got revealed to her, Esme's fear turned into pure dread and horror.

It was him.

The man, whose thoughts had been haunting her from the past five years.

The man, to whom she had lost not only her virginity but her whole life, five years ago.

It was him.

The father of her daughter.

He was standing right in front of her, but what Esme didn't know was….this time, not as her nightmare but as her deadly walking reality, which was going to destroy her completely with his love, hate, obsession…. and with his diabolic desire..