The Desperate Call

Day one in the storage room and I still had nothing.

Didn’t sleep again. The mat’s too thin, floor’s too hard, and my head won’t stop spinning. Every time I shut my eyes, I hear Mateo’s voice, Clara’s laugh, Lily’s poison. Same loop on repeat, reminding me I don’t belong anywhere.

Morning came too early. Gray light through the tiny window, dust hanging in the air like it was taunting me. My phone’s at eight percent. Stayed up until three scrolling job ads, applying to anything.

Cashier. Receptionist. Dog walker. Cleaner. Didn’t matter. I just needed something.

But it’s all the same, no replies, or rejections faster than I can blink.

I sat up slow, everything aching. Neck from the suitcase-pillow. Back from the floor. My whole body felt bruised. But I couldn’t just sit here rotting. I had to try, keep moving.

Opened the door careful, listening. Clara and Robert would be gone by now, work. But Lily… Lily was always around.

Hallway was quiet. Good. I could grab water, maybe sneak a little food, and get back before,

“Well, well. Look who finally crawled out.”

I froze.

Lily leaned in the kitchen doorway, mug in hand, silk pajamas worth more than everything I owned. Hair done, makeup perfect, like she woke up camera-ready.

“I need some water,” I muttered, trying to edge past.

She stepped right in front of me. “You know, I’ve been thinking about you.”

“That’s nice.”

“It’s not nice, actually. It’s pathetic.” She sipped her coffee, staring at me over the rim. “You really thought you were going to have this amazing life, didn’t you? Marry the rich guy, live in the mansion, play pretend princess.”

I said nothing.

“But you couldn’t even do that right,” she pushed. “Couldn’t keep your husband interested. Couldn’t give him what he needed. So he threw you away like the trash you are.”

“Are you done?” Flat.

“Not even close.” Mug hit the counter. “See, I’m graduating this year. I’m going to marry my boyfriend, you remember Tyler, right? The one whose family owns half the real estate downtown?”

I didn’t. Nodded anyway.

“We’re going to live in one of his family’s penthouses. And I’m going to have the life you thought you’d have.” Smile sharp as glass. “Because unlike you, I actually know how to keep a man satisfied.”

Something in me snapped.

“You know what, Lily?” I stepped in, close enough to see her flinch. “You’re twenty-one. Never worked a day in your life. Everything’s been handed to you, and you still turned out a miserable bitch. So congrats. I’m sure Tyler will love spending forever with someone that shallow and cruel.”

Her face flamed. “How dare you,”

“I dare because I’ve got nothing left to lose.” I shoved past, filled a glass with water, and drank it down. “one day. That’s all I’ve got left here. Then you’ll never see me again. So save your energy for someone who cares.”

I set the glass in the sink and left before she could spit back.

My hands shook. Heart slammed in my chest. But for the first time in days, I wasn’t drowning.

I was mad. And mad was better than empty.

Back on the mat, I pulled my phone and scrolled my contacts. Pathetic list. Mateo’s friends weren’t mine. Old coworkers were long gone.

Then I saw him.

Ethan Park.

Mateo’s digital content manager. Polite, decent, always kind. He’d actually looked me in the eye. Asked how I was. Said nice things about my cooking when nobody else noticed.

We weren’t close. He was Mateo’s employee. But he was human.

It was a long shot. But that’s all I had left.

Before I could chicken out, I hit call.

Rang three times. Four. I was about to hang up when,

“Hello?”

“Ethan?” My voice cracked. “It’s Adair.”

Silence.

“Adair? I… I heard about the divorce. Are you okay?”

The way he said it nearly undid me. “I’m… not really.”

“What happened? Where are you?”

“I’m at my foster parents’. But they’re kicking me out tomorrow and I…” I swallowed hard. “I need help. I need a job. Something with housing if possible, because I don’t have anywhere to go.”

“Jesus, Adair. I’m so sorry.” Rustling, a door shutting. “Okay, let me think. Most of my contacts are in digital marketing, and those don’t usually come with housing. But maybe I can,”

“Anything,” I cut in. “I’ll do anything. Wait tables, clean, whatever. I just need something.”

Quiet for a beat. Then: “There’s one thing. But Adair, I don’t know if it’s right for you.”

“Tell me.”

“Kai Rylan is looking for a caretaker. Someone to run his household, keep things together. Room and board included.”

“Okay.” I grabbed a pen. “Sounds perfect.”

“Adair.” His tone changed. “Kai Rylan isn’t like Mateo. He’s… mafia. Organized crime. His world is dangerous.”

I almost laughed. Dangerous. Like my life wasn’t already dangerous?

“I don’t care,” I said.

“You should care. People around him… bad things happen. The last caretakers didn’t stick around.”

“Did he hurt them?”

“Not physically, as far as I know. But he’s intense. Cold. Not easy to work for.”

“Ethan, I get it. But I need this. I’ve got two days before I’m homeless. So unless you have a better option, I’ll take my chances with the mafia lord.”

He sighed. “Alright. If you’re sure. Interview’s tomorrow, ten AM. I’ll text you the address.”

“Thank you. Really. You don’t know what this means.”

“Just… be careful. And if it’s too much, if you feel unsafe, you leave. Promise me.”

“I promise.”

We said goodbye. My phone buzzed with the address seconds later.

1247 Blackwood Estate Drive.

I Googled it. My jaw dropped.

Mansion. Ten bedrooms. Eight baths. Pool. Gym. Grounds the size of a park. Looked like something out of a magazine.

And that’s where a mafia lord lived.

I zoomed through the photos. Everything shiny, cold, perfect. Like a museum.

A chill went through me. What was I about to step into?

Then I looked around at the storage room. Boxes. Thin mat. Lily’s sneer burned into my head. Clara’s disgust. Robert’s dismissal. Mateo and Vanessa, and all the people who’d made me feel small.

Dangerous or not, this was my way out.

The rest of the day I tried to get ready. Showered when the house was empty, scrubbed everything back into place so no one would know. Washed my only halfway decent shirt, a white button-down that had seen better days. Black pants. Flats that barely held together.

I practiced what I’d say. Tried to sound like someone who knew what they were doing. I wasn’t qualified, not really. But I’d spent three years managing Mateo’s life, house, staff, schedules. That had to mean something.

That night, on the mat again, I couldn’t sleep. My head wouldn’t stop.

What if Kai Rylan took one look at me and laughed me out the door? What if Ethan was right and it was too dangerous?

What if I failed again?

I pulled the blanket around me tighter.

You can do this. You have to.

Because the other option wasn’t an option.

I’d lost my husband, my home, my dignity. My so-called family was throwing me out. I was sleeping on a floor with two days left before I was on the street.

Nothing left to lose.

And somehow, that gave me a little courage.

Tomorrow, I’d walk into that mansion. Convince Kai Rylan I was what he needed. And maybe, finally, start building something that was mine.

Not Clara’s. Not Robert’s. Not Mateo’s.

Mine.

I closed my eyes and tried to picture it. A room of my own. A job that mattered. Maybe one day, even something like purpose.

It was probably naive to think one job could fix everything.

But it was all I had.

So I’d take it.

And hope like hell I wasn’t making the biggest mistake of my life.