Chapter 18

Vanessa

Like I predicted, my week on punishment goes by at an agonizingly slow pace. Danny's a dick to me any chance he gets, smothering me with his overbearing presence throughout the day, as if I might miraculously uncover a way to escape from this hellhole.

When Diego returns home at the earliest hours of the morning, fatigue mercifully robs him of the energy to demand anything beyond the removal of his clothes to sleep. So, nothing else has happened between us. Not that I was hoping it would. It seems as long as I adhere to his rules, he'll leave me alone, and I haven't given him a reason to punish me again.

After Diego falls into a deep sleep, sneaking out of the room becomes my nightly routine when I can't sleep myself. I usually hang out with Alicia or chat with the other men while they lounge around and drink. I've discovered that all of them are related in some way, except for Leo who is Diego's childhood best friend from an allied clan. That explains why his features