It was dark by the time we arrived at Mr. Vance's estate, but no amount of darkness could hide how breathtaking it was.
There were four huge houses built on different parts of the land, an enormous garden, and the largest swimming pool I had ever seen.
Mr Vance was rich rich.
"Welcome to the Vance Manor." An older lady greeted me politely at the entrance. "I'm Mrs Lang, the head housekeeper. You must be Andrea."
"Yes I am, nice to meet you." I replied.
She simply nodded. "Follow me." She took one of my bags while I held the other and walked closely behind her.
"Your room is down the hall, two doors away from mine should you need anything. You will start work tomorrow. There are sixty-five housekeepers working here including myself, so the workload usually isn't so much. You will find your daily work schedule on your bed, work starts everyday at 6:30.a.m. and ends at 8.p.m. Your work uniforms are in your closet. Work attire must always be worn during work hours, after, you can wear whatever you like."
We stopped in front of my new room. Before she opened the door, she turned to me and asked. "Do you have any questions?"
"No." I answered.
"Great," She opened the door for me to step in. "I'll see you tomorrow. Rest well."
Once I was alone in the room, I sat on the bed and sobbed quietly. I thought of my poor ill dad, and how I didn't even get the chance to say a proper goodbye. I tried to tell myself I was doing all this for him, but it didn't help. I had to face my new reality, so, I set my alarm for 5:30.a.m and cried till I fell sleep.
I woke up the next morning before my alarm and got ready for my first day of work. I took out my housekeeper uniform and immediately laughed. It looked like it was made for a little girl, very short and very tight. As if the humiliation he had caused my father and I wasn't bad enough, now he wanted me to dress like a stripper maid?
Over my dead body!
I came out in one of my everyday clothes. I hadn't so much as made 5 steps away from my room, when a guard stood in my way.
"Go and change into your work clothes." He said sternly.
"My work clothes are better suited for prostitution." I said, trying to push past him.
He stood, unmovable. "Mr. Vance doesn't take lightly to defiance. You know what he can do."
I stared at him coldly for almost a minute before marching back to my room.
I already hate this place.
At about noon, Mrs. Lang and I were cleaning up the dining room for lunch, when another guard entered.
"Miss Bennett, follow me. The boss has called for you."
Ethan Vance was in his study, dressed in a gold silk robe. He was going through some papers, and didn't bother to look up when I entered.
"You called for me?"
"Is that any way to greet your employer?" He asked, still looking at his documents.
"Good morning, Employer." I said in a mocking tone.
He ignored me and continued.
"My stable boy is on sick leave today. I need you to go to the stables, clean the horses, feed them, and pack up their feces for manure."
I couldn't believe my ears. "You want me to go pack up horse shit?"
"I didn't stutter."
"How dare you?!" I shouted "I have a freaking bachelor's degree. I have never, and will never touch feces of any kind!"
He was silent for a few seconds.
"Alright then," he said calmly, picking his phone from the table. "I guess I'll just call my boys and schedule your father's burial for this evening."
He finally looked at me.
"Wait! Fine, whatever. I'll go."
I was about to leave, when he spoke again.
"Bennett. I need you to understand… I own you until your debts are fully paid. That means you do what I want, go where I want…" he paused, "And wear what I want."
He went back to his documents. "Shut the door on your way out."
About an hour later, I was knee deep in dirt at the stable when I heard something strange. It sounded like metal scraping the floor.
I ignored it the first time, but then I heard it again, a little louder this time. Against my better judgement, I decided to find it.
I followed the sound to a small hidden house between the stables and the garden. It was a building that could easily be missed. In front of the house was a large signboard that read: Restricted Property. BEWARE!
Everything in me was screaming to mind my business and turn back, but the sound was quite loud at this point, and I just couldn't ignore. I was sure whatever was making that noise was in that house. I went past the warning sign and reached for the door handle. Unlocked.
I went in, and immediately froze in fear.
There were 3 men, each blindfolded, with their mouths covered and their hands and feet chained to the wall. They looked like prisoners. They were badly bruised, like they had endured multiple beatings.
The moment they heard me come in, they became restless, Hitting their chains on the floor, and banging their bodies against the wall. One of them even began to cry. They were clearly begging for help.
I didn't know what to do. Did Ethan Vance do this? What kind of monster beats people this badly, and leaves them chained up like animals?
I needed to get out of there before I became next.
As I turned to leave, a tall figure blocked my way.
It was him.
"Why are you here?" I could see the anger written all over his face.
"I… I…"
He grabbed my wrists.
"You've seen too much. Now I have to kill you."