Chapter 7

• THOMAS
• Thomas walks downstairs to his office where Richard is waiting for him. He enters and takes his seat behind the desk.
• "Sorry for asking to see you so late at night, sir, but we have a big problem."
• "What is it?"
• "Melina isn’t married to James."
• "What?" Thomas says, looking at Richard as if he has two heads. He's shocked. “How?”
• "Six months ago, James filed for divorce?"
• "James filed for it? Not Melina?"
• "Yes, sir."
• Thomas takes a minute to process what Richard just told him. He can't believe Melina’s no longer married to that cunt. It has him wondering if Melina’s telling the truth, but it doesn't change anything, even if she is. Thomas isn’t looking for James to get his money back. He’s going to make James pay for stealing it, whether Melina is divorced or not.
• She lied to him. Nothing in this world will change the fact that she approached him to steal his money. Her feelings were fake. She was going to pay for making him fall in love with her.
• "You're implying she might be telling the truth about not knowing where James is since they are divorced?" he asks Richard.
• "Yes, sir, but I might be wrong. Divorced couples still keep in touch."
• "Yes, they do. Who is responsible for alimony between them?" Thomas is guessing James would be the one, but he wants to be sure
• "James, but he doesn't pay."
• "Really?" Thomas finds it odd that the fucker hasn't paid Melina a dime. She's the reason they were able to defraud him.
• He recalls when he discovered who they truly were. His boxing partner went six feet underground that day.
• "Yes, sir."
• "Same dead ends with the accounts." Six months after James and Melina disappeared, the first thing Thomas did was try and track them down using their bank accounts, but he wasn't able to. He only found Melina through her sister.
• "Yes, sir, nothing."
• "Alright, thank you, Richard. You can leave." Richard does as Thomas says and walks out of Thomas' office.
• "Leo get in here," Thomas says.
• "You called for me, sir," Leo says, entering the room.
• "Yes, I want you to take Melina to Linda. Tell Linda to put Melina in charge of my room and office. I want Linda to get close to her while she works as a maid. Maybe in a few months, she might confide in Linda where James might be."
• "Alright, sir."
• Thomas believes that even though they're divorced and not in contact with each other. There's no way in hell Melina doesn't know where James is. And since the hard way isn't working, it's time to go the soft way—or the way Melina knows best, through the heart.
• Thomas smiles as he imagines the heartbreak Melina will feel when she gets betrayed by Linda. He knows it’ll be nothing compared to his pain, but it’ll be a sight to behold as he drags her lover back here because she trusted someone. He gave his heart to her the same way, and she made a fool out of him.
• Melina Davis, this is just the tip of the iceberg. You'll wish you were never born when I'm done with you.
• ***
• MELINA
• Melina is getting comfortable on the floor when her room door opens. It's been a few minutes since she got back.
• "Stand up and come with me," Leo says. He waits in the middle of the room for her. She looks at him, wondering where he wants to take her. She thinks about asking him but chooses not to and does as he says.
• They walk upstairs and step out of the house. Going behind the mansion, they enter a bungalow. This is smaller than the house and not as fancy, but it's still beautiful inside. Up ahead lies a wooden staircase, and to the right is a cozy living room with cream couches with a small fireplace up front. They walk into the living room but don't stop until they approach the small dining area. Leo pushes the door by his right, and they step into the kitchen.
• "Hello, Linda," Leo says as they stand in a beautiful kitchen. The walls have cream-colored cupboards and the counters were made of brown marble.
• The woman who stands by the stove turns around to face them. She cleans her hands on a napkin as she looks at Melina with her lovely brown eyes. She smiles at her, and Melina returns her smile, wondering who this lovely black-haired woman in the maid uniform is.
• "Cosa ti attira, Leo?" Linda asks in Italian. Melina doesn't understand what she said, but she knows it's Italian because it sounds familiar to what she’s heard Thomas speak before.
• "Ho una nuova ragazza per te. D'ora in poi lavorerà sotto capo stanza e ufficio," Leo replies back in Italian.
• As Melina listened to them converse, she regretted not learning Italian when Thomas offered.
• "She'll explain your job to you," Leo tells her, walking away to the kitchen door.
• "Job! What are you talking about?" Melina moves to follow Leo, but Linda blocks her path. Melina looks at her, wondering why she stopped her.
• "I will explain. You'll be working as a maid when your wounds heal."
• "Working?"
• "As a maid. Do you have a problem with being a maid?" Linda looks offended by how Melina responded to hearing about her new job.
• "No, I don't. I'm just shocked, that's all," Melina says, trying to reassure her that she doesn't look down on maids.
• "Good, come with me." Linda walks out of the kitchen with Melina following her.
• She talks to Melina as they walk upstairs about what she'll do as a maid. Melina’s mind is far away and she doesn't comprehend a single word Linda says.
• Thomas wasn't going to kill her. He must be keeping her to help find James. It certainly wasn’t because he believed her. She thinks about why he put her in this position. She could be anything, so why a maid? She shrugs her shoulders, coming up blank. She focuses back on what Linda’s saying. She’ll find out the real reason she’s here in time.