Chapter 1
Sometimes in life we are given a path. There are those who do not accept the path given to them and create their own. Then there are others who accept the paths given to them. Something I have noticed about this is that based on these choices in life, I can tell what kind of person someone is. Those who choose to create their own do not believe in the control of the universe, whereas those who trust the path given to them believe in the control of the universe.
I personally am that person who believes in the control of the universe and constantly have the remind myself that everything in life happens for a reason, those reasons will one day become clear and we will be thankful for what we get. On the other hand, I also believe that the universe gives us tests throughout life, if we fail then karma will be given to us.
I will explain why I believe this so much. When I was a child I lost my family, I refer to this as the day I found my path. I was born into a family that is involved in the mafia, a very dangerous life yet filled with many luxuries. My family was known as the Keel Klan. I was lucky and I never forgot that. When I was around nine my family was ambushed and attacked, I lost them all. Thankfully, they called for help from the James family. By the time they arrived it was too late for my parents, but they saved me.
My way of repaying them was to work for them, basically now I am a maid for the very family that saved me. Don’t get me wrong, the family treat me very well. They treat me as part of the family, despite my daily duties. They let me dine with them, they involve me in some activities and they always ask me about my day and if anything is wrong. My path may not exactly be an exciting one but it is one I am happy to have.
I live in the house with the heads of the family Chris and Julie James, their eldest daughter Erin who is currently twenty-one and their son Sam who is nineteen. Erin will not inherit the James family leadership as she has already announced that she did not want to be the one lead, therefore Sam will take over once he turns a more suitable age and when Chris and Julie step down.
I was nine when I entered this family and I have been here for nine years - making me eighteen. They told me a few years ago that I could leave whenever I wanted to and they would help me get a place to stay and a job, but I turned down the offer because I was happy here. There was also a feeling keeping me to that house, I can’t explain it but I felt like I had to stay. Like there was something I needed before I left.
Enough about that, if I remain in my head any longer then I will burn breakfast, and I don’t want that after I worked so hard to get everything ready. Breakfast was then completed without a burn in sight and Chris was the first one down to eat the buffet I had made just like every Saturday morning. “Good morning, Rose. Did you sleep well last night?” Chris asked me as I handed him a plate and he began to pile it high.
“I slept as well as I do every other night, as far as I’m aware today is not any different than any other day?” My response was posed more as a question than a statement and this was because this question was usually asked if something was coming up. “Well not exactly, I was informed last night that the Salvatore family are coming for a business discussion today. Unfortunately I was not given a time”
This did provoke some anxiety, I have only heard stories of the Salvatore family. Although the James family does business with the Salvatore family they never allowed me to get involved as I was always too young, they knew my knowledge of a life like this but they did want to keep me protected. “Oh, well that is some news. Am I to stay in my room or did you want me out of the house?” I asked as I began my clean up of the pans I had used to make breakfast.
“Neither, you are going to stay here and do your normal daily duties. If they speak to you, you refer to them as miss or sir and you keep your head down. I do not want to know what will happen if you make eye contact” This was not the sentence I wanted to hear. I nodded regardless and kept quiet. Finally one by one the family came downstairs and began to eat their breakfast, and I sat with them and ate mine. This was the usual routine for us.
As I was putting away the last of the freshly cleaned dishes I heard a group of new voices, mostly men. I didn’t want to believe the logical explanation that the Salvatore family had arrived, so I told myself that it was simply new security that I had not met yet. My bubble was burst when Erin came into the kitchen and quietly said “3 glasses of whiskey on the rocks”. Her voice was quiet and it was because she was intimidated.
I nodded and made my way over the cupboard with the drinking glasses in it and proceeded to make the drinks that had been requested. “They made their way up to the office, Rose” again I nodded then slowly and carefully made my way up the stairs and down the corridor to Chris’ office. The drinks on my tray were shaking slightly as an effect of my shaking hands, my nerves were getting the better of me and it needed to stop.
I came to the big wooden door that kept the inside of the office hidden and I knocked three times. Hard enough for them to hear but gentle enough to avoid interruption. I heard Chris tell me to come in and I took a breath before opening the door. As I had been told earlier I kept my head down as I made my way through the door and over to the small table. I carefully set the tray of drinks down and then when there was silence I said “is there anything else I can bring?“.
“No, Rose. That is all for now, come back in an hour to collect the glasses please” I nodded my head and began my walk out of the room. I stopped when I heard “Chris you didn’t tell us you had two daughters” this made me stop because I felt all eyes on me. There were five well built men in the room, that is a lot of eyes on me. “Rose is not my biological daughter, it’s a very complicated situation”
Even though my head was down I could still see the largest man look me up and down. He seemed to be in his twenties but his gaze felt different, I felt it burning more than the rest. “Maybe once this deal is sorted you can explain it to us”. I took that as my signal to leave and that’s what I did. I gently shut the door behind me but I still saw the same man staring at me.
I took a note of the time and practically ran to my room. I had an hour to calm myself down and shake these nerves. Why am I feeling so anxious? Is it because of the stories I’ve heard of is there more to it?
