Chapter 5 Untitled Chapter
Roberto didn’t look away. For a second his thumb stopped against his knuckles. Not emotional. Just something heavy.
“It means your life didn’t start where you think,” he said.
Kendrix gave a short, unstable laugh
“That’s insane.”
“I know.”
Skyler’s voice came out in a mutter, like a warning “Roberto.”
Roberto ignored him. His eyes fixed on Kendrix.
“You’re not a mistake,” he said.“That’s the part you don’t know.”
Kendrix stared at him. Trying so much to get angry, but anger never came. Instead,
confusion came, slow and unwanted.
“So what am I?”
The air felt heavy. Roberto let out a breath,
like he didn’t want to say it.
“Someone I’ve been aware of for a long time.”
Kendrix blinked. “That doesn’t make sense.”
He gave a small nod.“I know.”
She stepped back. Not from fear, just from recalibration.
“Before my father’s debt?” she asked.
He didn’t answer. The silence said it all.
Her stomach tightened.
“No.”
“Not after,” Roberto said.
Kendrix shook her head frantically. “No. No, that’s not possible.”
Her voice cracked and she hated it.
Roberto watched her. He didn’t comfort her. Just watched.
“You weren’t chosen because of him,” he said.“You were already here.”
Kendrix swallowed, slow and heavy.
“What does that mean?”
He didn’t answer. He turned slightly, like he had said too much already.
Skyler exhaled. “Yeah. That’s enough.”
But Kendrix wasn't listening. Her mind was in shambles. She stood there after they left. Silent and still, then she whispered.
“What the hell did you do to my life?”
And for the first time, it didn't sound like a threat. It sounded like a doubt.
By midday, Kendrix was already irritated. This place was getting under her skin. The silence. The routine. The way everybody acted like she belonged here.
Kendrix sat cross-legged near the window with a half-finished cup of coffee beside her, staring blankly at the city below. She should’ve been planning another escape. Instead she kept thinking about Roberto’s words from yesterday.
You weren't chosen because of him.
Her jaw clenched. Nothing about that sentence felt normal. Because he didn’t say it like a threat. He said it like a fact.
A knock suddenly landed against the bedroom door. Kendrix looked over immediately.
“What?”
The door opened a little and Nora stepped inside holding a folded pile of clothes.
“You skipped breakfast.”
“I wasn’t hungry.”
“That’s unhealthy.”
“And kidnapping people isn’t?”
Nora sighed like she was already tired of this conversation.“Fair point.”
That caught Kendrix off guard slightly.
Nora placed the clothes near the bed.“Roberto has meetings downstairs. Bash and Skyler are with him.”
Kendrix frowned instantly.“Okay… and why are you telling me that?”
Nora hesitated briefly.Then she said.“Because the west side of the house is empty right now.”
Kendrix narrowed her eyes immediately.“What does that mean?”
Nora headed toward the door casually.
“Means if you’re planning something stupid, now’s probably the best time.”
Then she left.
Kendrix blinked.“What the hell?”
For a moment she genuinely wondered if that was a trap. Actually, it definitely sounded like a trap.
Still…curiosity got there first.
Twenty minutes later, Kendrix quietly stepped into the hallway. The mansion really was quieter than usual. No patrols, no murmurs, like everyone had been pulled out at once. She moved carefully. The west hallway looked different during the day. Long windows spilled sunlight across the marble floors while huge paintings covered the walls. Everything in this house looked expensive enough to make her angry.
Kendrix stopped near a partially opened door. Roberto’s office. Her jaw tightened slightly.
“That man seriously needs to learn how to lock doors,” she muttered.
She pushed it open slowly. The office smelled like leather, whiskey, and faint cigarette smoke. The thought annoyed her instantly.
Papers were scattered across one side carelessly like somebody had been interrupted midway through working. That didn’t seem like him at all.
Kendrix walked farther inside without rushing. Bookshelves covered one wall completely. A dark jacket hung carelessly over a chair nearby. Seeing signs that Roberto actually existed as a normal human unsettled her.
“Still a psycho,” she muttered under her breath.
Her eyes drifted toward the desk. A file box sat near the edge slightly open. Kendrix hesitated. Then immediately ignored her better judgment and walked over.
“Okay, if I get murdered for this, I deserve it a little.”
She crouched beside the box and flipped through a few papers. Contracts. Business documents. Nothing useful.
“God, this man is boring.”
She pushed another folder aside. And something slipped quietly onto the floor. A photograph. Old-looking and bent slightly at the corners. Kendrix picked it up absentmindedly. Then froze. Her stomach dropped so suddenly it almost hurt.
“No way…”
The photograph trembled slightly in her fingers. A little blonde girl stood smiling beside a fountain. Maybe seven years old. Messy hair, tiny sneakers. And around her neck was a silver necklace.
Kendrix instinctively touched the necklace resting against her chest. The same one. Exactly the same. Her breathing slowed.
“No…”
But that wasn’t even the worst part. Standing beside the little girl was Roberto. He was younger. No cold expression either. His face still held the kind of softness that hadn't been worn away by time. One hand rested lightly against the child’s shoulder while he looked down at her instead of the camera. At her.
Kendrix stared at the photograph until her eyes burned. Her brain genuinely refused to process it.
“That’s impossible.”
Her voice barely came out. Slowly, she flipped the photograph over. There was a handwriting on the back. A messy handwriting.
Keep her safe.
-Maya
Maya. Her mother. A horrible feeling crawled slowly into Kendrix’s chest.
“What the hell…”
“You really need to stop touching things that don’t belong to you.”
Kendrix spun around so fast the picture almost slipped from her hand. Roberto stood near the office doorway. And for the first time since meeting him, he looked off. Not angry. Not calm either. His eyes immediately locked onto the photograph. His jaw tensed, like seeing it in her hand physically bothered him.
Kendrix stepped backward instinctively. “What is this?”
Roberto didn’t answer. That silence made panic climb higher up her throat.
“You knew me?”
Still nothing.
Kendrix laughed suddenly. Not because anything was funny, but because she genuinely didn’t know how else to react.
“No, seriously,” she said shakily. “What the hell is this?”
Roberto walked toward her slowly, like he was approaching something fragile.
“Kendrix…”
“No.”
She stepped back again immediately.
“Don’t do that.”
A faint line appeared between his brows.
“Do what?”
“Say my name like…” She stopped frustratedly. “Like you know me.”
The room suddenly felt too warm. Kendrix looked back down at the photograph again. Young Roberto. Young her. Together. Nothing about that made sense.
“You knew me before my father owed you money.”
Roberto exhaled quietly.“Yes.”
The word hit her harder than she expected. Kendrix shook her head immediately.
“No. No, you’re lying.”
“I’m not.”
“Then explain it."
