Anastasia was forced to put on a sack cloth which covered only part of her body. She could still feel the pains on her back and legs. They had tortured her mercilessly.

Vito ordered the rest of the torture should be terminated, rather she will remain as a slave and serve the Escobar household as a payment of her father's debts.

Anastasia tried not to make eye contact with anyone since it was against the rules. She would only look when asked to.

The news of the youngest son of the boss returning that day was almost like a public announcement in the house. Anastasia felt frustrated on hearing this.

She knew works will be doubled on her since she will have to serve everyone equally. She met a maid who was heading to the kitchen and she stopped her.

" Excuse me. What's going on?" She asked.

" The boss's youngest son is returning from the military today. He has ordered for a bouquet for his return." Said the maid excitedly.

" Okay. Thank you."

The maid smiled at her, heading to the kitchen. Anastasia glared around, confused and more frustrated than she already is. Every other maids and servants were putting on a good cloth except her.

She looked more of a slave with the capital letter ‘S’ than to just the word with the small ‘s’. Everything she does was supervised by Micheal and most times he'd spank on her like a kid.

She was given a room in the basement where she stays whenever she was free, and only Micheal was permitted to go there.

She sneaked out of the basement to the garden to get some leaves to treat her wounds. She could barely feel her joints, the marks on her body were so deep and they hurt a lot.

Micheal caught her sneaking in the process and called her back. She thought of what to say to him and avoid getting a slap in return.

"Where the fu*k are you going to?" He asked angrily. " Didn't I ask you to stay in the basement?"

" I. . . I thought I should help out since your younger would be returning home tonight."

" There are lots of maids who can do the preparations without your help. I don't want to remind you that apart from my father, you don't have any right to work or serve anyone else. Understood?!" He barked.

Anastasia nodded her head.

" I wanna hear the words, Ana." He said.

" Yes, sir "

" I can't hear you."

" Yes, sir." She said a bit louder than before.

" Good. Now get your ass back in that basement or I drag you down there myself."

She turned, returning back to the basement without turning or looking back. She shuts the door, leaning against it. Everytime he yelled at her, the pains would hurt her the more. She was trying to do herself some favour, but he wasn't granting her that chance.

Anastasia remained in the basement until it was sunset. She was convinced that the approaching footsteps was Micheal coming since he was the only one who comes down there.
★ ★ ★ ★
The door open but he didn't enter. He stood at the door with the mean look on his face which always gives Anastasia goosebumps.

"Get your ass over here." Immediately, she stood up from the ground walking to him with her head facing the ground.

" Yes, sir."

He dragged her out of the room, shutting the door close. " Our guest is almost arriving, and I want you to respect yourself out there. Like I said, you aren't taking any order from anyone except my father." He reminded. " So, as soon as you get there, you do whatever you're meant to do and try not to maintain eye contact with anyone, especially to our guest."

Anastasia didn't have to ask why, that was an order given to everyone who served the Escobar family. No eye contact, no conversation with any of the family members, always mind your business. The rules were plain and all written on Anastasia's palms despite her stay in the house is just two days now.

She trailed after him as they left the basement to the main building. They went in different directions as she went to help the other maids serve the dishes. When Vito's youngest son finally arrived to the compound, the information was announced to Vito.

Vito was so much delighted to see his youngest son after so many months which almost seemed like years to him. He stood beside the window, staring at his son who just stepped out of the car.

Pablo noticed his father was staring at him from the sitting room, he looked to the direction of the window, returning the warm smile. He was happy to be back home after seven months of leaving.

As he walked into the building, the maids all stopped what they were doing, bowing their heads at him. Pablo was well respected by everyone in the household. Despite coming from a drug gang background, yet he served in the military field and he has never for once brought shame to his family.

Vito embraced his son in his arms, dropping kisses on his face. "It's been a long while, son. Welcome home."

"Thanks dad." He looks at his brothers, "You guys are damn assholes. You two totally forgot about me, huh? No calls, no texts, no shit! "

" At least we never stop sending your monthly presents. Did we?" Micheal said, referring to the cocaine they always send to him every month.

They laughed, hugging themselves. "Welcome home, bro." They said in unison.

"I have prepared a banquet for your return, shall we?" Vito ushered him to the dinning room.

They all settled in the dinning room, occupying the four empty seats which surrounded the table. "How have the military been?" Vito started.

"It's been great. " He replied, smiling.

" I'm sure no one knows of your identity?"

" No one does. And no one is suspecting either. "

Vito nodded, relieved.

After they had finished the wine served to them, Vito ordered for another one to be brought in immediately. Anastasia walked in with a glass of champagne in a silver tray, she opens it and vegan serving it to them. First, starting from Vito to Micheal.

Micheal sneaked his hand under her gown, rubbing his hand on her butts. Anastasia held herself from acting in a way everyone would know what was happening, she kept still, pouring the wine in his glass cup.

She went to pour Fred and he tapped her butt, smiling at her. Pablo noticed what was going on. He noticed the way his brothers were looking at the girl and he wondered what the girl was to them.

But instead of getting a positive response for what they were doing to her, like any other girl would, rather he noticed she was silently crying.

And when it got to his turn, he was watching her as she pours wine into his cup. He noticed she was fighting the tears in her eyes and she was trying not to make eye contact to avoid getting caught.

He noticed the wine was almost reaching to the top of his cup but she wasn't making any sign of stopping. He held her hand, causing her to shiver. She was shaking and she looked scared.

He wanted her to look at him, and when she did, he saw that she was indeed crying. Something must be wrong? He thought to himself.

"Are you alright?" He asked, staring into her already wet eyes.

" Yes. Yes, I am." She said, taking off her gaze from him. She slightly – not obviously – moved her head to Micheal, she drops the bottle on the table, walking out of the room.

Pablo looked confused so he asked. "Who's she? And what's wrong with her?"

" She is the daughter of Mr Romanoff. He traded her to complete his debt. " Vito answered.

" What about Mr Romanoff?" He asked again.

" He's dead."

Pablo was quiet for the moment. Guess he must have forgotten how the group operates. There is no mercy when it comes to money.

" Why do you look so surprised, Pablo?" Fred asked, laughing.

" Nothing. Just surprised he could owe dad for this long." He lied. He had already lost the appetite to eat, and for the rest of the dinner, they spent it on both relevant and irrelevant topics.

Anastasia ran to the basement, shutting the door and locking it after. She bursted out in tears, she couldn't believe she had left them have their way under her skirt. She just let them touch the very part she hated men getting close to.

Then she heard a loud knock on the door, causing her to shiver in fright. Then Michael's deep voice which followed after, "Anastasia, open the door." He said in a calm voice.

She refused to open it, using that moment to clean her tears off. "Anastasia, open the damn door!" He said, a bit louder.

She couldn't open it after what he had just did to her. Then he banged on the door, raising his voice more louder. "Anastasia, I said open the damn fu*king door or I bang it right on your face! "

Anastasia quickly unlocked the door and when she had done it, he didn't let her open the door, he banged it on her face, throwing her to the ground.

He angrily walked up to her, dragging her up to her feet. "How dare you ignore me?" He growled. "And you had the audacity to leave me standing outside? Huh?"

" I. . . I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." She apologized.

" You didn't mean to? Or you were trying to feel right over your stupidity, huh?"

She shakes her head continuously, hoping he would forgive her and let her be for tonight.

"So, are you ready to explain what the heck happened out there at the dinning room?" He snirled at her.

" Nothing happened. I didn't look at him, I swear, I didn't look at him." She pleaded.

" Are you saying I'm blind or something?"

" No. No, I didn't say that."

" So what were you thinking that you didn't realize his cup was almost fulling? Or was he entering your eyes already?" He said, a hint of jealousy sounded in his voice.

" I don't know. . ." She wept. "I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't look at him, I swear on my father's grave, I was only thinking about my parents, that's all. "

He drags her hair, pulling her to himself. She was shivering. "If I ever find out you're lying to me, I swear in your parents grave, I'm gonna torture you down to hell. Understood? "

She nodded her head.

" I need the words, Ana. I wanna hear the words. Do you understand?" He repeated.

" Yes, sir. " She said aloud, groaning at the pain.

" Good." He let go of her hair. " Now shut the door and don't think of sneaking out or letting anyone else in." He leans close to her face. " Always remember this, Ana, I've got eyes everywhere for you. So don't even think of doing anything funny. " He threatened.

He exits the room, slamming it hard against the wall. Anastasia goes to lock it, returning to her bed, her eyes soaked in tears.

"I thought you loved me, dad. I thought I was the most precious thing in your life, but I was wrong. Even in your dying moment, you still sold me out? You didn't even look me in the eye, you just sold me out?" She wept. " I don't pity your death because you deserve it. I pity you mom, if only you were here, you would know you made a very big mistake dying with him." She said, painfully.

She holds the area Pablo had held her, rubbing it gently. She recalled the incident back at the dinning room, the way he held her hand, the way he looked at her with so much concern in his eyes.

Why does she feel like he was different from the others? Why didn't she feel scared when she was close to him? She kept thinking of it that she didn't realize she was still holding her wrist.

She couldn't sleep with the pains of everything happening in her life, plus the marks from Michael's torture. Earnestly, she prayed that somehow she would be freed from the Escobar family for darn good.

But will that ever be possible for her? Especially now she is Michael's special.

~~~~

If you ever have the chance to meet Micheal, what will be your reaction?