ADRIANA'S POV
"Adriana?" Someone was saying but I was still staring at the blank space in front of me.
No.
Slowly, I began to come back to my surroundings when someone violently shook my shoulder.
My gaze focused on Val who was staring at me with a worried glint in her eyes.
"Just leave her, Val" I heard the voice of the man who had killed Jules say.
Slowly, I looked at Vincenzo who was looking at me with a frown on his face.
"You killed him…" I whispered.
He sighed and shook his head. "Go back to the room. You did your part well"
That made my eyes widen and Val's grip on my shoulder tightened. "What do you mean my part?" My voice came out shakily and I struggled to keep the bile in my throat from rising.
He looked back at Val who gently tugged me towards the stairs.
"Adriana, let's get you to your room and get you cleaned up" She whispered, her nails digging into my skin as I lightly struggled in her grasp.
Fuck, she was strong for her age.
"No, let me talk to him," I said, my voice rising higher than a moment ago.
I refused to look down at the body that was still lying there.
"Go back to the room, Adriana" His tone was hard and I knew he was serious. Whenever he used my name, he was fucking serious but now, now I wasn't sure I wanted to do as he said.
Someone was dead.
I wasn't stupid to think that I wouldn't witness someone's death so soon in this mansion.
I had seen enough deaths and each time I had the same reaction to it. I wasn't like them here, he wanted me to fit in and I didn't want to. It was one thing to be looking at it happening from afar but being with the people who did it without batting an eye truly scared me to my bones.
"What was that about? I did my part" I asked again, ignoring Val who desperately wanted me to get out of there.
He wasn't going to kill me. That was something I knew. He had plans to make my life a hell but not orders to kill me. This was his father who was telling him what to do and his father didn't want me dead.
Not now at least.
Vincenzo would follow his father's orders. Thoroughly even. I was beginning to understand that.
"Adriana, you should go take a bath" Val urged me, her eyes straying to Vincenzo who was standing a few feet away, staring at me with the same dark look in his eyes.
Fuck him.
"Fuck you, Vincenzo LaRosa" The words escaped my lips without a second thought, and this time I didn't regret it neither did I take it back.
My words barely hit a nerve as he still stood there composed but there was a shift of expression in his eyes.
Annoyance, satisfaction. They were barely there before a stoic expression settled back on his face.
Valentina tugged me again and this time I complied, letting her drag me back up the stairs.
As I reached the top of the stairs, I could hear Vincenzo's voice ordering someone to take the body out and I gagged at that.
As soon as we reached the room, Val opened it and pushed me into it.
"Are you allowed in here?" I asked, finally focusing on her.
"Yes, I'm allowed anywhere I want in the house actually. I have more permissions than Henry" She confirmed, looking at me.
She was perfect for this place. She had the looks of every inch a skilled fighter.
"Go take a brief shower and meet me here in 10" she suggested, leaning back against the wall, her eyes watching me silently.
I nodded and walked into the bathroom, taking off the clothes and slowly entering the bathtub, water splashing from the side from the pressure.
I slowly began to scrub my body and the more I scrubbed, the more I watched the color of the water change to a light brown. Dry blood.
Damn it. I immediately increased the intensity at which I scrubbed my skin, itching for it to go away.
My skin was beginning to turn an angry red before I stopped, frustrated that I was getting this worked up. I shouldn't be.
Slowly, I got out and grabbed my bathrobe which I wrapped around my body, getting ready to go back to the bedroom when I heard voices.
"Is it done?" That was Val followed by the voice of Vincenzo.
"Keep an eye on her. I'll be back late" He said gruffly.
I stiffened, my hand resting on the doorknob and I wondered if I should leave the bathroom or just lock myself in.
The room was silent so I took my chance and opened the door, heaving a sigh of relief to see only Val who was waiting for me.
"You're done," She pushed herself off the wall.
"Where is he?" I found myself asking, my gaze darting around and sure enough, he wasn't there.
Thank fuck for that.
"We should probably talk after that, shouldn't we?" her voice was soft, her eyes watching me as I sat down in front of the bedside table, staring at myself in the mirror.
"You think?" I asked sarcastically, finding my lost sense of humor.
Luckily, she chuckled with me and came to stand beside me so we could stare at each other through the mirror.
"You're curious…wondering what you had to do with what happened today… I can't tell you stuff but know that no harm will come to you, you are safe. Do you trust me?" She asked, her hands resting on my shoulder.
Did I trust her?
"No," I said bluntly without thinking.
"Good" Her grip on my shoulder tightened slightly. "Don't trust anyone here. You're safe with us but don't trust us too much. You'll learn to adapt. You've seen a dead body loads of time, hm?" She inquired.
"It never gets old, you know?" I said softly, my voice shaking slightly.
"It never does" she affirmed, nodding her head slightly.
She reached into her jacket pulled out a small Glock 18 and placed it on the table in front of me.
I stared at the pistol, my gaze never wavering. "What is this?" I asked with bated breath.
"Yours," she said simply, hesitating before she continued. "It's with his permission. If he wants you to adjust here then you have to at least learn the ropes, right and here the basic thing is a gun. It's unloaded for now and it's for emergencies" She explained.
I refused to pick up the murder weapon. I knew why the magazine was empty, They didn't want a repeat of what had happened this morning.
"Why do you want me to learn so badly?" I asked, slowly reaching out to feel the cold metal once more in my hands.
She leaned down to my ear and whispered. "Vincenzo's world has no room for innocence, it's time you armed yourself with reality. This gun is just a tool, what matters is what you're willing to do with it"
She was right. It was my decision.