It was around 11 PM when all the guests had left the villa. The rain fell relentlessly, booming on the roof and sliding down the windows. After finishing his work, Ares was preparing to return to his room, located in the servants' area. Throughout the evening, he had watched the smiling guests leave the villa one by one. Now it was his turn to retreat.
However, one thought haunted him. His mother had not returned. It had been almost two days since she disappeared, and no one seemed to know where she had gone. There was an unsettling emptiness in Ares' heart, a feeling he couldn't shake.
After thinking for a while, he decided to go to the kitchen, hoping to find someone who might have information. The kitchen was quiet, lit only by the weak light of a lantern hanging on the wall. As he moved around, he heard footsteps and turned around.
One of the cooks noticed him and approached, drying her hands on her apron.
"Ares, what are you doing here at this hour? Shouldn't you be in bed?" she asked with surprise and concern.
"I'm looking for my mother," he answered, his voice trembling. "She disappeared two days ago. Do you know where she might be?"
The woman hesitated for a moment, lowering her gaze. Then she said, "The last time I saw her, the butler came looking for her and told her that Mr. Asteris wanted to see her. She dropped everything and went with him. I haven't seen her since."
Ares felt his heart tighten. "And she didn't say anything else?" he pressed, trying to hold back his panic.
The woman shook her head. "No, Ares. But you should dry off and go back to your room. You can't solve anything tonight, and with this rain, you'll get sick."
Ares thanked her with a nod, but his mind was already elsewhere. He needed to speak to the butler, and the only way to do that was to get into the main villa.
The main entrance and other access points were guarded, but Ares knew a way in: the kitchen entrance, which led to the Asteris family's dining room. He moved carefully, advancing through the dark corridors to avoid drawing attention from the guards.
He managed to get inside the villa, where the atmosphere was solemn and tense. The walls were adorned with portraits and elegant chandeliers, but to Ares, all that luxury was meaningless. He had to find the butler.
As he walked, he heard voices coming from a nearby room. He approached quietly, his heart pounding, and stopped in front of a slightly open door.
"Sir," said a voice Ares immediately recognized as the butler's. "If anyone finds out what happened to that woman, it could be a problem."
Another voice responded, deep and authoritative: it was Mr. Asteris. "There won't be any problems if we do things the right way. That woman was just a servant. She should have been grateful for my attention. Instead, she chose to take her own life."
Ares held his breath, his body frozen.
"There's just one thing to clarify," Asteris continued. "Was she alone? Is there anyone she could be tied to?"
The butler hesitated for a moment. "Sir, there's a boy who works here and lives with her. He could be her son."
A tense silence filled the room. Then Asteris' cold, uncompassionate voice broke the silence. "If he's her son, get rid of him too. I don't want anything about this story to come back to haunt me."
Ares pulled away from the door, his heart racing. He quickly returned to his room, his hands shaking as he searched the drawer next to the bed. He found a necklace with a simple pendant, the only gift his mother had ever given him.
He clenched it in his fist, remembering her words: "Always keep this necklace with you. I want you to believe it can protect you. And I want you to remember how much I love you."
As the pain overwhelmed him, something inside him changed. Fear gave way to deep anger, a desire for survival and revenge. He wouldn't run. He would stay.
He sat on the bed, still holding the necklace tightly, and stared at the door. He would wait for the butler. He would confront the man who had forced his mother to take her life and now wanted to destroy him too.
His red eyes shone in the darkness of the room, filled with determination. He was no longer just a servant. He was a boy with a mission: to protect himself and bring justice to his mother.