Her eyes narrowed, and she slammed her book shut. “Just go take a shower,” she snapped, but the silence that followed was loaded with unspoken words.
“I’m stuck here, aren’t I?” It was obvious. “What is our job?”
She sighed, tossing her book aside. “Fine. We serve them. Entertain them. Massage them. Whatever they ask. It’s all part of the job.”
A knot twisted in my stomach. “Entertain?”
The word tasted bitter on my tongue.
“Yes,” Clara said, not even looking up. “It’s part of the deal.”
No, I couldn’t be part of this.My mind raced, but I forced myself to stay composed.
“One wrong move, and you’ll hate yourself.”
A chill ran through me. I couldn’t understand how they had become so numb to it all, how they had accepted their fates as if they had no choice.
“But why?” I asked, almost breathless. “Why would anyone do this?”
Clara didn’t answer immediately. She shrugged and turned to me with a look of cold indifference. “The only way to survive here is to stay on the good side of the family. If you’re useful, they’ll keep you around. If not, well, you’ve seen what happens.”
“Family?”
“Yes. Just make sure you never have to face the boss. If you work for Renat, be good to him. If the other two brothers show up and you have to serve them, just be good to them. Otherwise,they will take you to the boss, and you are finished.
I gulped. “There are two more?”
Clara chuckled, my cluelessness earning me a smile. “The boss and his two brothers are children from the first wife. Renat is from a mistress, and the only nice one.”
Renat? Nice? She must be kidding me.
“The other two, Dmitri and Roman, aren’t always here. In fact, I’ve never seen Roman, only heard of him. Dmitri comes once in a while.” She got up, straightening her skirt. “The point is, stay in the shadows. And now Renat wants you to work for him, try to get on his good side, and you’ll be fine here.”
How were they so comfortable with this?
“Are you sure you all don’t need help?”
Clara shook her head, pulling a white shirt and a black skirt from the wardrobe. “We wear this. We are the same size, so you can wear mine until you get yours.”
I had no choice but to accept the outfit.
“Be quick.” She said curtly, striding to the makeup table. “You’d better play this well, or you’ll end up like Carol.”
My brows pulled together. “Carol?”
“Yes, she was sold to another mafia group,” she said without hesitation. I froze at the mention of the mafia. Did such groups even exist in real life? “Are you listening?” Clara’s voice drew me back. “If you get sold to another mafia family, they’ll treat you worse than filth.”
“What? I don’t understand?”
“I mean, if you are good, why would they sell you? Being sold means you’re garbage.”
“Wait. Another mafia?” I said. “Does that mean this is a mafia—”
“What do you think?”
The reality had my head spinning. I realized I was in something worse than what I thought.
A mafia organization? It made sense why they killed without mercy.