We were waiting for the inevitable.

Sooner or later, Astor was going to make an appearance. We were sitting ducks in that mansion, just waiting for her to arrive and do her worst to us. 

I was worried. I'd bitten my nails down to the quick, constantly looked over my shoulder in fear of my sister appearing behind me. 

Ryker had reassured me time and time again that Astor wouldn't hurt me, but how could he make such promises? She had an agenda of her own, and plenty of opportunities to come kill me.

Would she really do that? 

Maybe. After all, she'd killed our parents and her own sister in cold blood. 

But a part of me still believed Astor was just an innocent girl, someone who'd been misunderstood along the way. I wanted to believe she hadn't caused the fire. I needed that to be true. After all these years, I was more eager than ever to find out the truth.

Ryker seemed to sense my discomfort, but he never brought it up, which only made me more agitated. I wanted him to address it, to speak about Astor, to torture myself by knowing every last detail of their liaison. 

One morning, a few days after we'd slept together, I snapped.

I'd been staying at Ryker's home for the past few days, and I was getting antsy. I needed to solve the mystery I'd come there to deal with it. I wouldn't be able to stay still until I'd had my face-off with Astor, and knowing she could be waiting behind any corner was driving me crazy.

"You seem so jumpy today," Ryker told me with a pinched expression. "Just sit down, tesoro. Play the game with me."

We were playing chess, just like we'd done so many times when I was still working for Kain, watching Ophelia. 

Those names seemed alien to me now. We hadn't mentioned them in so long.

"I'm sorry," I said, tapping my foot. "I'm just nervous. I want this to be over with. You said you're trying to find her?"

"Yes. I'm doing my best to find her, Ginger. Your fidgeting won't help matters."

"Well, I'm sorry." My chin trembled. "I'm sorry I'm annoying you so much."

He made a move on the chess board and met my eyes, his eyebrows rising.

"I'm sorry," I said again. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I just… I just want to be done with this."

"With me?" he asked, tilting his head to one side. 

"Of course not." I rolled my eyes. "With her. I want to put it all behind me. I just want to close that chapter of my life and move on."

"With me?"

"Of course with you," I replied, staring at him. "Unless you had other plans."

"Just checking." He shrugged, motioning for me to keep playing.

I was overwhelmed with annoyance for him. He was treating this whole thing as if it didn't matter at all, and I hated it. I wanted him to acknowledge that this was a real problem, that Astor could be dangerous.

"Your sister isn't going to hurt you," he muttered, as if he'd read my mind. "She's not the kind of person you think she is."

"Oh, you would know," I said, crossing my arms. "You seem to know everything about her, Ryker, so why don't you tell me more."

He looked at his watch, an expensive Rolex, and sighed with resignation.

"I have to go, tesoro. I have a business meeting, and I'll be late if I don't go now."

"Fine," I huffed, leaning back in my chair with my arms still crossed. "Just leave, then."

"We'll talk later," he promised, pressing a sweet kiss to my forehead before leaving the room. But I wasn't in the right mood to appreciate his gesture. I was fuming, nervous. I just needed to get the hell out of there.

I waited until he'd left before finding Carlo, the boat operator. Ryker had taken a speedboat with one of his assistants.

"I need to get to Venice," I told Carlo.

"Where did you want to go, Signorina? We'll send someone to retrieve what you need. No need for you to go anywhere."

"No!" I stomped my foot, and he stared at me with surprise.

I didn't usually have such an explosive temper. That was what the anticipation did to me. I couldn't just wait around for Astor to show up. I needed to take action.

"You're taking me," I told Carlo firmly. "We're leaving now."

He hesitated for a moment, then sighed dejectedly. 

"Fine, Signorina. But you're on your own explaining this to L'Imperatore."

I got ready as fast as I could, putting on a simple wine-colored silk dress and boots before following Carlo to the boat. We didn't speak the entire ride, but I could see him watching me, and I knew he was nervous.

"Nothing will happen to me," I told him. "Don't worry."

"Yes, Signorina," he replied stoically. 

I left him with his boat and wandered into the city.

I wasn't sure what I was looking for or what I wanted to do; I just needed to get away from the house. I'd barely eaten in days, and I wasn't really speaking to Ryker a lot. That's what being plagued with worry did to me. This was the ugly side of myself that I never wanted to show him.

Walking into the city, I passed the Piazza San Marco again. My eyes wandered over the shop windows surrounding it, but the tarot sign wasn't out, and when I walked over to the house, nobody answered the lion-shaped knocker.

I was alone, bored, and worried. I needed to distract myself so I'd stop thinking about Astor.

Coincidentally, my secret outing reminded me of the one I'd had when I was a little kid.

My parents had punished me severely for wandering off the path they'd chosen for me, but I just wanted something different in my life. A sense of adventure. The chance to do something new.

I felt like I was wrapped in cotton wool my whole life. First by my parents, then by Kain, and later on even by Ryker, who wanted to protect me at all costs.

As I wandered the city, I thought about all those things weighing heavily on me.

At least he knew the truth about me now. He knew a lot about my family, knew what Astor had done, and he didn't hate me. He knew I'd condemned her to life in the asylum, and he didn't resent me for it. For that, at least, I was grateful.

I wandered around and walked into a tiny alley. Laundry hung between the windows above me, and I smiled to myself as I headed deeper into the city.

The streets narrowed until there was no way a car could fit—there was barely enough room for me toward the end. And it became darker and darker as I traveled into the belly of the beast.

I grew nervous then, feeling as if somebody was watching. Was it Astor? Had she found me now, at my most vulnerable?

I turned around to look over my shoulder, and my heart jumped when I saw three young boys following me. They couldn't have been older than sixteen, but they looked tall, strong.

I had a bad feeling about them.

I kept walking, trying not to pay any mind to the teenagers behind me. Perhaps they were just heading down the same path. They weren't going to hurt me. I was safe.

But as my own steps sped up, so did theirs, and I felt them moving in closer and closer.

I kept walking until I suddenly ended up in front of a wall.

It was a dead-end, a closed escape.

I turned around with shaky limbs, holding my breath.

All three boys stood in front of me, their eyes filled with dark intent as they stared at me.

"Bella ragazza," one of them said to me. "Lei ha sicuramente soldi."

They all laughed, closing the distance between us. I was surrounded.

Helplessness made my heart pound and tears prick my eyes.

I wanted Ryker. I wanted Daddy. I wanted to go back to him and never leave again.

"Lasciala da sola!"

I turned in the direction of the voice, coming face-to-face with Ryker himself. My heart leapt and I whimpered as the boys stared.

"Says who?" one of them asked.

"L'Imperatore," Ryker replied with a searing gaze.

The boy paled and took a step back.

"Scusi, Signore," another boy said, his hands up in a sign of defeat. "We didn't mean to hurt her."

"Fucking go," Ryker growled. 

His voice wasn't even human anymore. He was so angry he looked like he was going to kill all three of them.

"Go!" he yelled when they didn’t move. "Partire! Adesso!"

The boys scrambled back into the maze of alleyways.

Without looking at me, Ryker stepped forward, and I ran into his outstretched arms, letting him hold me. I was sobbing, realizing how foolish I'd been to wander off on my own.

"I'm so sorry," I cried. "I'm sorry, Daddy. I was so stupid."

"You weren't," he replied, kissing the top of my head. "It's okay, tesoro. Carlo was keeping an eye on you, and I joined him the second my meeting was over. We'd never let anyone hurt you."

"Thank you," I managed, raising my eyes to his. "I don't know what's wrong with me. This thing with Astor, it's making me fucking crazy."

"It's okay. You're going through a lot, tesoro. But you need to let Daddy take care of you."

I nodded, and he tipped my chin back gently, his eyes finding mine. He was so tempting. I wanted nothing more than to kiss him.

He made my wish come true by placing his lips on mine, kissing me as gently as if I were a porcelain doll.

"My tesoro," he whispered against my lips. "I'll never let anything happen to you, I swear to fucking God."

And I believed him, melting into the kiss and giving him every bit of me. 

He'd owned me for a long time, mind and soul. But now he'd finally come back to claim my body as well, and I wanted him to have it all. 

"I'll take care of you," he told me sweetly. "I'll chase all the bad guys away. But Ginger?"

I looked into his eyes, at the intensity in their depths.

"I don't think Astor is one of those bad guys. I don't think she's trying to hurt you. Once we find her, I want you to talk to her. I'll be right there to protect you in case something goes wrong."

"Okay," I whispered.

"Okay." He kissed me again, making me melt into his embrace. "Now be a good girl and come home with me. I want to own that body before the night is over."

"You already do," I told him, managing a weak smile.

He bit my bottom lip and pulled away, grinning at me.

"I need more. I won't stop until the world knows you're mine."