Page 22 of Breaking the Annulment

Someone knocked at the door, even though it was open. Vasilios, old and steady, shuffled in. His graying hair matched the worry lines on his brow. He was too old to go out in the field anymore, but his mind was as sharp as ever. He could never quite retire. That was fine with Michalis. He respected the old man, and he’d been with the family as long as Michalis could remember. Vasilios knew everything there was to know about their dark criminal world.

“Boss, we have fresh intel from an informant near the docks. The Romanians have rerouted more shipments.”

Michalis nodded curtly, gaze never leaving Aurelia’s figure on-screen. “Track it down. Double men at the perimeter. If they try crossing our gates, put them down.”

Vasilios hesitated, glancing at the monitor. Aurelia flicked her hair over her shoulder. She seemed irritated about something. “They might be tracking your new…guest.”

Michalis’s jaw clenched. “Keep your eyes and ears open.” A feral glint sparked in his eyes. “He’s never getting anywhere near my wife again. I’ll bury him first.”

Vasilios inclined his head. “Yes, sir. I’ll tell the boys.” He shuffled out, his wrinkle lined face full of purpose.

Finally, alone with the video feeds, Michalis rewound the footage to watch Aurelia in the dining room. He homed in on the curve of her lips as she ate the strawberries, leaning into him, thefaint tremor as she turned away. A savage hunger had gripped him the moment she’d leaned over him. He’d thought about taking her there, bent over the dining table.

Whatever her game was, she was playing with fire. Let her skip meals. Let her toss away the cell phone––his peace offering. She wanted a war? He’d let her see how pointless her resistance was. He rose, stepping away from the console.

He stalked to a control panel in the next room, typed in a few commands. Lights in her corridor dimmed. The kitchen staff would be instructed to bring her only minimal, bland food. If she threw out the laptop, too, he’d take away her ability to roam around the house. If she kept pushing, he’d keep taking.

A smirk tugged at his mouth. She’d learn the cost of crossing him. And if that stoked the fire in her eyes, all the better. Leaning back in his chair, he waited for the moment she noticed what he’d done.She may loathe him for it, but she was in his domain now and he was the king.

10

Saturday, 9:00 am.

Aurelia satin a chair out on her balcony, ignoring the tray of food Gita had delivered earlier. She’d come back to retrieve it, assuming Aurelia had eaten at least a few bites. She hadn’t. She was hungry, not starving.

The young maid’s eyes brimmed with concern, but Aurelia stuck to her rebellion. She hadn’t failed to notice how the corridor lamps near her room now flickered at half-power, no doubt a punishment for her breakfast antics. As promised, a new laptop was waiting for her when she got to her room. There were several sticky notes on the lid, boring instructions mostly, informing her she would not have access between midnight and 8:00 am, that kind of thing. But no password. No way to connect to the internet.Bastard. He must have told one of his goons to get rid of that one after I ruined the phone in the hot coffee. Still worth it.

The hallway was eerily dim, reminiscent of an early twilight. Michalis had purposely dimmed them,she surmised, smirking.He should have cut the power completely if he wants me to suffer from anything besides boredom.

“Mrs. Giannopoulos… is there anything else I can do?” she asked softly, a note of genuine worry in her voice.

Aurelia forced a nonchalant shrug, in case the maid had been instructed to observe Aurelia’s behavior and report back to Michalis. “I don’t need anything.” She softened slightly at Gita’s crestfallen expression. “But thank you for asking. You seem like a nice person. How long have you worked here?”

A flicker of relief brightened Gita’s face. “I joined the staff a few months ago.” Her accent was gentle, each syllable carefully pronounced. “Mr. Giannopoulos hired me after… after I lost my husband last year.”

Aurelia’s chest tightened, realizing how little she knew about the people around her. “I see,” she murmured.

“Are you sure you don’t need anything before I go to bed, Mrs. Giannopoulos?”

“Thank you, Gita. I’m… fine.”

Gita was almost through the door when Aurelia had an idea. “Actually, wait.”

The young maid turned around, relief in her eyes. “Yes, ma’am?”

Aurelia smiled. “If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, maybe you could ask Mr. Giannopoulos for the wifi login?” She pointed to the new laptop, all of the sticky notes still attached. “Silly husband,” she chuckled, forcing her eyes open like big saucers, and said in her most innocent voice, “Michalis gave me this amazing laptop but forgot to give me the login. Would you mind asking him for it?”

Gita hesitated, her throat working hard to swallow. “You wantmeto go ask him?”

Aurelia’s smile widened. The girl was obviously terrified of her boss. “Yes, if you wouldn’t mind?”

“Well, I’m not sure…”

Aurelia jumped up from her chair and had to stop herself from running to the laptop. She walked over to it casually and pulled off the sticky note that had only Michalis’s initials on it. “See? It says right here––” She waved the empty note around a few times, careful not to let Gita get a real look at it, then pretended to read, “Enjoy your new laptop, wife. Stay out of chat and don’t watch porn without me. Heart emoji, M.’”

Gita’s cheeks bloomed with color. “Oh, alright. I––I don’t know the password the family uses, but I can give you the one for the employees, if that would be okay?”

Aurelia grinned. “That would be great. Let’s get it set up, then.”

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