Part 6: The Fear of Their Own Monster

A month passed. I was drying rugs in the backyard of the villa, near the old monument. That place was always quiet; nobody walked there, and it became my safe spot.

That day, I was lost in my thoughts again. Thinking of my mother and siblings, wondering if they were still alive. I stopped thinking of my father long ago—I lost all respect for him. He ruined everything.

Then I heard a noise and peeked out from behind the monument. My chest tightened.

It was Doña Camille with Don Rafael's brother, Gerome—the one just younger than him, likely in his twenties. Two monsters, betraying their own family.

"So Doña Camille is cheating?" I whispered to myself.

I watched them. They were kissing, touching, and moving like they had been doing it for a long time. Gerome, the same man who forced himself on me when he was drunk, is now doing the same to Camille while she wants it. She liked it.

Their touch was different, hungry. My body reacted in a way I never expected. Heat rose inside me, something strange but strong. My thighs pressed together, and it felt like something was dripping, like I was peeing, but it gave me a tingling feeling. I thought all of this was only pain and disgust, but watching them made me realize something else.

Camille braced herself against the wall, gasping, while Gerome pressed harder and faster. Without thinking, my hand went to my own body. I couldn't stop. Something snapped inside me, and it felt like a shock, my whole body trembling.

Camille's body gave out too, leaning on the wall like she was melting. Gerome groaned, the same sound I had heard too many times before.

Crack!

I stepped on a twig.

They froze. Camille fixed herself quickly and ran back to the villa. Gerome turned to me, eyes full of rage.

"You saw nothing, or you're dead," he hissed.

I nodded and walked away. My legs shook, not just from fear.

From that day, Camille couldn't look me in the eye anymore. She stopped bullying me. But Gerome and his brother Patrick never changed. Camille only made sure I stayed far from Don Rafael, always putting other maids close to him. Was she afraid I might tell him?

Another month went by. I still couldn't get close to Don Rafael, though I thought of him every day. He was serious, cold, and barely spoke to anyone—even his wife.

One night, the sound of an ambulance woke us all. We ran outside. Don Napoleon was being carried away on a stretcher, his face pale. A heart attack, they said. The ambulance sped off into the night.

Everyone gathered outside the villa. That's when I saw Don Rafael again, standing near, worry written all over his face.

He looked at me and asked softly, "Have you been in school, Tasya?"

I stammered. "No, Don Rafael."

"Tomorrow, wear your best dress. We will visit your family."

It was the happiest night of my life. My chest felt like it would burst. I wanted to hug him, to thank him, but before I could, he was gone. Tears rolled down my face—tears of joy. I'm going to see my family again.

I couldn't sleep at all. I hugged the other maids, crying with excitement, and they cried with me.

In the morning, I wore my best dress—the one I had saved since leaving the hospital. I had kept it for a special day, and this was the day.

Then Camille's voice cut through the room like a knife.

"Everyone out, except you, Tasya."

The others left, leaving me alone with her.

She stared at me, her face pale, voice shaking but full of hate. "What are you planning to do? If you say a word, I'll kill everyone you love. Do you understand?"

And then she walked away.

I never planned to say anything. Gerome and Patrick had shut me down long ago with their threats. But that day, I understood something I hadn't before.

It wasn't me who should be afraid.

It was they.

Because the one they feared most was Don Rafael.
And I knew then—he was my key to bringing them all down.