79 - Down the Spiral Staircase

**Aurora POV**

I was standing near the window, hands, and face against the wall; Groucho was standing next to me when all of a sudden, a cellphone rang. Groucho answered and even though I didn't understand his language, it was clear he was cursing. He and Grumpy had a few choice words to each other before they barked out an order. I hear several pitter-patters of footsteps retreating quickly and I hear the door slammed shut. But I do not hear the locks.

My interest is piqued now. I wait a few more moments and still don't hear the locks.

I am no longer in my half-dream state. I am fully awake now. I quickly turn around and make a very rash plan in my head as this may be my only chance to see where I am. I grab the sweatpants that are lying on the chaise lounge and put them on in haste. I was in a flimsy pink and lace nightgown that barely covered my breasts, but I didn’t have time to change.

I decided I needed to be very inconspicuous and make my way to the tray and look at the food like I usually do. I decide to take the bowl of fruit salad and walk around with it in case that little camera has a creeper watching right now. I nibble the food and make my way to the corner near the door.

I try to listen for any noises outside but it's quiet. Take a breath Aurora, you can do this. A little pep talk never hurts, right?

I set down my bowl, and grab the doorknob. I look at my wrists which are red, raw, and bruised from all the cuffing and have a moment of doubt. If I am caught, I am in so much trouble. Luckily that little voice was kicked out of a flying plane by my will to get the hell out of there and so I pulled. And to my surprise, it opened! It opened! My heart starts hammering in my chest and my breathing starts to increase like I am already running a marathon. I quietly poke my head out the doorframe and look both ways.

The last time I left the room, I didn’t get a chance to see my surroundings. I am in the middle of a large hallway. Two chairs surround the doorframe outside no doubt for my mountain guards. The hallway on both sides is long and the ceilings are quite tall, with cream-painted walls on the top two-thirds of the wall and a nice burgundy red on the bottom third. There was a soft cream-colored carpet on the ground. There is nice amber lighting coming from modern glass wall mounts throughout the hall and a few super large landscape pictures adorn the walls giving a pop of color and personality.

No one was in the hall. There are several closed doors on both sides. On the right, I see two cutouts of the wall at the end of the hall, and it looks like the hall continues on both sides, but I also see a cut in the wall on the left side but it's significantly larger and the lighting looks different.

I took a chance, followed my gut and went to the left again. I creep against the wall, thankful I decided to wear cozy socks last night. I can hear voices shouting in the distance and I hear doors slamming closed and opening hurriedly, lots of footsteps echoing the walls. I finally make it to the large opening and make sure the coast is clear before stepping out into the larger open space.

I come upon a giant breathtaking spiral staircase full of white marble with flecks of black and gold. A huge crystal chandelier the size of my old apartment hangs at eye level. I peek below the banister and see lots of black-clothed figures scurrying about and then the voices become distant, maybe most are outside.

I make my way down the stairs, taking some two at a time. I pass by two more floors before I see the bottom. If I wasn't in a rush to get the hell out of this place, I would admire the beautiful architecture. This is clearly an older building with trusses, archways, vaulted ceilings, and even stained-glass windows but there is modern decor and advanced in many areas, blending seamlessly to create a perfect mix of past and future.

I freeze with one story left to go. I hear Brianna screaming “You idiots!” I then heard three pops of a gun. POP! POP! POP! I had to quickly hide my mouth with my hands to silence my scream. I felt tears trailing down my face. Not again I first thought. My heart was going to jump out of my throat and run up a mountain. “This is a code Black, dumbasses. I will stab your eyes out and feed them to your children if you don’t get your shit together. Go help round up the shipment. And get this shit cleaned up!” That voice was Brianna’s but it was laced with such malice and hate. This was supposedly the same girl who insisted on painting my toes neon colors every weekend. The same girl who would force me to wear cucumber face masks while we watched romcoms and gorged ourselves on chocolate milk duds and popcorn. The same girl who told me every detail of her sex life and yet protected me from every catcall and handsy drunks.

I waited a few moments and silently mourned my best friend and sent a silent prayer to those who were killed by her hand. I listened for all the footsteps to disappear before heading down the last set of stairs. I took a quick up above me to make sure no one was chasing behind. If I wasn’t trying to escape this hellhole I would have stayed to admire the intricate architectural masterpiece as this was certainly one of the most impressive spiral staircases I had just descended. It was gorgeous. The giant chandelier gave the whole view a light elegance. The natural light reflecting off the crystals was simply museum-worthy.

When I reach the bottom, I halt my steps. Lying face down in a puddle of ruby-red liquid is a guard with a hole in his head.

I see a huge double wooden door, with a family crest carved into the panels, at the end of the equally massive foyer that is covered in dark mahogany wood panels that have a nice sharp contrast against the white marble tiles on the floor. I have no choice but to sidestep the body. I made it almost to the end of the foyer and looked around once more before creeping to the door, hugging the wall in an attempt to be like James Bond. This is too perfect though. Something doesn't feel right...

The front door bursts open, making me freeze once again. Luckily I am hidden slightly behind the main door. In walks the man of the hour, the devil himself. The same man whose eyes haunt my dreams and plague my thoughts every day. The man who makes me shiver in fear every time I hear the locks click.

He wasn't looking up. He was on his phone, typing furiously, a Bluetooth earpiece in his ear, screaming at some poor soul on the other end of the phone. He was clearly in what I would call "Boss Mode." Jason and Charlie had this different aura about them when they went into Boss Mode. They were harsh and demanding, their aura seemed darker, and they commanded respect and cooperation. They would ooze confidence and they were always thinking on their feet. That was Boss Mode.

At that moment, I realized how I was missing those guys more and more each day and weirdly my lower belly got a little tight and I felt a familiar itch down there... not the time Aurora!

He walked away to the other side of the foyer into a large open room, I presume a sitting room and I took my chance to sneak around the open door and finally outside in the fresh cold air.

I bolted the last twenty feet and as I snuck over the threshold, I looked behind me to make sure he wasn't watching, only to run into a very hard wall.

Oof. I stumble back, only for that wall to grab my arms before I can fall on my ass. That was not a wall, but a very large man. It took me a moment to shake me out of my trance and looked up at the person who had me in his grasp.

The first thing I saw was his hazel golden eyes. Those eyes. I couldn't move. I couldn't think. I don't know if I am currently breathing or not, but I think I am. I was utterly entranced and frozen in my place.

I barely recognized that golden smile that grew on his face. "moon pie?" he asked breathlessly.

My shock was still ever present, and my brain was in overdrive trying to answer questions that I hadn't even thought to ask. My breath caught in my throat once again and my heart raced. After blinking several times, I was able to speak a single word, a word that I thought I would never need to say again in a million lifetimes:

"Father?"