"Why would you ask that? Here you're getting twice as much money for an hour" Loretta's brows furrowed in confusion, her gaze was full of suspicion.

"I mean... it's just closer to my apartment and all" Clara finished lamely. Damn, she fucked up, she fucked up so hard. She was supposed to ask her how she can get recruited to become one of Desmond's call-girls. But it was almost impossible to do this in a natural way during a casual conversation about the former workplace. Which made very much sense.

Loretta gave her a long look and said "I need to get this order" she left. And just like that Clara has lost sight of her for the whole event.

After a few hours of serving drinks, she was exhausted. She sat down for the moment to rest and drink some water. Her shift was almost over, she was glad. Today has been crowded as ever, business was booming. Maybe she should hack into a bank, steal some money and open up her own nightclub? That would be interesting and mentally stimulating.

"Leah?" the male voice called.

She was snatched from her thoughts by Arturo. She never saw him this serious, she actually got spooked.

"Arturo, can I help you?" Clara asked standing up.

"You need to come with me," he interrupted her. No smile on his face, the warmth from his eyes – gone. Was he upset that she took a small break?

"Can I finish my shift first?" She asked, trying not to sound too nervous.

"No. Someone will cover for you, don't worry about it" that actually worried her.

Loretta was looking at Clara with an apologetic expression and Clara immediately knew she spoke about their conversation with someone.

Other than the unique interior Himeros club had was the secret door. No, really. There was a secret door. But almost no one entered them. Those were massive metal doors and judging from the lock a card was needed to enter. But the elaborate locking system wasn't enough, two bodyguards were guarding whatever was inside.

Clara didn't like the idea of going inside at all but she didn't seem to have a choice. Arturo's grip seemed to be light but she knew she couldn't get away from it. The bodyguards did not acknowledge their existence directly but they did inform someone through 2-way radio that someone is entering.

The door opened and the corridor lit up. There were the stairs leading into the unknown. Clara didn't want to go down there and she really didn't like how ominous the sound of closed doors appeared to be. Clara was scared. Her hands were clammy, her shoulders tight. Her heart was about to give out from all the stress she was feeling.

On the bottom of the stairs, the man greeted them. He was wearing a simple black T-shirt, black pants, and a silver chain around his neck. He was bald and scary-looking. Clara would lose her mind if she met someone like that in a dark alley.

"Antonio I need to speak to the boss" Arturo announced, he spoke as if he was asking permission which was weird since he was a manager here.

"Boss is not available today. Who is she?" Antonio asked, his gaze shifted to Clara.

"Leah Black. She was asking questions about Loretta's former occupation"

Something flickered in Antonio's eyes. "Go back to work, Arturo. You, come with me" that response terrified Clara. It means she's going to be left alone with this scary man. She wanted to ask Arturo to stay but when she turned towards him she saw him already leaving.

Antonio directed his attention to her. They were now facing each other and Clara had nowhere to run.

"I need to search for you," he announced.

"Wh-" Clara didn't even finish the sentence before the brutal hand traveled up and down her body touching the place she would never let strangers touch. Her muscles tightened in response, she nervously gulped down the saliva her mouth was producing. The whole situation made her body tremble in fear and disgust.

"I'm going to be keeping this for now" Antonio informed, and slide her cellphone into his pocket. She wanted to tell him to give it back but she sensed that it's pointless. "Alright, get in," he said after he opened the door for her.

The office had dim lighting. Brown, black and dark red were the color theme of the room. The furniture was dark-colored. The flooring was made of mahogany wood. Three chairs surrounded the wide desk. One chair looked more comfortable, had a burgundy color and traditional button-tufted styling. The room was big and the darkness was contrasted by the vivid colors of art pieces hung on the walls.

Soon another man showed up at the office.

"Sit down," Antonio instructed curtly while holding his phone to his ear.

"Capo, una delle cameriere stava facendo domande sugli affari di Laffan. L'ho portata di sotto. Si, capisco. (Boss, one of the waitresses was asking questions about Laffan's business. I brought her downstairs. Yes, I understand)" he didn't hang up which mean a person on the other side of the phone did.

After that – absolute silence.

Antonio didn't feel the need to make small talk.

He was hovering over her while she was sitting in front of the desk. She wondered what is going to happen to her now and cursed at herself for the clear mistake she has made. If she continued to investigate through hacking only none of it would have happened. Noah was right all along.

She wanted to burst into tears and she focused all her willpower and energy into not doing that. Only pathetic people cry. Her fists clenched, knuckles whitened as her nails were digging into her skin. The pain grounded her.

"Why am I here?" she finally asked to break the torturous silence.

"For questioning"

"Questioning?" She repeated dryly.

"A conversation" he corrected himself and sent her way something that was supposed to be an encouraging smile but it turned out just creeping her out more.

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" She asked.

"If you're not then shut the fuck up before I make you" he warned, the traces of smile from his lips gone.

Great. Just great.

She's going to die here.