Chapter 1.32: Miss Caregiver

When the two made it to Cleo's bedroom, Leila realized that they weren't alone. She could hear someone cleaning up and talking to themself. Mentally, the teenager cursed as she remembered that her maid, Jisu, was there. The woman had demanded to clean the room from top to bottom after seeing its state one morning. She couldn't have the woman see Alek without warning. Or else she would scream her head off, calling him a brute and a creep.

She turned and whispered to her brother in a hushed tone. "Wait out here. I want to make sure the coast is clear." Hesitantly, he nodded, but she could tell he was suspicious about what was up.

The teenager took a deep breath and exhaled before opening the room door. Jisu's back was to her, so she slid the door closed without her noticing. The bedroom had been cleaned thoroughly, with the floor being wet from a mop nearby. The older woman was wearing elbow-high gloves as she scrubbed off Cleo's dresser. She was so focused on cleaning she had zoned out. Leila walked up to her back and tapped it. She was careful to make sure the woman wasn't near the mop's water bucket. If she accidentally scared her and caused her to scream, it would make Alek run for the hills.

Thankfully, the maid only jumped and knocked her foot against the dresser's leg. The two winced at the sound and the woman flushed red in pain. That was going to leave a bruise under her thin white socks. Leila stepped back as she whipped around with an annoyed look on her face and her hands on her hips. Her mouth hung open as she took in the girl's appearance and guilty expression. She closed her mouth and rubbed at her forehead.

"This better be good because you just made me hurt my good foot," Jisu said as she gestured for the teenager to cough up whatever she had to confess.

The teenager grabbed the maid's shoulders and leaned over to whisper in her ear. "Quiet down. Alek is right outside the door and he's high. My mother has been drugging him and it's bad."

Jisu's eyes widened at the mention of the man. "Are you serious? Cleo, you better be joking." Her tone was also hushed as she stared at the teen in disbelief.

The jade-eyed girl shook her head. "I'm not." She let go of the woman and began to whine. The teen looked Jisu in the eye as she spoke. "Please, Jisu, just treat him like you'd treat me. He's not himself."

"And I guess he wasn't himself when he attacked you then." The maid argued, only to crumble at the sight of the teenager's begging. It was hard to say no to her watery eyes and trembling lip.

Leila was really playing it up. She knew that she would have to act her ass off to convince her. "I'm begging you, please help him. I've forgiven him and I know you can too!" Dramatically, she threw her arms around the woman and sniffled. Inside, she was screaming from embarrassment.

The navy-haired woman stumbled backward from the sudden hug. She slowly held the teen tightly and her face softened as she patted her back. "I just don't trust him. Your brother's changed for the worse and I'm not sure if he's worth being helped."

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Behind the woman, she put on a distraught look and made sure to hiccup as she spoke. The woman needed to believe she was falling apart. "I know what he did was cruel, but he's troubled. You don't know how bad he looks! He's half dead!" Leila started to cry harder to make her ruse believable.

"Alright, alright. I'll help you, but we'll have to keep this under wraps, or else the others will lose it." The teenager kicked her legs gleefully as the maid let out an exhausted sigh.

When they finally opened the bedroom door, they found Alek passed out. The two women had to carry the man in by his legs and shoulder. They hurried to get him in case anyone noticed and Jisu locked the door behind them. His clothing was drenched in sweat and his forehead was burning hot. Whatever he had been taking was destroying his body. Once they stripped him down, they saw the full extent. His left arm looked like they had brutalized it with needle marks, scabs, and bruises from hand prints. His right side wasn't much better. The two women looked at one another with worry.

No discussion needed to be made as they went to work. Jisu left the room and came back a minute later with a bucket. It was filled with cool water and the maid headed Leila with a rag to dip in. The teenager could see that the man desperately was in need of a bath. But in his current state, that would be impossible. So a wipe-down with a wet rag and a soft towel would have to do. Leila was careful not to be too rough with them, but his body was filthy.

There weren't just bruises from beatings, but healing burn marks and whip indents on his sides. That explained his fever. The man was pulsating from the amount of pain he was in. After each wipe she made, she found herself wanting to scream with frustration. Cleo's mother had tortured him as she wanted, but didn't bother to clean up after herself. It was a miracle the man hadn't caught some type of infection and died. The woman was so careless; it was like she had thrown Alek into the trash.

"Lord have mercy," Jisu muttered as she rang out the rag in her hands. It was black from the dirt.

Leila sat on her knees with a blank expression. "My mother went too far." She bit her lip. "Jisu, do you think we can detox him like this?"

The maid stopped and shook her head. "I doubt it. He needs help from a professional, not us." The two looked at the man as he trembled in his sleep. His mouth moved as he mumbled and whined in pain.

The dark-haired woman knew that the older of the two was right. With how badly Alek was suffering, he needed a professional to care for him. The man would go through withdrawal after she trashed his drugs and it wouldn't be pretty. He would be out of his mind for some time, vomiting and fainting. The teenager knew this was on her shoulders. She should have expected this. Leila just assumed Cleo's mother would see him as a worthwhile asset. Getting someone who works in the field of mercenary and security work addicted to drugs was nuts. It made her realize she had underestimated her cruelty.

To fix this, she'd have to put her ass on the line. Leila doubted she could contact a nurse without alerting her father. But right now, seeing Alek's state just made her not give a damn. Doing so was her best course of action, and Alek needed to be helped. If she had paid up, she'd pay a hefty amount. And if her father had anything to say about it, they would talk after the check cleared. She wouldn't have all her work go down the drain because of Alek dying. Cleo's other brothers were still coming home, and they had the Bryants in their basement. Too much was at stake for her to just roll over and give in.

"Jisu, I'm going to need you to get me a list of live-in nurses and caregivers in town. They have to have experience with abuse victims." She said, and was careful not to give away too much information.

The navy-haired woman nodded and moved to grab the teenager's rag. "I'll get you the list as soon as possible. I will be as discreet as possible." Leila found herself believing the maid's words.

"Thank you." They both knew she was thanking her for more than the list. But it wasn't said as the woman smiled at the heiress and nodded.