After Christmas, I went on a vacation. For the trip back, I failed to get a train ticket with a sleeping berth. Thus, I was tired and mussed when I got home.

When I opened the door, someone shoved a bunch of cleaning tools at me.

The man sneered at me and commanded, “Hurry up! You need to finish cleaning this place before 6:00 p.m.!”

I looked at him and saw that he was wearing my father’s silk pajamas. I took a few steps back to check that yes, this was my family’s two-story mansion.

It was my home, but who was this man?

And what was this about cleaning? Did the man intend for me to clean? I was the son of the owners of the house!

I messaged the family’s group chat and mentioned my mother. The message read, [@Mom, your boytoy is asking me to clean the place up. What gives?]

Seconds after the text was sent, the group chat erupted into chaos.

My father quickly sent through a string of question marks.

Grandma Lily: ???

Grandpa Mark: Are you home, darling grandson? Do you have a new girlfriend?

Grandpa Stephen: What’s going on? You dare to cheat on my son?

Mom: I’m innocent! What a horrible accusation to make! Son, don’t talk nonsense. What boytoy are you talking about? I’m in a meeting at the university!

Me: You’ll know what’s going on once you get home!

Just as I was replying to the texts, a rough hand shot out and snatched my phone away.

“Hey, what gives!” I subconsciously moved to get it back.

The man clutched my phone and tried to loom over me, his face getting so close that it nearly touched my nose.

“Did you hear me? I was talking to you! You’re supposed to be working, not messing around on your phone! Young people are just so lazy these days! Can't do any work at all! Let me tell you something, bub. Since you’ve accepted this gig, you’re going to work hard on it. If you don’t, I’ll complain about it.”

The absurdity of it made me laugh.

Honestly, this was the first time, saving my father, that someone dared to snatch my phone from me.

“Give me my phone back.” I glared at the man coldly. My voice was no longer light and teasing. It was cold and threatening.

My paternal grandparents had always taught me to play it low-key and treat everyone fairly. They were the reason I did not think too highly of myself. But that did not mean I was going to let some male babysitter push me around!

“Give it back to you? And if I don’t?” Instead of returning my phone, the man lifted it higher, sneering disdainfully. “What? Would you like to call the police? Or would you like me to complain to your boss? Let me tell you something. I’m the favorite of the mistress of this family, Professor Corleone. All I have to do is say a word and you’ll be out of work!”

“You’re the mistress’ favorite, are you?” I folded my arms and smiled ingenuously at him. “Why would you be her favorite, old man? Is it because you’re old or because you don’t shower?”

The man went red. It seemed that I had found his sore spot. He roared, “What did you say, punk? I think you’re just jealous. You’re jealous about how lucky I am and how good my life is! You’re jealous that I’m the master of this family! You should really look at yourself in the mirror before coveting what others have. You’re too poor to even talk back to me!”

I looked down at myself.

For my comfort during the train ride, I had chosen a set of grey cotton sweats. My hair was a rat’s nest from sleeping on the train. Indeed, I did not look like much. Plus, I had gotten a tan during my vacation and had not shaved. I did look a little bit like a bum.

To this man, all of this had become proof that I came here as a janitor.

“I’m the son of the owners of this house.”

I could not be bothered to waste more time with this man, so I told him exactly who I was.

“You’re wearing my dad’s pajamas. You’d better take them off right now, this instant before getting out of here.”

It was quiet for a moment.

Then, the man burst into shrill, deranged laughter.

“What a joke! You’re the son of the owners of this place? If you are, then I’m the king of the world!”

The man laughed so hard that he was shaking all over. He pointed a finger at me and said, “Listen, punk, you shouldn’t mess around so much. Although I’ve never met the guy, Professor Corleone told me her son is a king among men. He’s studying abroad! He doesn’t wear no-name trash like you! I’ve met a lot of your kind. You think you can pretend to be rich and powerful just because you’re not as good as others. Do you really think that will get you anywhere?”

The man’s laughter died off, and his gaze became something vicious.

“I sympathize with you. It’s hard to find work when you’re young. You should just do your work diligently, and I’ll pretend you didn’t say any of that. If you keep going on this way, you won’t get a single cent. Worse, you’ll have to pay me compensation for the stress you’ve put me through!”

I took a deep breath. I could feel my temper rising.

“I’ll only say this once more. This is my home. My name is Xavier Newitz. If you don’t believe me, you can call Professor Corleone and check.”

“Why would I call her? She’s busy and doesn’t have time for a scammer like you!”

The man seemed to be convinced that I really was some kind of scammer. Or perhaps he was simply refusing to believe that I was telling the truth.

“Give me my phone back.” I took a step forward and extended a hand to grab it.

“Hey, I was trying to give you a way out!” The man suddenly went berserk and threw my phone to the floor hard.

The smash reverberated through the living room. That phone was barely a month old, with all the top specifications. The screen had spiderweb cracks, and the frame was in pieces.

I was stunned in place. I never imagined that he would dare to break my phone.

“You…”

Before I could say more, the man picked up the filled bucket of water that had been meant for me and threw the water in my face. Its coldness was piercing as the water started seeping through my sweats, slicing into me like knives.

It was really very cold.

It was the middle of winter. Although there was heating inside the house, the water in that bucket came straight from the tap and was icy cold.

I just stood there in a daze, and I could not stop shivering all over. My hair stuck wetly to my face, droplets of water dripping onto the expensive marble floor.

“Did that clear your head?” The man still held the bucket as he looked at me condescendingly. There was twisted pleasure in his expression. “Aren’t you the master of the house? Isn’t this your home? If you ask me, you’re in for a lesson to learn! How dare you peacock around in my territory? You should have checked who you’re dealing with first!”

“Y-You’re nuts…” I wanted to speak properly, but my teeth chattered so hard that my voice shook.

“I’m nuts? I think you’re the one who’s nuts!”

The man flung the bucket away and stalked forward to grab me by the hair. My scalp burned as I was forced to look up and meet his furious gaze.

“This place is full of mansions, and they’re all far apart. You can scream all you want, but no one’s coming to save you!” he said viciously. “Do you want to call the police? Well, tough luck, your phone’s broken!”

Indeed, this area was full of mansions and so was more isolated for privacy reasons. The mansions were separated by huge gardens and trees. Unless I could escape outside, no one out there would know what was going on in here. Besides, I was already cold and tired. I had been standing in the train for six hours, and my legs were practically useless. After the cold water attack, I felt incapable of fighting against this muscular man who seemed to work out a lot.

“What do you want?”

“What do I want? I want you to remember this lesson!”

He dragged me by the hair like I was nothing but a beast and shoved me into the first-floor bathroom.

“Let go! Let go!” I struggled with all my might and tried to grab his wrists. I even tried to punch him, but my strength had sapped away too quickly, and my punches were light.

“Well, the kid dares to fight back!” The man scoffed and punched me in the face.

The punch hit really hard, and my head started buzzing. My left ear rang, and I even saw stars. Before I could get my senses back, I was shoved by the sink. The man turned the tap all the way open, the cold water blasting out.

“This should clear your head!”

He shoved me by the back of my head and pressed my head under the water in the sink.

Water instantly rushed into my nose and my mouth. Its coldness suffocated me, making me feel like I was about to die.

I struggled with all my strength, my arms lashing about wildly in the air, knocking down the hand soap and scent diffuser.

A few seconds later, the man dragged me away.

I coughed violently and sucked in huge mouthfuls of air. My lungs were burning, and water covered my face. I could not tell if it was from the water in the sink or from tears I may have shed.

“Have you had enough?” The man pulled my hair and glared at me. “Are you still going to pretend to be the master of the house?”

I glared back at him. If looks could kill, he would be dead a thousand times over!

“You’ll regret this. You’re definitely going to regret this!” I clenched my teeth and forced the words out.

The man snickered as he regarded my soaked clothes. “Look at you! You dirtied the floor of my house! What a drag!”

He suddenly let go and pointed at a rag in the corner.

“Strip.”

I was stunned for a second. “What?”

“Take off all your clothes!” The man’s gaze was menacing.

“How are you supposed to work when all your clothes are wet? I’ll have you work stark naked. That way, you won’t dirty anything up! You will clean with no clothes on, and I’ll let you leave once everything’s clean!”

“In your dreams!” I clenched my fists and placed them in front of my chest.

“Still haven’t learned your lesson, have you?”

The man fully lost it. He lunged at me like a madman and started tearing my clothes off.

“Get out of here! My mom will be home soon! You’d better let go of me now! If you don’t, my family will make you pay for this!”

I fought as hard as I could, but I was so weak that it did no good. I had thoroughly tired myself out in the past few days during my vacation. The plan had been to rest well once I got home. My wet hoodie was very heavy. It stuck to me and felt very uncomfortable. The man ripped it hard, and I could hear the sharp sound of it echo in the bathroom.

Another two punches landed on me.

Pain blossomed at my ribs, and my lip split.

My jacket was pulled off and thrown to the floor, then my hoodie.

In the end, I was left in my boxers and huddled into a corner. Both the cold and my rage made me tremble. The chill cut straight into my bones. Worse, it penetrated right through my soul.

I had been pampered from childhood. My paternal grandparents treated me like a precious jewel. My parents had never even raised their voices at me.

My life had always gone smoothly, and I never imagined that there would be anyone who could be so malicious.

The man seemed to be very pleased with what he had done.

He held onto my torn clothes and looked at me in triumph.

“Now that’s better. You would have suffered less if you’d been more obedient.” He kicked my clothes away as if they were items of trash before turning and leaving the bathroom, heading back into the living room.

He smoothed out his slightly messy hair and straightened the silk robe that had gone out of shape because of his bigger size. Then, he resumed sitting on the couch and picked up his unfinished glass of red wine. He was very deliberate as he took a sip.

“Work fast,” he yelled at me. “And don’t think about running away. I’ve locked the front door. If you don’t finish by six, I’ll put your pictures online. Everyone will see what happens to a scammer.”

My mind was hazy, and I felt dizzy. My limbs would not obey my orders.

Right then, the door bell rang.

Outside was a man in blue work overalls, a box of professional tools in hand. He was sweating heavily, and his expression was apologetic.

“I’m so sorry! I’m really very sorry!” The newcomer kept apologizing.

“The highway was so jammed up! I’m from the housekeeping company. Professor Corleone made a reservation this afternoon so I could wipe the windows and do a deep clean. I’m so sorry for being late!”

The atmosphere in the room became immediately tense.

The man who had tormented me froze up.