Chapter 15: The sister's at war.

ISADORA’S POV

I stood outside the dark docks in the cold rain, staring down at the glowing text message on my screen for three whole minutes while the reality of what just happened set in. 

“Who could be this?” I pondered.

The anonymous sender had played me like a total fool. They just wanted me far away from the hospital so they could move freely without me in their way. 

I crammed the phone deep into my coat pocket, turned on my heel, and ran back toward the main street to flag down a passing yellow cab.

"Take me back to Saint Jude’s Hospital," I told the driver the second I threw the door open and slid into the back seat. "And do not stop for anything."

The drive back felt twice as long as the trip out, my mind running through every possible reason someone would want me out of that building. 

The moment the cab pulled up to the emergency entrance, I threw a fifty-dollar bill at the driver, jumped out before he could give me my change, and pushed through the sliding glass doors.

I took the stairs two at a time up to the fourth floor, my shoes making sharp slap sounds against the clean floor as I rounded the corner toward room 402. 

My mother was still sitting on that hard plastic chair outside the door, but she was not alone anymore. A girl in a dark jacket was standing directly over her, leaning down so close their faces almost touched. The girl turned her head at the sound of my heavy breathing, and every drop of blood drained right out of my face.

Behold Rosalind was standing right outside my father's room who was the sister I thought was missing.

"You took your sweet time getting back here," Rosalind said, her voice dropping all sweet pretenses as she stepped away from our mother and faced me head-on.

"You sent that text," I said, stopping five feet away from her while my stomach twisted into a tight, painful ball. "You lied to me just to get me out of this building."

"I needed you out of the way for an hour so I could look at our mother without you standing there acting like the golden child," 

Rosalind replied with her lips curving into a cold, bitter smile. "I wanted her to see what she threw away before you came back to play savior."

My mother sat between us on the cold chair, her body shaking as she buried her face in her small hands, completely unable to look either of us in the eye.

"I did not even know you existed until an hour ago," I said, forcing my voice to stay level even though my whole body was trembling with anger and confusion. "You think I wanted any of this?"

"I do not care what you knew," Rosalind snapped, taking a step toward me until I could see the tiny flecks of gold in her eyes. "You lived my life. You wore my silk dresses, took the piano lessons, ate off the silver plates, and you got every bit of love that belonged to me."

"Our grandfather sold you to clear a debt," I replied, pointing a finger straight at her chest. "Our parents gave you up and I was a baby, Rosalind. That was not my fault."

"You benefited from my nightmare every single day you were alive," Rosalind said, her voice dropping to a harsh whisper that hit me right in the chest. "You slept in my bed, you carried my name, and then you went and took Rafael."

Immediately she mention of his name, that made my breath hitch in my throat, but I kept my chin up and refused to back down.

"Rafael has nothing to do with you," I said. "He loves me."

"You really think he loves you?" Rosalind whispered, stepping right into my space but I did not move back. 

"Oh sweetheart, sorry dear. Now let me tell you, every time Rafael touched you, he was thinking of me," Rosalind said, her eyes fixed on mine. "Every kiss, every lie in the dark and it was all for the twin he lost. He knew where I was the whole time and he helped keep me hidden. You were just keeping my seat warm until he could bring me back."

My breath stopped as every memory with Rafael suddenly felt like mud. I stared at her, trying to find a sign that she was making it up, but her face was totally still.

"You are lying," I said as my voice barely came out.

"Check it yourself," Rosalind said as she pulled a piece of paper from her pocket and pressed it into my hand. "Look at the signature sis, at the bottom of my transfer papers."

My fingers were trembling as I opened the paper and I looked at the bottom line. Rafael's name was written right there in his dark, heavy handwriting.

Something inside me went cold and quiet as the confusion vanished, leaving only a heavy anger inside of me. 

I looked up from the paper, met her eyes. I couldn't bare this anymore, I raised my hand and slapped her across the face to the surprise of everybody watching the scene.

The sound echoed down the quiet hall as Rosalind's head turned hard to the side and she stumbled back two steps, her palm covering her cheek, with her eyes wide.

"Do not say his name to me again," I said, stepping right up to her. "And do not compare yourself to me ever again. You want to ruin this family? Go ahead. But I promise you, you will be dealing with me now."

Rosalind stared at me through her fingers, spat on the floor by my shoe, and walked away toward the exit doors.

I turned around, pulled my phone out, and called Rafael as he picked up before the second ring.

"Isadora, where are you?" he asked curiously,"I am looking for you."

"I saw the papers from five years ago," I said, "Do not call me again."

I ended the call, dropped the phone into the plastic bin by the wall, and walked out into the rain.