Chapter 7: Shadows of Segovia.

Isadora's Pov

If Peter Fenwick discovered that I had left the gala, he would ruin my life.

I stared down at the keys in my hand and knew that I had to betray him. 

I evaded the valet, walked three blocks in my evening dress, and finally reached my mother's old coupe.

I inserted the key into the ignition and prepared to drive away from my old life forever.

The road ahead of me was dark, but my thoughts were even darker. I knew that by leaving tonight, I could never return to the person I used to be.

I decided to go because I did not want to spend another day in the clutches of his lies.

My heart pounded so hard in my chest, but I kept my eyes on the road as I was well aware of the risks involved in defying him, but I refused to turn back.

Rosalind had suffered in silence for five years, and I had decided that it was time for someone to put an end to it. I pulled up in front of the Segovia estate at and check the time, it was already 12am in the morning and turned off the engine so that the night security guards would not hear the sound of the motor. I sat in the car for a moment, contemplating on my next move.

Then I got out to finish what I had started. I walked up to the iron gate, opened it with the code I had stolen from my father's office and I pushed it open with my shoulder walking into the shadows.

I made my way toward the side door, trying to ignore the feeling of dread in my stomach.

"I am doing this for Rosalind,"I whispered to myself, reaching for the doorknob.

I slowly turned the brass knob and opened the door as I walked down the hallway toward my father's study. I passed a few rooms on either side, but I did not stop because I knew where he kept his private files.

I walked behind his large wooden desk and searched the middle drawer with my fingers and I found a small button.

I pressed it, as the hidden door behind the desk slid open and I saw the steel safe which was behind the false panel, just as I had hoped.

I opened the safe with the four-digit code of Rosalind's birthday, hoping that he had not changed it and I slowly reached into the safe and pulled out a thick file of papers.

"You thought you could hide this forever,"I said to myself, opening the file.

Then I noticed the first paper was an altered medical bill from a private hospital.

I read the numbers again and realized that Peter had given Rosalind three times the dose of medicine he prescribed.

He had falsified her medical records to make it seem like she was insane.

My stomach turned at the thought, but I continued looking through the file.

The next paper I saw, was a legal document transferring all of Rosalind's money to Peter.

Her signature at the bottom of the page was smudged, unlike her usual elegant script. That was when I knew that he had taken advantage of her vulnerable state and forced her to sign the papers.

"He ruined her,"I whispered, clutching the paper to my chest.

I reached into the safe one more time and pulled out a small envelope from the far end and there was only one paper inside with the word ADOPTION printed on the top.

My name was written at the bottom of the page, but the names of my real parents were covered in thick black ink.

I stood in stunned silence, trying to absorb the meaning of what I was seeing.

I was not really his daughter?

I had spent my entire life trying to make a man feel proud of me, even though he had bought me from my real parents.

Immediately I felt a surge of anger rise in my chest, but I pushed it down as I knew that I would use this information to destroy his life.

Then, suddenly before I knew it, an alarm sounded from the wall above my head.

I dropped the file on the desk as the red light flashed over the doorway any heavy metal plates blocked the view of the night sky from the windows.

I ran to the front door, but it was already locked from the outside.

"Did you think I would not notice you leaving the gala, Isadora?" 

Peter's voice came from the intercom on the wall.

"I came to find the truth,"I said, gripping my hands into a fist.

"Well, daughter, you just walked right into a trap,"Peter said coldly.

"Open this door and let me go,"I demanded, kicking the door with my heel.

"You chose to pry into things that do not concern you,"Peter said.

"Rosalind is my sister, and this belongs to me,"I shouted at him.

"She is not your sister, and you are not my daughter,"Peter said.

I heard the heavy deadbolts slide into place on the other side of the door, locking me in and I stepped back in fear from the front door, realizing that he had used his phone to lock me in the house.

"You cannot keep me in here,"I said, trying to sound calm.

"I do not plan to keep you in there for long,"Peter said after a moment.

"I am only keeping you there until the police come to lock you up for breaking and entering,"he said.

The intercom was silent as he spoke, and I turned back to the desk as I picked up the adoption paper and tucked it into my evening dress.

If I was going to jail tonight, I was going to make sure that his secrets went with me.

I looked around the room, searching for another way out and suddenly, my eyes were drawn to a heavy metal statue on the table across the room.

I walked over to it and picked it up with both hands, deciding to use it to break the metal plates over the windows.

As I turned around, a small noise came from the air vent above my head and thick white smoke began to pour out of the small opening, filling the room.

I coughed violently, and the heavy statue slipped from my hands and hit the floor.

My knees buckled underneath me, and I landed on my hands and knees.

I struggled to breathe, feeling lightheaded and dizzy.

I crawled toward the desk, trying to reach the rest of Rosalind's papers as my fingers brushed against the edge of the folder, but my arm gave out, and I collapsed on my side.

My eyes were growing heavy, but I forced myself to look up just in time to see the shadow of a man's feet stop outside the door.

The next thing I heard was the sound of a key turning in the lock.