Chapter 8: The rescue and the trap.

Isadora's Pov

If I stayed on this cold floor for another ten seconds, the poison gas would end my life before my father's guards even reached the room.

I coughed heavily as the air vents above my head reversed their flow and cleared the thick haze from the study.

I forced my eyes open, struggling to drag my body across the carpet toward the fallen binder.

Then suddenly a key turned in the lock, and the door swung open to reveal Rafael standing in the doorway instead of Peter’s armed security team.

"Isa, get up right now if you want to live," Rafael said, throwing his heavy coat around my shoulders and pulling my arm over his neck.

"I am not leaving those adoption files behind on the floor," I said to him, pointing my finger back toward the open desk drawer.

"We do not have time for papers," Rafael said, hauling me toward the back of the library before I could crawl toward the files.

I made the hard choice to stop fighting him because my legs were too weak to even stand on their own.

Then he pushed open a hidden servant door in the wall that led directly out to the rear driveway of the estate.

Then he pulled me through the narrow opening just as heavy footsteps echoed down the main hall behind us.

I looked back through the open doorway, realizing that I was leaving the only proof of my real identity behind in that room.

Then, I felt a surge of regret, but I kept moving because I chose survival over immediate answers.

We reached his car in the dark alley, and he threw open the passenger door.

"Get inside and stay down," Rafael said, shoving my shoulders down into the leather seat and pulling the belt across my chest.

He ran around to the driver side, inserted the key, and sped down the gravel driveway into the night.

I leaned back against the headrest, taking long breaths to get the chemical taste out of my mouth as the speedometer of his car even climbed higher.

I looked out the side window and saw that we were moving fast toward the western highway, completely away from the city center.

I thought about how easily he had unlocked that private door, and my doubt about his motives grew stronger with every mile.

Then, I decided to confront him directly, refusing to play the helpless victim while he drove me deeper into the dark.

"You knew exactly how to open that rear door," I said, leaning over the center console to look at his face.

"I tracked your phone after you left the gala, and I stole a staff key from the front gate," Rafael answered, keeping his eyes fixed on the empty road.

"You showed up at the exact second the locks opened, and I do not believe in convenient timing," I shouted, reaching over to snatch his hand off the wheel.

He pulled his arm back quickly, holding the steering wheel tight while I unbuckled my seatbelt to face him.

"Keep your seatbelt on before you kill us both," Rafael said, hitting the brakes and pulling the car onto the dirt shoulder.

"Tell me what you are doing here," I demanded, grabbing his jacket sleeve so he could not look away.

"You think I am helping Peter, but you have no idea who is actually trying to erase you," Rafael said, turning his body toward me in the dim light.

"My father trapped me in that room to protect his own name," I argued, pressing my palm against the dashboard to steady myself.

"Peter is just taking orders from Everett Ossorio, and you walked right into their setup," Rafael said, shaking his head with anger.

"Everett Ossorio does not care about my father's money or my sister," I said, feeling my heart boil in anger as his words sank in.

"Everett is the man who signed your real adoption papers, and he is trying to wipe out your existence to cover his own tracks," Rafael explained, reaching out to grip my arms gently.

I looked at his hands on my arms, torn between trusting the man who pulled me out of the estate and running into the dark trees alone.

Immediately I pulled away from his grip, knowing that trust was a luxury I could not afford tonight.

"Take me back to Segovia so I can grab those documents myself," I said, reaching for the door handle.

"Look Isa, If you go back there tonight, you will disappear into a cell, and I will not be able to save you again," Rafael warned, pushing the central lock button to keep the doors shut.

"You have no right to keep me locked inside this car," I said, glaring at the door panel.

"I am taking you to a private safehouse where neither Peter nor Everett can find you," Rafael said, putting the car back into gear and driving onto the pavement.

Then, we rode in absolute silence for forty minutes until he turned onto a narrow dirt road surrounded by tall trees.

He stopped the car in front of a small, concrete building tucked completely away from the main road.

I stepped out onto the gravel, looking carefully in every direction to see if any secondary cars had followed our path but I noticed none.

"Nobody knows this building exists," Rafael said, walking up the short steps to unlock the entrance.

I followed him up the concrete steps, keeping my hands inside my jacket pockets as my mind weighed every risk ahead.

Then he unlocked the thick front door and stepped to the side so I could enter the hall first.

I walked into the dark living room, standing in the middle of the space while he walked over to the kitchen counter.

"I am going out onto the balcony to check the safety before we settle in," Rafael said, leaving his secondary mobile phone sitting right next to a glass of water.

"Go check it," I replied, watching his back as he stepped through the glass doors.

I walked over to the kitchen counter, reaching for the water glass to soothe my burning throat.

But before my fingers touched the glass, the screen on his secondary phone lit up with a bright incoming notification.

I looked down at the display, noticing the caller name displayed as Peter Fenwick.

A text message appeared across the middle of the screen, and the words made my stomach drop into a pit of cold terror.

"She is secured at the safehouse as agreed. Wire the remaining balance now," The Message Read.

I stood there in complete shock, realizing that the man who rescued me had actually sold me to my father, and the front door lock clicked behind me as two guards stepped into the room.