Marriage

Isadora 

"Who are you?" I asked. 

"I'm your grandfather," he wheezed. 

Even though some part of me had known the answer to that question, hearing it was still a shock to my system. I found myself inching closer to him, curiosity burning inside of me. 

"That's impossible," I said slowly, "My grandfather died years ago. I don't have any living relatives." 

He made a choking sound that I suspected was a laugh, "I won't be alive for much longer, child. So I suppose that that will soon be true." 

I glanced around in confusion, my gaze landing on Viktor, and the woman in scrubs sitting a few steps away. Not only did I have a grandfather, but he also seemed to be some kind of powerful man. 

I shook my head in denial, "I don't believe you. You can't be my grandfather. Where have you been all these years?"

Where was he when my parents had died? When I had been beaten and tossed in the basement? When I had been starved for days and forced to work with my stomach growling?

"I wasn't looking for you, Isadora, because I thought you were dead." 

My eyes widened in shock, "Dead?" 

"Come here, child," he said softly and I took the final steps to the side of his bed. His eyes were the only part of him that still looked sharp and fully alive. His complexion was a sickly green and he was thin. 

"When your mother met your father, she was afraid that he wouldn't accept this life, and so she walked away from it," the old man said, "I didn't want her to go, but I loved her enough to let her go. We kept in touch secretly, but communication died off after her death. The day I planned to pay your father a visit to tell him to return with you was the day I heard he had been driving you to school and had been been involved in a ghastly accident. Guiliana sent me a letter informing me of his death and yours." 

I gaped at him. So my stepmother had known I had family and had purposely hidden it from me. I had known she was cruel, but I just hadn't realised the extent of it. 

"I would have come for you sooner if I had known," he continued, "I only found out you were still alive when I saw the picture you used for your scholarship application. I'm sorry I didn't come for you sooner. Forgive an old man." 

Tears filled my eyes and i grabbed his bony hands in mine, "I forgive you." 

The blame lay at Guiliana's feet and I was never going to forgive her. She had deprived me from my real family just so she could have a slave. 

"I want you to know who I am, Isa. And then you can decide if this is the life you want or if you're better off away from all of it," he sighed, "My name is Pedro Gonzales, and I am the leader of the Spanish Cartel. I'm not a good man, none of us are, but we don't harm the innocent. We make money through illegal means, but we protect our family, our brothers in arms and our legacies." 

"Oh my God," I gasped. 

"I can get you on the first plane out of this city and by this time tomorrow you will have a new name and a new life." 

I swallowed, "And what's my second option?"

"You stay here and take my place as the head of the cartel, show everyone that the Gonzales blood runs through your veins," his voice had suddenly become strong, eyes flashing with purpose. 

I thought about it for a while. Staying here meant continuing to endanger my life, because I knew Dimitri would come for me. But running meant that I had given up even before the fight had started. I had already been deprived of my birthright for years, and enough was enough. 

"I'm staying," I declared. 

"It's dangerous," Viktor spoke for the first time, drawing my attention to him, "You don't know what staying entails. There's a reason your mother left! You're making a mistake, Miss Gonzales." 

"Silence, Viktor!" My grandfather barked, "Her decision has been made." 

He stared at me with an unreadable expression on his face, "The other family heads would never let a woman take your place as a leader." 

"This isn't the eighties," I insisted. 

He shook his head, "It doesn't matter. Organisations like the cartel are firmly rooted in old beliefs. You're not just the wrong gender, Miss Gonzales. You're too young and unfamiliar with this life. I'm sorry, but I think you should forget all about this life. You could have infinite wealth and freedom in your new life." 

"Viktor, you must_" 

I squeezed my grandfather's hands and his words trailed off as he turned his head to glance at me. 

"He's right, I can have infinite wealth and freedom, and safety too," I began, "But all my life, I've been deprived of my family and my legacy. Now that I've found it, I never plan to walk away from it again. So don't bother trying to convince me to walk away, I won't." 

His jaw clenched and finally, he nodded, "In that case, you're going to have to secure your position in the cartel." 

"How?" 

"Through marriage," the man on the bed said, his words jolting my system. 

"Marriage?" I croaked. 

He nodded, "It's the only way, Isa. You'll have to enter a marriage of convenience to a man who the other family heads respect enough to respect you. I'm sorry, Isa, but it's your only option." 

I had run from being sold into a mariage to a murderous psychopath, straight into another marital situation. But this was for the sake of my future. 

"Who do I have to marry?" 

"A man who I trust with my life," the old man said. 

Viktor stepped forward with a smile, "I will be an honour to_"

The door behind me flew open and I turned to see my dark haired kidnapper walking in, looking like he would rather be anywhere else. 

"Ivan Santiago," my grandfather announced.