Isabelle
The hours that passed in Arielle's absence were the longest that I had ever experienced. I had done everything that I thought was possible to track her. Her cellphone had not only been turned off, but likely destroyed as the tracker couldn't detect anything. I checked the CCTV on the grounds, but Arielle had walked down the block before getting into the car.
I had had Marcel dialing Trey Alexander's phone from an unknown number for the last hour with no response. Meanwhile, I had been searching through my father's databases to find something, anything on where they might have Arielle. I didn't even look up from my computer when my door was flung open.
"Mademoiselle." Marcel's voice caught my attention.
I looked up immediately. "Did he pick up?"
"No, but you'll want to see this." He moved over to my side of the desk and inserted a USB. I watched in confusion as he pulled up a CCTV record.
"Marcel, I've already had all the CCTV pulled where she was spotted."
"No, just watch." He insisted. I turned to the screen and saw Francis by the East wing. He had been talking to someone on the phone, but the CCTV only had video, not audio. I frowned in confusion but continued to watch. He proceeded to the exit once he hung up the phone.
"Why are you showing me this?" I asked in confusion.
"Look at the time stamps." Marcel gestured to the bottom of the screen. "Right before Miss Arielle left. He's not in the estate right now, I checked."
"Maybe he's out running an errand?"
"Mademoiselle, he was scheduled to be on duty in the West wing third floor until 7pm today." Marcel said in a low tone, meeting my eyes with an intense look.
I stiffened. He had no reason to be anywhere near the East wing. "Maybe he had some sort of emergency..." I muttered, but even I didn't find that excuse believable.
"It all makes sense. Chase Evans said he didn't know how someone could have overheard Arielle and known she was going to sneak out." Marcel reasoned.
I felt my heart sinking. So this hadn't been due to her work for the organization at all. It didn't make sense to me though. Francis had been working for my father for over four years. Surely he couldn't have been a double agent for that long? "Even if he arranged for someone to take her, what good does that do us?" I rubbed at my temples in anxiety.
"We can track any car he may have taken. His phone. Something."
I let out a loud breath. "Marcel, remind me to tell my father to give you a raise." I muttered quietly just as Marcel's phone began to ring. He pulled out the device from his pocket and glanced at it before handing it to me.
Trey Alexander.
"Trey." I spoke into the receiver.
~~~~
Arielle
I didn't know how long it took for Kate to settle again, but it seemed far longer than it was in reality likely. I stayed quiet, both out of sympathy and guilt. I wondered how long she had been in here to end up like this.
The next visitor we had came a few hours later. I kept my eyes down when I heard the door open and the footsteps, but Kate did the opposite. I froze as she launched herself at the bars. "Tristan please, I'm sorry!"
My entire body stiffened. Vincenzo. I stayed perfectly still as I felt his footsteps approach my cell. "Rebecca...or should I call you Arielle." He said quietly. Kate stopped rattling the bars. "I knew you were hiding something." He chuckled. "Pity you had to turn Rex against me. He died for what? A pretty face?" I clenched my hands into fists, knowing he was trying to bait me.
"Rumour has it that you're dating Versailles' daughter." He laughed coldly. I stiffened again at the mention of Isabelle.
Francis, the traitor.
"I wonder what she would be willing to bargain for you." He chuckled. "Not that it'll work. You're dead. I'm just waiting until I can do it in front of her." If he hadn't walked over to Kate's cell at that point, I wasn't sure I could have restrained myself from lunging at the bars.
"Sweet Katie..." He spoke in a very different tone, almost sweet, but laced with amusement like he was toying with her. "I heard you were sharing water with traitors. Pity. I was going to come get you, but I guess you're staying in here for a few more hours."
I heard quiet cries from the next cell, but Kate hadn't had as big of a reaction as she had earlier. I was internally grateful for that. "Th-thank you, Sir." She stuttered in a small voice. Vincenzo chuckled again in amusement before turning and leaving the way he came.
There was a silence after he left. I had nothing to say and Kate had stopped crying. I was very surprised when I eventually heard her voice again.
"You get used to it, you know. He's not always like this." She said flatly. "He's kind to me. I was brought here around your age. I'm guessing you're in your teens."
I stayed quiet for a moment. "I'm not staying here."
She laughed weakly. "A lot of girls think they can leave but-"
"He's going to kill me. You heard him. I'm a traitor." I spat rather harshly.
She was quiet for a few seconds before speaking again. "I didn't think he was serious." She said softly. "What did you do?"
"I joined his gang to help someone I loved. Then he tried to kill me to test my loyalty and I fell in love with Dominic Versailles' daughter." I said shortly.
She was quiet again, likely in shock. When she finally spoke again, it was almost in a tone of slight amazement. "Well...I don't have such an amazing story I suppose. I was brought here. I hated it at first, then I fell in love with Tristan. He fucks around with other girls and I get jealous, but I still love him. I-I tried to change to become the girl he could love-I-"
"Kate..." I started in a soft voice, turning to the wall in pity. "You don't deserve this either..." she didn't respond to that and I changed the subject. "You had a family before? Or..."
"Yes..." she responded again after a moment. "I loved them...but things happened and I don't think they'll ever forgive me..." she trailed off, clearly not wanting to continue.
I stayed quiet, not pushing any further, but to my surprise, she spoke again. "I missed them so much, especially at the beginning... but Tristan made that bearable too." I kept silent still. I couldn't fault her for Stockholm syndrome, or for finding comfort in a place where it was scarce. "I still think about them from time to time... but the memories are scattered now." She admitted.
That was the last she spoke on the topic. I considered comforting her, but I didn't know what to say. I found myself rambling, even though my common sense was telling me that she was close to Vincenzo and could tell him, a gut feeling told me I could trust her. Perhaps it was because she knew I was a traitor to the Black Phoenix and hadn't acted with animosity towards me. Not yet, anyways.
Besides, Vincenzo did his research. With Francis around, he probably knew everything he wanted to anyway.
I just had to pray that Chase and Isabelle would protect my parents.
"I have a family too," I said softly. "My parents were very protective. I was the youngest. Despite all that, I still ended up in this kind of situation."
"Why?" Kate uttered, the curiosity evident in her tone.
"My sister...was taken." I said softly. "Years ago. It never got any easier. I miss her everyday. I couldn't not do anything. When I found out that she could be here...even the slightest possibility, I had to look."
Neither of us spoke for a moment before Kate broke the silence. "I hope you see her again. I hope you can get out."
I opened my mouth to reply when the door slammed open again. I backed up into the corner of the call again, keeping my head down, trying to give no indication that we had been talking. One of the guards stormed down the stairs. I felt my heart pound inside my rib cage. Was Isabelle here? Was I going to die?
The guard did not stop in front of my cell though. He walked to the cell on my left and fiddled with the keys. "Boss says you can come out." He spoke gruffly to Kate and I let out a breath of relief. "Get cleaned up, doll yourself up nicely, and meet him in his room." He spoke in a knowing tone and I winced at the insinuation.
I heard rustling as Kate made her way to the cell door and stumbled out. The guard took her arm and began to pull her through the hall. I should have kept my eyes down, but I couldn't fight the curiosity.
Our eyes met for a split second as Kate passed my cell. Bright, striking green. Freckles. Pale skin. Flaming, red hair that was matted, but cascaded down to her waist. Her eyes were blank, and her cheekbones were visible almost, but it was like looking into an older version of myself.
When she looked back, she seemed almost unsure for a moment. Then, I saw a single tear roll down her cheek as she was ushered away by the guard.
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*edited*
Hi everyone!
I hope that was a shocker.
And I hope you enjoyed the chapter💙.
Lots of love,
-Cindy