The Academy (Part 2 of the Syndicate Series)

Chapter 21- Confession

Rosine:

I started to open my mouth to explain that it was a very involved story, one that I didn't really have time for, but he seemed to come to that conclusion on his own. My uncle waved his hands worriedly. "Never mind that. You're here in one piece, but you have to get out. Belle, that goes for you too."

My sister looked at him oddly, "I know, we already planned to-"

"You don't understand," He hissed. My uncle grabbed my wrist and Belle's as well, the urgency in his voice making me suddenly worry. He was usually a calm and moderated man, even in the face of my father's anger and volatile actions. Uncle Claude's quick jerk of his head, telling Blaise to follow us, had me more scared than I had been almost all night.

Belle and I were tugged unceremoniously after him, through a back hallway that was only accessible through a certain set of doors, it was sort of like a seperate passageway that ran between our main rooms upstairs. It was deserted, of course, everyone that knew of it was downstairs, and it was complex enough that no guests could stumble upon it accidentally.

I thought at first that he was pulling us to our rooms so that he could better talk to us in private, but his final turn led to an unexpected door- the one that would drop us right outside of my father's office.

"What are we doing here?" I hissed at him, more confused than ever.

He just shook his head, blue eyes wide with worry, and pulled a key from his pocket. Few people had the key to my father's office, and he was one of them. It was a heavy door and an old fashioned lock, but after a couple of choice swear words and some twisting of the key, it finally clicked. Uncle Claude pushed it open, wincing at the slight creek in the hinges, and then ushered us inside while checking over his shoulder to make sure that no one saw what was happening.

Once the door was closed and I slid the lock back into place, I turned around to see my uncle headed towards my father's desk, "Okay, someone needs to explain what's going on."

"I came looking for Belle, I didn't exactly expect you to be home," Uncle Claude said, throwing me a grim smile. "Your father is involved in things downstairs that I didn't even know about, things that are going to change our plans."

"What are you looking for? How can we help?" My sister started forward, hands outstretched hopelessly.

"Everything that you two need in order to get out of the country."

"The country?!" I tried not to shout. "We can't just leave the country! Besides, a plane ticket will be easy for father to track down, it'll worsen our chances. I've got other people standing by and ready to help."

I glanced at Blaise, knowing that my love for him should have been the back of my mind, barely a thought, but I desperately needed just a moment alone with him. Before I even thought of leaving, I needed closure. I didn't get to say my goodbyes at all last time, and it ate me up inside. No matter what, I had to tell him before I left today.

No, I told myself. You need to be focused on you and your sister's survival. You're being ridiculous, this shouldn't be a priority and it's clouding your judgement. Focus on what you can control.

I snapped back into focus as my uncle made a sound of victory, holding up another key in his hand. He tossed it to my sister who was standing right next to Blaise. "The safe is behind the books, on the shelf to your left."

Blaise seemed to already know and grabbed Belle's elbow, pulling her along to go look. My uncle instructed them further, "Take out however much cash you think you'll need to get started. Even if it's not safe to catch a plane for a while, you can take the car up to Canada, but you'll need money to start a new life."