The Runaway Sister

thirty-eight | cut ties

I wander back to the closed-off wing. My brothers left an hour ago, to prepare an engagement ball for Warren and me, which is this evening. 

Technically, I'm supposed to be in my bedroom, waiting for the maids to come in and help me start getting ready for the party. 

However, now that I finally have time for myself, no matter how small that time may be, I'm going to take full advantage of it. 

It's been two days since Warren proposed to me, and in these past couple of days my brothers have been planning for my future. 

I've been taken to numerous stores to look at dresses. I've been taken to bakeries for cakes and jewelers for tiaras and necklaces. 

My mother's parents and siblings have even been informed that my wedding is soon— though two years isn't soon— but it's the first time I've seen them since I was a baby. 

An idle life awaits me if I don't get to Austria by Sunday, which is only two more days away. Somehow, I need to escape. I need to get out of here. 

Some small, minuscule part of my brain whispers warnings to me. It tells me to not trust Warren. It tells me that this life is just something I need to accept for better or worse. 

I can't listen to that part of me. I need to push it as far down as it will go. I need to stay strong, keep persevering in order to be free.

If I stay, how will I ever be able to live with myself? How will I be able to look in the mirror, and know that I am living with the same people who kill other people? 

My heart is too soft. My mind is too sensitive. My thoughts are too overwhelming inside of my head, the deep urge to rid myself of these people who claim themselves as my family. 

Blood will always be thicker than water, they say. Family is the most important thing, they say. Blood runs deep, they say. 

Did they ever account for the fact that some of us have undesirable families? Some of us may feel loved but know deep down that they are being hurt instead? 

I push the door to the wing open, silently cursing it for making a slight creak. I slip inside, and close the door behind me, making sure the lock clicks in place. 

The hallway is long and foreboding. The oil paintings on the wall still sit in their places, a thin layer of dust on the golden picture frames. 

I walk slowly down the hallway, sticking my head in each room. The books in the library sit in place, the logs in the fireplace are unused, sitting stiffly behind the metal protector. 

Thin, white sheets cover most of the furniture. The lavish, velvet curtains are closed, only a small amount of light seeping from under them. 

Dust floats around me as I walk through the abandoned wing— Harry's wing. The mysterious man I either have never met or do not remember. 

A wing that is now forbidden for me to enter, but what will Alexander do if he finds out? Doubly ban me from it? 

It's terrible for me to do so, but I can always whip out their failure to protect me, causing me to be tortured and kidnapped for an unbearably long time. 

All of my brothers have been feeling sympathetic towards me recently, still treating me like a fragile, little doll out of fear that my health is still not up to par yet. 

I walk back into Harry's bedroom, and begin to walk through it once more, eyeing down everything. The bed, the nightstand, the dresser. All of it is now covered by a white sheet. 

My brothers clearly ordered for this wing to be forgotten entirely, an unfortunate stain in this manor— this family— that must be swept under the rug pronto. 

I remove the sheet from the dresser, and begin opening the other drawers. In one drawer, I find nearly stacked letters, all with different dates on them. 

With anxiousness bubbling in my chest, I reach into the drawer, and pick up the first letter. The back has January 25, 1997 written on it in cursive penmanship.

I open up the letter. My hands shake as I scan over the words, which leave me feeling even more confused than when I began reading. 

Eddy, 

My sweet Lacy is growing up nicely. She's almost a year old, and Savannah can't stop crying about how much time flies. 

Have you noticed any colder weather in Cape Cod? It's absolutely chilling in Hampshire! But my Lacy does look majestic with snow in her blonde curls. 

Tell your sons and your little darling Uncle Harry says 'hello'. Christmas will be wonderful this year with all of our families together again. 

-Harry

Harry has to be my uncle. He must be my father's brother, and Uncle's brother, too. I undo all of the stacks of letters, and I find the last one that was written. 

The date is written in slightly messy font. Ink has been dripped on the envelope, or maybe it was to cover the few tear stains visible. 

November 3, 2000 

This letter is stiff and cold in my hands. I peel it open, and the words on the page make a massive bucket of horror plummet over me.

Eddy, my brother, Eddy, 

We're brothers, aren't we? We grew up together! We were raised in the same house. How could you do this to me? 

We're supposed to be together through thick and thin! Why, oh why, do you want me to suffer? Why are you making this such a big deal? 

Everything was fine, Eddy! Everything was perfect! Why did you have to ruin my life? Why did you have to hurt me so much? 

Please, my brother, I beg of you! Reconsider. This isn't how our lives were supposed to go. This isn't what father intended, what our mother intended, or what even Roger wanted. 

Please, Eddy, please!

-your brother

The contents of the letter make my heart drop into my stomach. My hands suddenly feel clammy and my knees are suddenly weak. 

Why was this grown man begging to my father? What was he so upset about? Whatever it was, it must be why Harry is talked about no more. 

I place the letters back in the drawer, and open up the other one with the pictures. It leaves me feeling bittersweet, as I gaze at our once happy, connected family. 

One picture shows me as a toddler and a baby together. Young me has blonde pigtails and smiles at the baby lying in the grass next to her. 

I flip the picture over. Evelyn and Lacy, 1999. 

My cousin. My lost cousin. Where has she gone? She must have disappeared along with her father. I can only pray that they're safe. 

I slip back out of Harry's wing with a heavy heart, and questions weighing down on my shoulders. I don't know what happened, and I probably never will.

For now, I can't spend time worrying over the past. Right now, my only goal is getting to Austria. Fleeing to freedom, with Warren beside me. 

———

Hello, loves! 

Sorry for such a short chapter!

This sub plot in the book is going to be unfinished for a reason. The truth is revealed in my book, Lacy, which is another standalone in the Mafia Siblings Series. 

Are you curious? Who is Harry Rhodes and why has he vanished from this earth? What happened to the little girl in the picture, Lacy?

Hang tight, my loves! These last few chapters are going to be a whirlwind of emotions, so be prepared for these upcoming events!

Vote and comment!

Au revoir,

Eva