Trapped : The Island of Torment

Chapter 44 : Epilogue

Bruce woke in the dark, to the sound of rain drizzling outside the windows. Isabella was asleep in his arms, while the electric fireplace provided warmth and comfort in the room. Kissing her on the forehead he climbed out of bed and sat in the armchair, listening to the rain in silence. When he saw Jason, Tim and Stephanie at the ancestral home of Isabella's family, he had mixed reactions. He thought that Isabella's grandfather would have barred them from ever stepping foot on the property, but maybe out of love for his granddaughter he had relented. Isabella soon began to stir from her sleep and stretched. "Bruce?" she called out to him, sensing that he wasn't in bed next to her. Getting up from the armchair he sat on her side of the bed and held her hand. 

"I'm here." he said, kissing her on her forehead. 

"Can't sleep?" she asked. 

"A little bit." he replied. "It must have been an amazing sight for you when you first arrived." 

"Quite, but not enough to stun me." she said. "I have known about where my grandparents were staying when I was still in the UK with mom." Leaning over into the cradle where their youngest children were sleeping Isabella picked up their daughter Amelia, carefully cradling her in her arms. They were two months old when their mother was abducted and with them being with her parents at the time of her abduction they can be out of harm's way. 

"She had your eyes." he said. For their three youngest children Isabella had to give birth like previous generations before her, in the traditional way of doing so at home. They were born at the countryside residence of their maternal great-grandparents, assisted by a midwife while their maternal great-grandmother insisted that the rooms in the residence be kept clean and disinfected at all times to reduce the chances of post-partum infections after giving birth. Isabella smiled, as their daughter exhibited signs of occasional cooing. 

"When she is safe and healthy alongside her baby brother, the pain can seemingly vanish in the blink of an eye." Isabella whispered, cuddling the baby. 

"You can only imagine how worried I was after you gave birth to Vicky. You lost so much blood that day." Isabella held their daughter's tiny hand in hers. 

"But I recovered in the end." she smiled. "And we continued to have wonderful and lively children, each are unique in their ways."

"You're right." Bruce smiled. 

The Next Day

Isabella opened the door to the garage but did not turn on the lights as a row of sky windows acted as natural lighting was installed above the garage alongside the roof. Bruce himself marvelled a little upon seeing the number of vehicles stored in the garage, but sports cars were not seen in the collection, with mostly sedans, MPVs and SUVs parked in the garage. Isabella, now dressed in riding clothes for motorcycle riding, approached a motorcycle with a white canopy draped over it. "Here." she said, handing him a spare helmet before lifting the canopy. It was a motorcycle spray painted in black, with red accents. "You're driving?" she asked Bruce.

"I'll let you take the wheel this time." Bruce said. Isabella climbed on the motorcycle and started the ignition after inserting the key. Putting on her helmet Isabella and Bruce took off on her motorcycle, exiting the manor house compound and speeding down the highway. As they travelled Bruce sat at the back, holding onto Isabella by her waist as she picked up speed, while the strong wind howled due to the accelerated speed of the vehicle.