Chapter 7 - The Locked Wardrobe
The west suite was a gilded cage designed to pacify rather than punish. Floor-to-ceiling windows offered an unobstructed, panoramic view of the churning gray ocean, mocking me with its endless horizon. Inside, the room was draped in heavy velvet curtains and antique mahogany furniture that smelled faintly of lavender and old paper. A clawfoot tub sat in the adjoining marble bathroom, already filling with steaming water by the time Sarah, a quiet woman with kind eyes and tight gray hair, slipped out of the room without a single word of judgment.
I sank into the scalding water, letting the heat soak into my bruised muscles and wash away the crust of salt and dirt from the fire escape and the beach. Every movement hurt. My bare soles were crisscrossed with shallow cuts from the sharp shale rocks, and my shoulders ached from the frantic scramble. Yet, as I scrubbed the mud from my skin, my mind raced. The illusion of safety I had manufactured before the wedding was entirely gone. Gabriel wasn't just a wealthy man with an intimidating demeanor; he was a meticulous warden who tracked every variable, down to an unlocked security door I had exploited in the dead of night.
May you like
When I stepped out of the bathroom, wrapped in a plush white robe left for me on the vanity, I found a simple silk dress and flat leather sandals laid out on the bed. No more lace. No more silk trains meant for public adoration. This was house attire—functional, subdued, and entirely lacking in pretense.
I walked over to the mahogany wardrobe and pulled the handle, half-expecting it to be bolted from the outside. It swung open smoothly, revealing rows of tailored trousers, wool sweaters, and modest dresses. But tucked away in the very back corner, behind a stack of unused linens, I spotted something unexpected: an old leather-bound ledger with a brass clasp. My fingers brushed against the cool leather. I glanced toward the heavy double doors of the suite, listening for the soft tread of a guard's shoes in the hallway. The house was dead silent, save for the low, rhythmic roar of the waves crashing against the cliffs far below. With a quick breath, I pulled the ledger free.
