Independence & Consequences by M J Marlow (top 10 novels .txt) 📖

were put aside for her to try on. The last gown to come out was a Grecian style; baring one shoulder. It was in a sapphire blue with silver embellishments on the shoulder and along the hemline. Isabel had never seen anything more beautiful in her entire life. She nearly cried out in joy when Olivia smiled and nodded. “That one,” Olivia said simply. “You can put the others back.” The assistants nodded and carried the other gowns away. The salon owner took Isabel back into the dressing room and put the chosen garment on her. Isabel was astounded by how the garment made her feel; like a princess. The effect was heightened when the woman held Isabel’s long wavy hair up on top of her head. She looked like a grown woman! She went out into the viewing room and stepped up on the dais in front of the mirrors. The gown flowed over her body, caressing its curves lovingly; there was no need for it to be altered. “Perfection,” Olivia actually smiled as she looked at the girl. “Have it delivered to the Ambassador Suite at the Ritz Carlton.” “Of course, Mrs. Chambers,” the woman nodded as she looked at the card she had just been handed. Isabel wondered why the woman was eyeing her so strangely. It was as if this woman knew her. Alexa caught the girl looking at her appraisingly and went back into her act. “Your daughter looks wonderful.” “Thank you, Alexa,” Olivia nodded. “The opera starts at 8:00 p.m. We will need you at 6:00.” Alexa nodded and led Isabel back to the dressing room to change. She watched the pair leave and then turned to her assistants. She couldn’t believe her eyes. The girl had been a twin of the young woman whose picture rested on Gordon Talbot’s desk. She remembered hearing that his sister had died from complications of childbirth after being injured in a car accident. The child had disappeared; as did her cousin, the child of his other sister who had been seriously injured in the same crash. Could the teenager she had just seen be one of those lost girls? She ran for the phone and dialed the Agency. “Director Talbot,” she stated stiffly. “This is Alexa Hardy.” She looked at the dress and saw a long dark hair caught in the shoulder fastening. She handed it to her partner, nodding at the hair and watched as Michelle pulled it off and sealed it in an evidence envelope. “Sir,” she nodded. “I believe I have just seen one of your sisters children.” She heard his question, wondering why he was not excited. “She was just here with a woman who bears a striking resemblance to the agent who went missing about the same time your sister died.” She looked over at Michelle, who nodded and held up an envelope. “We have a hair sample. We’re bringing it to the lab now.” She hung up and took the envelope from Michelle. “I’ll be back in an hour.” Olivia had Isabel drive them to the Ritz Carlton and park in the underground parking area. They went into the lobby and she approached the front desk. All she had to do was give her name and the man behind the desk jumped to attention. As they waited, Isabel looked around the lobby. The place was lovely, styled after the Art Nouveau period. She remembered reading about it in the books Olivia had insisted she studied. She caught a dark-haired man looking at her as if he’d just seen a ghost. There was a frown on his face as if he couldn’t believe that she was standing there. Isabel’s attention was pulled away from him as Olivia grabbed her by the elbow and led her to the elevators. The woman’s nervousness was escalating; as if she was expecting trouble. She knew better than to ask what was wrong; Olivia wouldn’t tell her anything unless she needed to know. “I am going out for a while,” Olivia said half an hour later. Isabel looked up from the art book on the coffee table. “You are not to leave the suite, Isabel,” she told her daughter firmly as she paused at the door. “If you do, the opera is off. Is that clear?” Isabel nodded and watched her mother leave. She wished she could go to the opera, but she had no intention of being anywhere near the man her mother had chosen as her escort. She left the suite and went out of the hotel. She knew she was risking painful discipline for this act, but she didn’t care. She was tired of her mother making decisions for her. She hailed a cab and had it take her to the park they had passed on their way in. She paid the driver and started walking; just enjoying the sights and sounds of the town she had never visited before. She sat back and listened to a young man playing a guitar, humming along to tunes she had heard only on records and tapes. She was so locked into what she was doing that she did not see the same tall, dark-haired man who had reacted to her presence in the hotel coming towards her. “You look so much like her,” Rafael Alvarez said as he approached Isabel. “I am Rafael Alvarez,” he introduced himself, frowning as he saw she that this meant nothing to her. In fact, the wariness in her eyes made him feel angry. No child this young should be so fearful. “Don’t you know me?” “Should I?” Isabel asked him. He certainly acted as if he knew her. But Isabel knew she had never seen this handsome man before in her life. She cocked her head and looked at him more closely. “You seem to know me.” “How is it possible that you are unaware of who you are?” Rafael asked as he sat down near her. “Where have you been all of these years?” “Isabel!” Olivia’s voice cried out sharply. “I asked you to stay in the…” She froze as she saw the young man seated near her charge. “Rafael Alvarez. What are you doing here?” “Getting acquainted with my cousin,” Rafael told her bluntly, his eyes narrowing in anger. “You haven’t told her who she is, have you?” “We don’t know who she is,” Olivia answered back, irritated by the note of censure in the young man’s voice. “I am hoping that she is not your uncle’s daughter, however. Your family would destroy her.” “If she is part of my family, woman,” Rafael hissed as he rose to his feet. He looked at Isabel, and saw the girl eyeing him closely, “we will have her back.” Olivia frowned as she watched the young man leave. He would go to his father, or even to his uncle and they would learn that Isabel was not only alive, but in town. She couldn’t let this happen. She had kept the girl safe for 18 years now; she was not going to fail Isabel now. Olivia knew there was only one person who could protect the child now, and was glad that she had made the decision to bring the child to him. The vague threats that this man’s father had made over the phone were compounded by Rafael’s sudden appearance. She grabbed Isabel by the wrist and yanked her to her feet. Isabel didn’t fight; it was no use fighting when Olivia had that look on her face. They got into a taxi and she noted that it took them past the hotel and to the Federal Building. “My name is Olivia Chambers,” she told the woman seated at the desk outside of Gordon Talbot’s office. “I need to speak with Director Talbot.” “He’s in a meeting.” The woman informed her tightly. There was something about this woman that set her teeth on edge. “If you and your daughter will just have a seat, he will be free in a few moments.” “I don’t have time to wait,” Olivia told the woman. “His niece will wait for him.” “Niece?” The woman queried. She turned to look at the teenager and her eyes widened as she saw a living, breathing twin to the picture on the Director’s desk. “Yes, she is.” She got to her feet and held out her hand to Isabel. “My name is Morgan Forrester. Would you like something to drink while you wait?” Isabel shook her head and the woman nodded. She went to open the door. “Wait in the office please. I’ll go tell your uncle that you are here.” “Mother?” Isabel turned towards Olivia confused. “My uncle is the Director of the FBI here?” “Yes, dear,” Olivia nodded. “Have your uncle Gordon return you to the suite by 6:00 so you can get ready for the Opera.” “You can’t just leave her here, Ms. Chambers,” Morgan protested. “Director Talbot will have questions for you.” “My only answer,” Olivia replied tightly, nodding towards Isabel, “is right there.” Isabel watched Olivia leave without another word, completely confused. She went into the office with Morgan and went to stand at the windows. She barely heard the door closing as she tried to understand why her uncle had stayed out of her life. Was he afraid someone would harm her if they knew who he was? And just who was this Rafael Alvarez who had claimed that she was a part of his family? She sank down into her uncle’s chair and stared out the window. Her life had suddenly become nothing but a series of unanswered questions. The door opened again and she turned. “Uncle?” Isabel asked the golden-haired man standing in the doorway. The man was shocked to see her there. “You can’t be my Uncle Gordon. You’re too young.” “Uncle Gordon?” Lang asked, admiring the pretty dark-haired girl quite openly. His eyes widened as he looked from the photograph to the girl standing in front of him. “You must be Cassandra’s daughter.” He set the folder he was carrying in the tray on Gordon’ desk. “He never stops talking about you.” “You must be thinking of some other girl. My mother’s name is Olivia,” Isabel replied, not liking the way this man was looking at her. “Did you want me to leave my uncle a message?” “That’s all right,” the man answered as he turned to leave. “He has everything he needs in the file there.” “That was odd,” Isabel frowned as the door closed and she was alone again. She knew she shouldn’t, but the man seemed to know her. She picked up the file and went to sit where no one could see her. Then she opened the folder and read the single sheet of paper in the file. She had just finished and replaced the folder when the door opened again. This time the tall, dark-haired man with the moustache who stood in the doorway was of the right age. It had to be her uncle. “Uncle Gordon?” Isabel smiled and got up from the chair. “Mother brought me into town to meet you.” “My God,” Gordon exclaimed as he looked at a niece he had never known. “You look just like her.” He recovered and came to kiss her on the cheek. “I have been wondering where you were.” “How could you not know where I was?” Isabel asked him. “You’re with the FBI. I thought they knew everything.” “Hardly,” Gordon smiled at her naivete. “They hid you well. It wasn’t until the woman called me that I even knew you were still alive.” He frowned. “You and I were supposed to meet at the opera tonight. Why did she bring you here?” Gordon asked as he took his seat. Something in the girl’s manner told him that she was upset about something. “Is there something wrong, child?” “I met a young man in the park earlier today,” Isabel told him honestly.