Chapter 6 Chapter Six

• Ava arrived home secretly, went straight to her room, grabbed a bag, and packed some of her belongings. She walked to the closet, crouched down, and crawled to the corner, removing a loose board to reveal a box containing some jewelry of hers and her mother's. She placed them at the bottom of the bag, then put the bag back in the closet, waiting for the best moment to leave without being seen.
• One of the maids told Sergio that she saw Ava go up the stairs.
• He stormed furiously up to his daughter's room, worried when he saw the hours pass without her returning home. He burst into her room.
• "Ava! Where the hell were you?"
• "Why do you care? Respect my privacy and get out of my room," Ava shouted, lying on the bed with her arms crossed.
• "Don't ever disappear like that again. I'm your father, and you must obey my orders. How could you spend the whole day outside? Who knows where?"
• "Where? Why didn't you come in and comfort me? Didn't you ask me, 'How are you feeling, daughter?' Aren't you crying over that bastard? I've already dealt with him for hurting you like that, or have I scolded Helen for sleeping with your fiancé?"
• "You're strong, and I don't see you dying over that man, and besides, you realized he wasn't right for you."
• "I don't want to hear you anymore. Get out of my room."
• Sergio took two large steps toward her and slapped her, shouting furiously.
• "You will respect me, whether you like it or not, and you won't leave this house without my permission."
• "And I'm of legal age, and you can't keep me locked up."
• "We'll see about that," Sergio turned his back and left the room.
• Ava speculated, "I can't stay another minute in this house." She waited for the house to be quiet, peeked out of the door, and watched the hallway for a while to make sure no one was there. She found her bag, and as she took a few steps and touched the staircase railing, she heard a voice.
• "Joaquín is watching the entrance so you won't leave. Did you forget you have a sister, and you were planning on leaving without saying goodbye?"
• Ava turned, and there was her little sister. She wasn't the same girl who always wore pastel-colored dresses; now she wore dark clothes, mostly worn-out or ripped pants, but Ava wasn't there to criticize her. She grabbed her hand and led her to her room.
• "Oli, forgive me for not saying goodbye, but horrible things happened today. In short, I found William with Helen in bed. It was all a trap by my family," tears reappeared on her cheek.
• "They won't allow you to leave the house, let alone get married. Come on, I'll help you escape."
• Ava hugged her sister.
• Olivia smiled at her and, taking her hand, said, "I'll distract the hateful Joaquín, and you leave. Good luck, sister, I love you."
• Olivia went downstairs, went to the kitchen, made coffee, poured it into a cup, and opened the front door carefully. She saw a man in his mid-twenties, gave him a coy smile, and gestured for him to come in.
• "Joaquín, here's coffee made by my lovely hands," she said, winking at him.
• The man, with a grim expression, was surprised to see the girl outside the house at that hour; he didn't want to get into trouble.
• "Miss, it's better if you go inside the house. If you don't want trouble with your father, leave me alone."
• "One tries to be kind to people and only receives mistreatment," she pouted and spilled the hot coffee on his pants.
• Joaquín lowered his head to clean himself, and Olivia turned to the door, signaling her sister to leave.
• The man was about to raise his head when Olivia ran her hand gently over his pants near his groin; he immediately grabbed her.
• "You better go inside the house and forget that this happened. If you come near me again, I'll tell your father about the audacity of a brainless girl."
• Olivia ran out crying, and she entered the house. When she was alone, she wiped her tears as if nothing had happened, grabbed her phone, and started chatting with her friends.
• Ava walked several blocks and took a taxi.
• "Sir, can you take me to a cheap hotel for the night, but make sure it's far from where you picked me up."
• Fear was tormenting her; she didn't know what to do; she had never worked. Her brain couldn't process things like her grandfather; he could be so cruel as to leave everything in the hands of those nefarious characters. She whispered to herself, "Crafty old man, no matter what it takes, I'll find you and you'll give me a lot of explanations."
• "Yes, miss, no problem."
• "Thank you, sir," she thought aloud, "tomorrow I'll look for a place to live and work far away from here."
• The taxi driver, who overheard her, was a man in his fifties or sixties.
• "Miss, I live on the outskirts of the city, in Alhambra. It's a quiet little town, and there's a lady who owns a café there and is looking for employees," the man commented with a Latino accent.
• Ava was startled, her eyes widening, considering the worst.
• "Miss, don't be scared. It was just a comment. We're arriving at the hotel," the man parked, and Ava paid. When she was about to leave, she took a glance at the man, sighed several times, and told him.
• "Can you give me the address?"
• The man searched for paper and pencil, wrote it down, and handed it to her.
• "I understand your distrust, but not all people act in bad faith. Goodbye, miss, and good luck."
• Ava felt bad for how she treated the man; she sighed several times and checked into the hotel.
• The next morning, there was a commotion in the mansion; Ava was nowhere to be found.
• With his head bowed, Joaquín told Sergio everything that had happened.
• Olivia was asleep when she heard someone open her bedroom door suddenly.
• "You damned brat. Tell me, where is your sister?"
• Olivia swallowed hard; she knew the consequences that bringing her sister out of the house would bring.
• "Why are you asking me? I don't know anything about her."
• "I know you distracted Joaquín so she could escape, foolish girl. You don't know the danger Ava is in if she gets married and discovers her origins. I'd rather they hate me than be dead."
• "Dad! What are you saying?" Olivia blurted out with concern.
• "Nothing," he breathed deeply, turned around, and retreated to his office, grabbed his phone, and made a call.