Blood and Roses

chapter eight

RICHARD'S POV.

I've never trusted that damn maid. She was adopted and the name 'Smith' was attached to her name by my father. I Know it's a cruel joke on his part or a smart attempt to keep our identity undercover. My real name is Richard Vladimir and my father Adam Vladimir has been looking for the Jackson girl for years now.

About eight years back, my uncle Dimitri Vladimir, head of the Vladimir clan and boss of the most notorious and feared Russian syndicate entrusted a job to my dad. It was nothing new, just an order to wipe out the Jackson's for treason. That night, our men had handled everything as expected but the girl managed to slip away. Since then,we've been searching for the girl but she seemed to have disappeared completely and all our efforts were futile.

Just when we were about to sweep the case under the rug, Our team got hold of some information from a foster home about a girl named Roselle who arrived at the home two months after the incident and we had her adopted so we could keep her close and under our watch.

Since then, we've been making enquires who she met and friends she might have talked to in the home and still nothing. She kept no friends, talked to no one and that was strange and very frustrating.

I must admit, the maid was a looker. Long chocolate brown hair, blue eyes, pink pouty lips, highlighted cheek bones and a curvy body to kill for but her repulsion towards me drove me insane. I knew we couldn't trust her and finding the study door open proved my point.

It was obvious she was snooping and I intend to let her continue. If she was indeed the Jackson girl, she would definitely end up dead, and if she's not then she'll last a few years as a help before we get rid of her like the others.

For now, I'll just keep a close watch on her and let her snoop some more. Who knows, her curiosity might help in revealing who she really is.

ROSELLE'S POV

It's been a week since I snuck into the study and I can't help the restlessness during the day and lack of sleep at night. I was simply going insane, I needed to get answers to my questions and I planned on getting it as soon as they leave for whatever business they have to do today.

The sound of tires pulling away from the driveway was my cue. I hurried to the study and with steadier hands and more resolve, I began working on the lock and in no time I was inside and already searching through files and documents for information.

There was nothing of any interest, mostly information on drug cartels, completed deals, cargos, shipments and other stuffs.

I was running impatient and out of time. I knew they would return soon and I needed to get my hands on something tangible.

Just when I was about to give up, I noticed something strange about one of the drawers attached to the desk. It had another compartment and that meant something was hidden inside.

I took out the files and slid the cover open. Inside was a brown old file and copies of some documents. On those documents, the name Adam Vladimir was written and for a brief moment,I was confused.

On another paper was the copy of a family tree. The Vladimir family. It seemed the head was someone named Dimitri and beneath him were the names Alec and Ivan and next to his name like an extended branch was Adam and beneath him was the name Richard. The rest of the names seemed to dance in front of my eyes.

This meant one thing...

Adam and Richard were part of the Vladimir family and the name Smith was never their name. Many questions were swimming in my head, with shaky hands, I pulled loose the bind on the brown file and right inside were copies of papers with information about my father, mother,brother and even me.

Pictures of Royce and I in school, pictures of my mom sitting at the front porch at home. Pictures of my dad right outside the house, it was obvious we were watched and followed before that night.

It was as if my heart was ripped out of my chest and slammed back in. I had been living with the Same people that murdered my family. Anger, hate disbelief and pain washed right through me and for the first time in years, I cluctched my locket, and let the tears of my loss flow. After grieving for what seemed like hours, I put the files away and with a stoned expression and balled fists, I slipped out of the room.

One thing was certain, I needed to get out of here and devise a plan on how to exact revenge from them.

Time was running out and before I get discovered, I'll have to act fast.