Locked (Olivia POV)

My body started to tremble when I entered the prison. The atmosphere felt so gloomy and heavy, only scary thoughts that came into my mind. I found my father was standing with his back to me, waiting in one of the cells there. "Father." I called him in fear.

My father turned his body and 'plak...' He slapped my cheek. That was the second slap I got on the same day. He even slapped me at the same spot where Rosaline slapped me.

"Fa-father…"

My father raised his hand and the guards who dragged me released their hands from me and left. 'Plak… plak…' My father slapped me several times. It hurts, hurts a lot to the point I felt my face would fall off. The smell of blood struck my nose and my ears were ringing.

"You ungrateful child! I gave you everything but you betrayed me?!" Father yelled at me. So he really knew my plan. My only question at that time was, did Duke Ashford know it too?

"Duke Ashford trusts you to help Prince Roosevelt to raise the throne. But you repay his trust by betraying him?!" My father took a chair behind him and lifted it up, ready to throw it at me.

"Father!!!" I shouted and covered my head with my hands. My feet felt so weak that I couldn't stand anymore and fell on the ground. "I'm your daughter! How come you hit me, your daughter, with a chair?!"

My father stopped for a moment and lowered the chair. "If you're my daughter, then why are you betraying us?! You have notes about the latest annual evaluation and meet Prince Francis secretly. What does it mean besides betrayal?!" He lifted the chair.

"Stop it marquis!" A voice came from behind me, the cell's entrance; he was Duke Ashford. My father stopped and put the chair in his hands back. "She's right. She is your daughter, you have to treat her in a different way." The duke entered.

The duke dragged the chair that was about to hit me, and sat on it, in front of me. "Olivia." He called my name looking down right to my face. "I always trust you and let you be my advisor. You have done a lot of great things, I appreciate it."

So, the duke also knew my plan. Then, I couldn't do anything besides being silent and listening to his words.

"I even still trust you even though your performance is decreasing. But you disappoint me. You betray me! You didn't report about Francis getting sick to me or my sister. Not only that, you stole your father's note and told the exam materials to Prince Francis. You also meet him in secret. Do you have anything to say about this?"

Even smiling hurt so much for me. I forced myself to smile at the duke. "If I say something, it won't help me at all, right? You have done this far to me by bringing me to the prison, you must have proof for all you said."

"You can still smile at this kind of time?" The duke stood up, left me in the cell. "Lock her for now. We have to think of a way to deal with her. For the time being, just tell everyone that she is suddenly sick." He left with my father and a guard came to lock the cell.

I walked to a wall at the cell and sat on the ground, against the wall, hugging my legs. The cell felt so cold and dark. The only source of light was torches hanging on the wall.

"How does it feel, Olivia?" I heard a girl's voice alongside footsteps. Someone was coming and that person was Lydia. As expected, she was the one who told father. There was a high chance she was the one who stole my robe.

"Why are you so silent? Usually, you talk about a big plan, but now, you are so silent." She stood in front of the cell where I was locked.

I didn't have any intention to answer her, I remained silent. "I think you finally get how I felt when you take away everything I have." She lowered her body, to take a close look. "I admit that you performed well. You did a great job. But I can't believe you will end like this. Now, all you can do is wait here and hear the news about me achieving a lot of great things!" She stood up and was about to leave.

"You come here, just to say those words? You are wasting your time, sister Lydia."

Lydia turned back toward me. "Finally you said something. Good bye, Olivia. Just you wait for the end of your life. You know how our father is." She left me.

I really was alone at that time and started to think about what happened so far. The duke knew that I betrayed him, so there was a chance that Rowan knew about this. But why didn't the duke mention what I did at Rowan's place? Did Rowan hide it or what? I even had a hard time just to gain his trust before.

The thing that happened between me and Francis also made me think about what I had done so far. Was I being too far about him? I started to think that I did wrong to him. But that was the only thing I could think of to overcome the situation we were in.

...

!Flashback ten years ago, when Olivia was six years old!

In the big mansion of the Whitley family, I used to live a happy life. My mother and father were so proud of me and sister Lydia because we always did well in our class. Father always heard us and among all children in the family, he gave us the best.

But unfortunately, that happy life didn't last long. One day, I learned the truth about my father. He treated me well because I did well and in his eyes, I was someone useful. If I had no use, then he would eliminate me easily.

Since that time, I started to learn so hard to get more of my father's intention. By time, I became the most special kid in the mansion and started to work at Duke Ashford's mansion.

In the end, I learned that the Whitley family and the Ashford family had a lot of scary secrets behind it. And if these secrets were revealed, then I would be dragged down along with them.

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Hi, I'm back with a new chapter.

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