SHADOWBROOK SECRETS

Cassandra Vitale

    It's 10am in the city of Shadowbrook, and the tension building up in me is so high that I could tear someone down. It was just one person that could get me so mad like this.

"Are you being serious right? After everything, my God you're so unbelievable" I said angrily slamming my hand into the table.

"Cassandra you better calm down or I'll call my security to take you out" Anthony said so calmly without batting an eye.

I felt even more distraught, hearing him say he was going to call the security on me. I was married to him for God sake, how could he say that?

"You dare tell me to my face that you would call the security on me? Are you out of your fucking mind?" I said, filled with so much rage that I could go crazy at any moment from now.

The abruptly loud thumping of Anthony's hand on the table, as he stood up made me go silent immediately.

"Woman! do not try my patience," he said leaning forward, as he rested his hand on the table looking deeply into my eyes.

"Leave or I call the security on you." He paused, taking a deep breath.

"I've been saying this for the past one hour, you should go home and we'll talk about this when we get home, so leave now" Anthony said calmly, but I could feel the anger in his voice and in his eyes.  A shiver ran down my spine as his words hung heavy in the air.

The window blindfolds of his office were closed, but I could hear the little chittering of his office workers outside. They probably heard how I screamed like a crazy woman and how Anthony slammed his hand to the table. I remained calm to avoid further embarrassment since I would be leaving the office.

He sat back on his chair giving off a rude, pompous demeanor. I hated the fact that he was like this, ever since my father died I've not had a chance to live my life as my own. I was like a pawn in the hands of my father and Anthony and it infuriates me just thinking about it.

"You've been telling me that we will talk about it for the past one month and anytime I bring up the conversation you refuse to give me a clear answer or even talk about it" I said calmly searching his emotionless eyes for answers.

"I've told you that we will talk about it " he mumbled through his gritted teeth, his eyes momentarily meeting mine before darting back to the laptop screen in frustration and anger.

"Fine, do whatever you want I don't give a f—" i blurted out, as I was interrupted by the secretary that entered into the office.

"Sorry for interrupting, I thought she had left—" she said.

I cut her short.

"It's fine, I was leaving already " i said walking out the door.

"Bye honey!" He said, wearing a sarcastic smile on his face. 

A grunt escaped from my lips under my breath. I shut the door behind me with a loud slam and walked majestically outside the building not minding the workers still chittering alongside with their prying eyes that were staring at me like I had committed a crime.

"Hmph, look all you want. Like I give a goddamn fu—" I whispered under my breath looking around, when I bumped into a guy. I fell to the floor.

I was definitely going to give this guy a piece of my mind, I don't care whoever it was. My gaze caught his, the mysterious guy

and all my anger just washed down the drain. His aura was so soothing, his smell was one of a kind, his facial and his body structure was so alluring, his blue eyes I could totally get lost in, his voice…

"Ma'am are you okay?" He said waking me up to reality.

"Oh sorry... my bad. I wasn't looking…. where I was going. My apologies" I stuttered, as he assisted me by lifting me up from the floor.

Why in God's name was I stuttering?

"It's fine, please watch your steps okay? Gotta rush, I've got an appointment" he said walking towards the elevator.

"Thank you!" I shouted waving at him.

A sheepish grin plastered itself on my face as I cradled the arm I'd used in a flamboyant cartoon-like wave. Why on earth did I do that?

"Cassandra vitale" I muttered to myself

"Get a grip!"

The details I registered about him seemed impossibly vivid, almost as if I was hyper-focused.

Hormones, I concluded with a mental eye roll. I shook off the fluster and strode out of the towering building, the city lights blurring slightly at the edges of my vision.

The symphony of honking horns was the city's morning anthem. I walked for a while, away from his office building and stood at a point by the road conducting my own one-woman show, arm raised in a perpetual wave. Each passing car seemed to ignore my desperate signal, adding to the growing frustration bubbling in my gut.

While I stood waiting for a taxi, the insistent buzz of the phone pulled my attention from my present dilemma. Grabbed my phone, unlocked my screen and was greeted by the name displayed choco splashed with bright, playful letters. A cascade of emoji's that followed. I picked the call instantly.

"Hey choco I'm sorry I couldn't pick the call earlier on I've been—" I said.

"What do you mean?" I asked, my face immediately tightened up.

"I should leave where I am? Why?" I asked, confused.

"Ma'am you have to come with now" a man in a black suit said grabbing my arm forcefully.

"Excuse me? And who might you be for me to follow you?" I asked, struggling to release myself from his grip.

"Unicorn" he said, his face emotionless.

Unicorn? Whatever does that even mean? It doesn't answer my question.

"Unicorn is a secret code, if any of my men says that word you should know i sent him" the voice of Anthony re-echoing in my head.

"Did Anthony send you to me?" I asked, my voice filled with concern. He nodded in response. For a minute this strange guy grabbing onto my hand felt awfully familiar, but I just shook off the feeling.

"Yes ma'am just kindly follow me now!" He said, sounding so commanding.

I placed my phone back to my ear

"I'm sorry I have to go now " I said ending the call.

I followed the lead of the security man, we got into a black van. Two other men who were all suited up in black suit and dark shades were also seated at the front of the car. I entered into the van without hesitation and the guy who carried me to the van followed after and closed the door behind him.

"So where are we going?" I asked curiously.

Silence. A thick suffocating silence that pressed down on me like a storm cloud. My mind churned with a whirlwind of anxieties. Had Anthony gotten himself into another scrape? How in the world did choco even know that I was in some kind of trouble? Each unanswered question piled on top of the last, a heavy weight threatening to crush me with every passing minute. Panic began to bubble in my chest, and I felt the world shrink around me, plunging into an abyss of uncertainty.

Suddenly the air around me became so thick and heavy, making it so difficult to breathe. My heart hammered so hard against my ribs, a frantic drum solo in my ears. Panic, cold and sharp clawed up my throat. I gasped, the sound ragged and desperate.

Instinct took over. I scrambled to my feet, my legs became weak and wobbly. I needed air, any air. I struggled to wind down the car window.

"Ma'am!" The security man grasped my arm, it felt like a lifeline in the storm.

His gentle hand on my shoulder, his touch a grounding force. 

"Ma'am, it's okay" he said his voice low and soothing.

"What's wrong with her" one of the men sitted at the front asked.

"She's going through a panic attack, drive towards a secure place so she can breathe" he said.

"Ma'am you're having a panic attack, look at me, focus on my voice."

His words, though felt distant, pierced through the Fog of fear. I turned to him, my eyes were wild and unfocused. The car stopped by an unknown road side that I did not recognize.

Are we going out of town? My visions were becoming blurred. What's with this sudden problem?

"Take a deep breath, Cass," he instructed, his voice calm and steady. I tried but my breaths were shallow and quick, like a bird trapped in a cage.

"No, no cass" he said gently. 

"Like this" he took a slow and deep breath, his chest rising and falling demonstrably. 

He rolled down the window of the car. I mimicked him, the cool of air that flooded into the car was like a silver of comfort against the rising tide of panic.

And with every breath I took, the security man guided me through calming breaths, his voice a steady rhythm anchoring me in my little chaos. My visions were becoming clearer, i turned to look at him.

How did he know how to do it? He looks so familiar? How did he know my name? Oh Anthony could have told him, but only a few people called me cass. A lot of questions blew up in my mind again. I couldn't help it. I was someone who was very inquisitive.

Slowly, the frantic beating of my heart began to slow, the inside of the car gradually coming back into focus. Tears welled in my eyes, a wave of relief washed all over me.

"There you go," the security man murmured, his voice a gentle balm. 

"See? You're okay now." His gaze met mine drifting to the other men seated at the front, their face written with shock all over it.

"How do you know—" one of the men said, he cut him off in his sentence.

"In the next five minutes you continue driving, let her catch her breath. Um, Let's all leave the car, give her some room," he commanded. The two men left the car and stood outside the car leaning on the sides of the car.

A memory came flooding my head of me going through a panic attack and a young boy helped me through it. I never remembered having a memory like that of me going through a panic attack, but the boy who helped me overcome it, was a friend that I had lost for over ten years.

"Five minutes is up" one of the men said.

They started the car and we got moving. I couldn't stop looking at the security man who helped me through the panic attack. He seemed awfully familiar but i couldn't pinpoint. All through the ride his gaze remained focused on the road.

I slept off during the drive. A soft tap woke me up from my sleep.

"We're here already," The security man said. I looked out the window and a massive mansion was standing there. My jaw dropped at the sight of it. It was screaming luxury.

Why I'm I even here? When did Anthony get this house? Why did he take me to a place that's far from the city?

"Ma'am ?" He said calmly, bringing me back to reality away from my thoughts.

I turned to look at him, he looked strikingly familiar and i couldn't help it, I was definitely going to ask and clear my doubts.

"Oh my apologies" I said about stepping down from the car. 

"Are you by any chance Ke—" I said mid sentence trying to figure out who the mystery security man was when the Dozens of maids all dressed in a blue checkered gown and their apron tied on their waist, they all came rushing towards me in two straight lines.

"You're welcome madam Cassandra" they all chorused with their faces beaming with smiles.