Chains Of Crystal [ Fiction]

As the purplish glow of the sky slowly faded giving way to sunrise, I quickened my pace, working up more sweat as my lungs screamed for relief. A storm was brewing in my head and my heart was barely holding on.

I'd known wealth and luxury all my life. As the daughter and only child of the wealthiest man in Seychelles, I lived a privileged life until everything changed with the appearance of a middle-aged couple.

I wasn't who I thought I was. Crystal Dionn was never real—just a name given to a child abducted to conceal Patrick and Laura Dionn's shame.

I'd been fed diluted lies by these people all my life and now the truth was out. And with my wedding only a week away—a society match designed to fill my parents' already overflowing pockets.

My biological parents, Chadwick and Janette George, had searched for me, expending everything they had to find me. At first, it was hard to believe but they were careful to approach when I was alone—just like today during my run at the crack of dawn.

The birth certificate and other documents like the medical reports couldn't lie. I gave this couple the benefit of doubt and carried out my own tests. The results left me in a catatonic state for days. I was not Crystal Dionn. I was a nobody!

Dad knew something was up but my personal assistant slash maid couldn't give him a satisfying answer. He turned to my bodyguards instead and grilled them after which they warned me. “Watch your back, Crystal. You don't want to cross your father.”

I scoffed. Father? Patrick Dionn was a stranger to me.

At that moment, I resolved to cancel the wedding and disappear with my biological parents to a place where they would never find us. I'd already made the necessary arrangements with my bank and friends at the immigration office.

My heart raced with excitement for the new life ahead. A life free from lies, suffocating control and unrelenting expectations.

I freshened up after my morning run and was dressed for work when Chad, one of my Dad's bodyguards led me out of my room through a secret passage I didn’t know existed to a chamber underneath our mansion. I broke out in sweat as the odour of pain and death hit me square in the face.

The place was hollow, and eerie. Every sound bounced against the walls, creating multiple sounds from all directions. A shiver of dread ran through me.

My survival instinct kicked in and I fought Chad. He grabbed both my hands and twisted them behind me. I was in excruciating pain. “Enough, Crystal,” he warned. “Don't make me hurt you, okay?”

He punched a code into the keypad on the wall and a heavy metal door slid open, revealing Chadwick and Janette George tied up back to back. Their faces were bruised and smeared with dried blood.

No! I wanted to run to them but Chad held me back.

Patrick Dionn stood with his hands crossed over his chest, his face grim with determination. He looked disappointed in me. “I gave you everything. Everything, Crystal! And this is how you repay me?”

“Wh-what are you talking about?”

He flung my travel passport on the table for me to see. I gasped. “There's nowhere on this earth you can run where I won't find you. So if you want this man and woman to live, you will stay and marry Matt Pitcher.”

“Dad!”

“I'm a man of my words, Crystal. You know this.”

My biological parents mumbled and shook their heads but I knew that was the only way to save them. I would go through with the wedding and make Patrick Dionn wealthier and powerful.

I wiggled out of Chad's hold and ran towards Patrick Dionn. “You promise?”

His stoic look was the answer I got. He was no longer the father I knew.

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I hope you enjoyed reading this short piece inspired by the Freewrite #dailyprompt word or phrase “diluted the lies”

Thank you for visiting my blog.

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