Chapter Thirty One:

Lotus' hand braced on the railing as she made her way up the stairs, she could still hear Hazel and Five's voice from the living room as she stepped onto the second floor. The room that Allison was in was open, and she inched her way towards it, hoping that Luther was no longer there.

To her surprise, he wasn't and Allison was sitting in a chair next to a large window. Lotus beamed seeing the other women awake, that meant that she was ok.

"Allison?"

She turned, eyes lighting up. Lotus kept her smile on but she knew it wavered when her eyes landed on the bandage that took the entirely of Allison's neck.

"Are you doing ok?"

The women walked over and pulled Lotus into a hug, what sounded like a sob escaped her lips. She pulled away and shook her head with a shrug, scooping up a pad and pen and began scribbling on it.

I can't talk. Not anymore.

Lotus took a deep breath, wondering if she knew that the man who did this was dead.

"Leonard Or- Or Harold, well, he's dead. He won't be hurting anyone again."

Allison shook her head, eyes welling with tears as she brought the pen back onto the paper.

Vanya.

Lotus' eyes widened, "She did this to you?"

The women nodded, wiping at her nose. Lotus stood there, her mind racing. They hadn't found Vanya with all the times they've searched the house, but she hadn't seen Luther anywhere either. He had been with Allison for a bit, but where was he now?

"Allison?" Lotus mumbled, "Where's Luther?"

She shrugged her shoulders, staring down at her feet.

"Does he know Vanya—"

The women's eyes widened and she nodded, racing past Lotus and into the hallway. Lotus joined her, taking the lead and nearly tumbling down the stairs. Five came rushing from a room, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Pogo!" Lotus shouted, looking from room to room. "Grace!"

"Miss Lotus."

She whirled around to see Pogo, who situated himself next to Five.

"Where's Vanya?"

Five smacked his lips, "She isn't here, remember."

"What if she was all along?" Lotus questioned, moving her gaze to Pogo. "Do you know where Luther is?"

He sighed, his cane rubbing against the tile. He took off in a slow walk and she followed as they made their way down into the kitchen. He stopped in front of door and pushed it open, leading into a hallway.

"I thought this was just a pantry." Five grumbled. "What is this place?"

Pogo stopped in front what looked like an elevator, he clicked a button and it glowed yellow.

"There are things your father have kept from you. Much more than you originally thought." The door opened silently and they all got in expect for Pogo. "It's time you all found out."

The door closed and Lotus glanced behind her to see Allison, tears threatening to spill from her eyes and Five who just looked annoyed. The elevator descended farther down and her ears began to pop, she cringed as it finally came to a stop. The doors reopened and a long, dark hallway appeared. Lotus was the first one out, running down the hall and struggling to open the first set of doors they found. When they finally came feee, she stumbled upon an open door that looked like a safe, and within it, something horrible.

Vanya could be seen through a small, narrow window of a giant metal room. She was screaming and a hand was pounding at the window but nothing could be heard. Luther had his back to them, but Allison brushed by her and walked up to the glass. Klaus and Diego emerged from somewhere, and when Lotus turned to see Five, he was gone.

"Allison? I told you to stay upstairs."

Lotus took off in a walk, not stopping until she reached the glass and Vanya let her hand drop. She was saying something, but she didn't know what. Lotus grabbed ahold of the handle and tried to force it open, but it seemed to be stuck.

"What the hell are you doing?" A hand landed on her shoulder and yanked her backwards, she met the angry eyes of Luther as he stared down at her. "You shouldn't be here. It isn't safe."

"Not safe for who?" She grumbled trying to wiggle free from his grasp.

"She has powers, Lotus. She isn't safe."

"So you locked our sister up because you think she has powers?" Klaus' voice pierced the air.

"No, I know she does. Pogo told me. He's always known, and so did Dad."

Lotus grunted as she threw an elbow back and she felt his hand lift from her shoulder. "That's still no excuse for locking a human being up in a damn cage!"

"Why would he hide this from us? I mean, am I the only one who didn't know this place existed?" Diego sighed, looking over at his trapped sister. "He kept so much from us."

"He hid it because he was afraid of her."

"Oh, that's ridiculous." Klaus rolled his eyes, staring into the window at his sister who was still pounding uselessly at the door.

"Is it?" Luther cursed his arms, "Dad's lied about everything else, why is this so far-fetched?"

"If you're right, then maybe she's the one who killed Peabody." Diego added, falling next to his brother. "And cut Allison's throat."

"Woah, no!" Klaus whirled around, "Let's— I just— Sorry, let's go back for a second. This is Vanya you're talking about. Our sister! The one who always cried when we stepped on ants as kids."

Lotus' foot tapped impatiently on the ground, she didn't need to be related to any of them to know how wrong this was. "Luther, this is insane! She is your sister and you've thrown her in a cage! You can't—"

"You're opinion doesn't matter here, how many times do I have to tell you that." Luther glared down at her, "It's unfortunate that Five isn't here to advocate for you, and nobody listens when he's not with you so if you would just get out of our house and—"

"Hey!" Klaus' voice was sharp as he shouted, she turned to see him march up to his brother, pointing a finger in his face. "What the hell is wrong with you!"

"Klaus—"

"No! Lotus is right. Vanya is our sister, and we should've need proof to unlock her. She needs our help and we can't do shit if she's locked in a cage. For all we know, she could be struggling with this new power, I mean, it must be terrifying for her!"

"Look, if what Pogo told me is even half true, then she's not just a danger to us—"

Allison stepped forward, trying to push past Luther. "I can't let you do that."

She tried again, hitting his arm that wrapped around her. "She hurt you." He said, "She's staying put."

Allison tried again, pounding at his arm. "Come on." He mumbled as she sobbed, "Come on. You need to rest."

Lotus frowned, "You're seriously just leaving her locked up?"

Luther turned and glowered, "Yes and that's final. Everyone's upstairs, if I catch anyone down here I will resort to more drastic measures."

And with that, his siblings took one last look at their sister, screaming and crying from the window. Lotus watched, shaking her head slowly. Wanting to tell Vanya that she would be back, because all her life the women had been ignored and neglected, and now it was happening again. No, Lotus would be back down, and when she left again Vanya would be by her side because what Luther was doing to his sister was unacceptable.