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Chapter 9: Escape

Aurora

I exhaled, my heart pounding as my chest as adrenaline rushed through my veins. The darkness outside the mansion's walls enveloped us, the only sound the distant hum of the security system and the soft rustle of leaves.

The air was heavy with anticipation, each breath weighing heavier than the last. One wrong move and everything would be ruined and then I’ll be stuck here for God knows how long.

Gabe’s eyes locked onto mine, his expression a mask of determination. “Stay close,” he whispered, his voice barely audible over the crickets' gentle chirping.

I nodded, my ponytail bobbing slightly as I fell into step behind Gabe. We both navigated through the manicured lawns, the moon casting an eerie glow on the perfectly trimmed hedges.

As we approached the mansion's fence, a towering wall of reinforced steel and glass, Gabe halted abruptly. I stopped just in time before I hit him, my heart racing from the thought of stumbling. I followed his gaze as he scanned the surroundings.

The fence stretched before us, its height and complexity a testament to Leonardo’s meticulous attention to detail. Why on earth did he have to be so cautious?

Gabe retrieved a small device from his pocket. From the looks of it, I could tell it was a custom-made jammer designed to disrupt the mansion’s advanced security system.

"I took care of the cameras," he whispered, his eyes locked on the fence. "But we need to move fast. The guards will be on us in minutes."

I dipped my head in a small nod still wary of my surroundings. I couldn’t afford to…

A loud sound interrupted my thoughts causing me to jerk my head towards Gabe. “What the…” I whisper shouted, my eyes flickering between him and the jammer. I didn’t need him to tell me what had happened…I already knew his stupid custom-made jammer didn’t work and now we had alerted the whole building that a certain someone was trying to escape. Just great.

The lights flickered and the air was filled with the sound of rushing guards. Gabe suddenly grabbed my arm, pulling me towards the fence. We sprinted across the lawn, our footsteps masked by the alarm. The fence loomed over us, but I could tell from the way Gabe looked at it that he had already identified a weak point.

It was no shocker that Gabe was actually betraying his boss just to get me out of here. Talk about loyalty taking a back seat. Men. Sometimes they could be so stupid. To think Gabe was doing all of this just because of a few seconds of body contact. Guess I have to reward him if I get out of here safely.

As we reached the designated spot, Gabe swiftly cut through the wires, the sound of snapping metal echoing through the night air. The opening grew, a narrow gap just large enough for me to squeeze through.

"Go!" He urged, his voice low and urgent. I glanced around taking in the chaos that had erupted in the wake of my escape. I then flashed Gabe a small smile before giving him a hug. Anyone who knew me really well would know that this was one of the greatest rewards I could give a guy.

“Thank you…for everything.” I tried my best to sound really touched while he just stood there, frozen to the ground.

I then turned around, slipping through the fence as quickly as I could, my heart racing with excitement. Finally, I was going to be out of this place. I had been trapped here for just two months but it felt like I had been here for a whole year. I had other important things to attend to, appointments to keep, art pieces to authenticate, and artists to meet. As a senior art curator, my absence would raise eyebrows, and I’m sure Lucia and Emily don’t even have a clue of where I am…well unless Father told them.

I had the chance to tell Emily, but I wasn’t the type of person who shared my problems, well, unless I was asked by someone I actually consider a friend of mine. I’m sure they’d both be worried. I just pray Lucia was able to run things while I wasn’t around.

“Hurry….don’t look back. They’ll have guards chasing after you in minutes.” I heard Gabe whisper from behind as I got to the other side of the wall.

I didn’t need him to tell me that. My heart pounded in my chest as I took off without sparing Gabe a glance. I didn’t have any idea where I was going as the darkness swallowed me whole but that didn’t matter…all I needed to do was to find a cab, then I’ll be able to go home and maybe father and I can come up with a plan before Leo comes to look for me.

It was only a matter of time before Leo found out that one of his own men had helped his prisoner…or slave as he preferred to call it, escape. Poor Gabe, if only he….

“Where do you think you’re going, Missy?” A familiar voice pierced the silence, stopping me in my tracks right before I took another turn.

Crap. I should have known this whole estate belongs to Leonardo, so it’ll only be normal for his men to be stationed at the entrance, but why him of all people…and why was he the only one here?

“Trying to escape huh?” The voice rang out again, its familiar chill crawling up my spine. Oh dammit. What was I supposed to do now? It was just one man…I could just…

Before I could think of doing anything, I felt a vice-like grip close around my wrist, spinning me back around. I tried to shake off the hand, but it only tightened, fingernails digging into my skin.

“Diego…let go of me.” I panted, struggling to break free, but he held me fast, pulling me backward. My heels scaled against the ground, leaving faint scuffs on the asphalt.

“It’s funny you thought you could actually escape with just one guard on your side.” His voice was laced with frost.

…with one guard on your side.

Did he know? Was that why he was standing here alone? He knew I was trying to escape tonight?

“But don’t worry…we’ll deal with Gabriele later.” With that, his grip yanked me harder, and I stumbled. Immediately a muscular arm wrapped around my waist, lifting me off the ground.

I knew he didn’t deserve that hug. “Let me go dammit.” I demanded, kicking out with my legs.

“Keep it down,” he growled, hitting me in the sides. And to think I called him a gentleman… he actually had the guts to hit a woman. “I wish I could punish you myself but the boss needs to get back first before we can actually decide what we’ll do with you.”

The Boss…

Crap.

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