Chapter 31

Kura

Thunderstorm loomed over the city. I was watching the rain and the heavy winds through my window. Traces of lightning decorated the night sky.

It has been raining pretty hard since this afternoon. It wasn’t stopping so I decided to listen to the news and find out about the weather. I am now watching the storm that the news reported. Jacob called and said that it’s impossible to go home tonight.

My lips lifted upwards in anticipation.

Tonight will be the night then.

I have studied his mansion for weeks, touring around the place and finding out where his men have stationed. They were mostly outside and somewhere near the gates. My guess was it was to scare someone who plans to come uninvited.

There were also other guards lurking inside the mansion and just outside of it. And when he grew to trust me, the guards became lesser. That was the point really. To go in his good side til he drops his guard and trusts me.

It wasn’t the only time he left me here for days. From how it looked before, he expected me to plan to escape but I didn’t. I stayed. I allowed myself to submit to him, allowed him to do anything he wanted to me, thinking I was scared that he'd do something to my friends.

But tonight is different. This is the kind of setting I waited and wanted to happen. Jacob’s absence and the rain covering my tracks and the sound of my escape.

I waited until it was almost midnight until everyone was exhausted to stay on guard. And the fact that the weather was cold makes you want to sleep all day and all night long. Tonight was just too perfect.

When I feel it was the right time, I start executing my plan. I opened the door and expected the guard to stand outside. Even though Jacob began to trust me, he still sends someone to stand guard outside my door. It was either for my protection or just a plain babysitter.

“Hey, can you help me with something?” He stood straight away from leaning against the wall. He nodded ready to help me. I quickly stole a glance to the hall if there were other guards. Luckily, it’s only this man. I let him come inside and guided him to where I wanted his help.

Jacob’s guards weren’t the typical suit and tie and sunglasses. They were ordinary clothes like jackets over shirts and then jeans. His men though were all bulky. Not all but most of them.

“I wanted to read but I think my lamp is broken. Can you fix it?” He only nodded without saying anything.

He knelt down and started fixing the lamp. I stealthily grab a vase that I hid under the bed and swing it to his head. He fell to the floor with his head bleeding.

Oh god, I hope he’s not dead. I tried to ignore the guilty feeling and pushed aside the regret that I might’ve murdered someone. I hastily looked for his phone in his pockets with trembling hands. My heart was beating triple times a minute, tears pooling in my eyes as I finally found his phone.

I swiped it to check for the battery and it was still halfway its life which is more than enough. The phone though was locked. I’ll try to reset it later once I know I’m in the safe area.

I willed myself to calm down my nerves before going out of the room. I locked it inside once I got out. I eyed the halls if there were other guards posted. There were none so I continued my way out sneakily. I even removed my shoes so no one will hear my footsteps.

I decided to escape through the kitchen since it was the least guarded area. The most guarded in this place were the gates and the far side of the mansion where Jacob doesn’t want me there. It was probably the basement where he keeps his stuff. Illegal stuff.

I found one or two guards as I made my way to the kitchen but I was extremely careful that they wouldn’t notice me. They were yawning as they tried hard to stand still. I even saw one shivering from the cold.

I exhaled in relief when I reached the kitchen successfully. I slowly and carefully opened the door to the kitchen that would lead to the side of the house. Unfortunately though it was kind of near the gates so when I run towards the fence, there’s a huge chance they will see me.

As I opened the door, I immediately heard the men shouting amidst the rain. My heart jumped louder and faster even more. I almost slammed the door shut but I was fast enough to stop the door from closing. I then squatted down and peaked through the tiny space and waited for them to go.

It took a while for them to finish whatever they’re arguing. When I felt that it was good to go, I hastily got out, careful to close the door so no one would hear. I maintained my position, crouching down as I almost crawled towards the bushes that adorned the sides of the mansion. It had enough height to cover me.

Just as I dived through the bushes, the voices came back and it was nearer.

“Boss wants to continue the shipment as soon as the storm passes.”

“Should we continue transferring them to the truck?”

“Just be careful and not let the container get too wet. We leave as soon as the rain lets up.”

I heard them through the rain. I waited for them to completely disappear and made my move. I crawled and crawled until I reached the area where I could cross towards the trees that covered the huge fence.

I peeked through the bushes and I saw a few of Jacob’s men busy with moving a huge container covered with black material to avoid getting wet from the rain.

Can I run towards the trees without getting caught? The trees were only a couple of meters away.

Fuck it. I tried to expel the fear and the unnecessary nerves I was feeling and gather my strength, speed and faith that I can successfully run across without them seeing me.

One. Two. Three. And I ran as fast and as quietly as I could. I immediately hid behind the tree when I managed to cross without them noticing.

“What was that?” I heard them despite the distance. The rain was pretty loud so they had to shout to be heard.

“What was what? Don’t stop, idiot, or the water will get through the cover.” One of them exclaimed.

“I feel like I saw something moving. This place isn’t haunted, right?”

“What haunted? Boss will haunt our ass if we fail to deliver this package safe and dry.”

I exhaled shakily when they continued to move and brushed off what the other had noticed. I started walking towards the fence cautiously. My feet hurt against the stone and twigs but I pushed back the pain.

I was still in my pajamas risking the cold and bare feet. I had considered the thought that they might have caught me and they have no reason to doubt that I’m planning an escape. Why would someone escape during a storm with no way of protection but just her pajamas? I planned this escape for weeks studying and memorizing the mansion where the best part to exit with lesser or no guard at all. Thankfully though, I was wearing a long sleeved one and pants. It added a little protection.

When I reached the fence, the wall was huge. About twice my height. The only stuff I brought for escaping was a thin rope in my pocket. And I doubted if it would be enough.