First escape attempt
837 Words
Jane had spent three days studying the mansion.
Three days of pretending to obey.
Three days of acting calm whenever Richard’s cold eyes landed on her.
Three days trapped inside a prison disguised as luxury.
She finally found a weakness.
The back gate.
Unlike the massive front entrance guarded by armed men and security cameras, the rear side of the estate seemed quieter. Fewer guards. Less movement. Beyond it was a narrow forest road that connected to the main highway outside Ashford.
Freedom.
At least, that was what Jane kept telling herself.
Midnight settled heavily over the mansion as she slipped silently from her bedroom. Her heart hammered so hard she was certain someone would hear it.
The hallway was dark except for dim golden wall lights. Every step felt dangerous.
She paused near the staircase when distant voices echoed downstairs.
Guards.
Jane quickly ducked behind a marble pillar, holding her breath until the voices faded.
Then she ran.
Not fast enough to make noise.
Not slow enough to lose courage.
The cold night air hit her face the moment she slipped through the kitchen exit. Rainwater still clung to the stone paths from earlier storms, making the garden glisten beneath the moonlight.
Jane didn’t stop moving.
Bushes scratched against her arms as she hurried toward the rear fence. Her chest tightened with fear and hope mixing painfully together.
This was it.
If she made it outside, she would never return.
The back gate stood slightly open.
Jane froze. Her stomach tightened immediately.
Why would it be open?
A terrible feeling crawled through her stomach, but freedom was right there. So close, she could almost taste it.
She pushed the gate wider and stepped outside.
For one second, nothing happened.
Then, hands grabbed her violently from the darkness.
Jane screamed.
A masked man slammed her against the gate before she could escape. Another appeared behind her, grabbing her wrists so tightly pain shot through her arms.
“Found her,” one of them growled.
“Boss said alive.”
Jane kicked wildly, panic exploding through her body.
“Let me go!”
One man covered her mouth brutally while another dragged her toward a black SUV hidden near the trees.
Terror swallowed her whole. Her knees nearly gave out as the men dragged her toward the SUV.
These weren’t random criminals.
They had been waiting.
“For someone protected by Richard,” another masked man sneered, “you’re disappointing.”
Richard.
The name sent ice through Jane’s veins.
Before she could think further, headlights suddenly exploded across the road.
The men cursed.
A black car came speeding toward them with terrifying force.
It stopped so violently that gravel was scattered everywhere.
Then Richard stepped out.
Jane had never seen him look like that before. The cold control she was used to was gone. What remained was pure fury.
The masked men immediately pulled out weapons.
Richard walked toward them anyway.
“You picked the wrong night,” Richard said coldly.
One attacker rushed him first.
What happened next was so fast Jane barely processed it.
Richard caught the man’s arm, twisted violently, and the sound of bone snapping shattered the night.
The man screamed.
Another charged from behind, but Richard struck him hard across the face before slamming him into the SUV with enough force to dent the door.
Jane stared in horror.
Richard wasn’t fighting like a businessman.
He fought like someone born for violence.
One masked man grabbed Jane suddenly, pressing a knife near her throat.
“Back off!”
Richard stopped instantly.
For one dangerous second, silence swallowed the road.
Then Richard smiled.
It wasn’t a normal smile.
It was worse.
Cold. Deadly.
“You touched her,” he said softly.
The man holding Jane hesitated.
That hesitation cost him everything.
Jane couldn’t breathe. The knife pressed harder against her throat. She saw Richard finger tighten around the gun.
A gunshot exploded through the darkness.
Jane screamed as the attacker collapsed beside her.
Blood spread across the dirt road while the remaining masked men panicked.
Richard lowered the gun slowly.
“Run,” he warned them.
They didn’t wait.
The SUV sped away into the darkness seconds later, leaving only silence behind.
Jane stood frozen, trembling uncontrollably.
She should have felt safe when Richard arrived instead. Instead, she was even more afraid.
Richard walked toward her carefully.
She stepped back immediately.
Fear filled his eyes for a brief second before his expression hardened again.
“You see now?” he asked quietly.
Jane’s voice shook. “They were waiting for me…”
“Yes.”
“Who are they?”
Richard stared toward the dark forest beyond the gate.
“Men far worse than me.”
The words should have comforted her.
Instead, they terrified her even more.
Because for the first time since arriving at the mansion…
For the first time entering the mansion, Jane realized the world outside Richard walls might be even more dangerous than the man protecting her inside them.
- Writer
