Chapter 3: A Dangerous Escape
1320 Words
The office door creaked open.
Ava held her breath.
Every muscle in her body tensed as she instinctively stepped behind Damien. The darkness made it impossible to see who had entered, but the heavy footsteps echoing across the marble floor told her they were getting closer.
"Don't move," Damien whispered.
She nodded, though he couldn't see her.
The room was silent except for the pounding of her heart.
Then—
A beam of light sliced through the darkness.
Someone was using a flashlight.
The white light swept across the office, illuminating the polished desk, the leather chairs, and finally the spot where Ava had been standing moments ago.
"She's not here," a rough voice muttered.
"There are only two exits. She couldn't have gone far."
Ava pressed a trembling hand against her mouth to stop herself from gasping.
Who were these men?
Why were they hunting her?
Damien slowly reached into the inside pocket of his suit jacket.
To Ava's surprise, he didn't pull out a gun.
Instead, he took out a small electronic device no larger than a car key.
He pressed a button.
A quiet click echoed from somewhere behind the bookshelf.
A hidden door slid open.
Ava stared in disbelief.
"There's a secret passage?"
"My grandfather built it decades ago," Damien replied.
"It leads to the underground parking garage."
"Come."
She hesitated.
Every instinct screamed at her not to trust him.
But the voices in the office were getting closer.
One wrong move and they would be caught.
Damien extended his hand.
"If you stay here, they'll find you."
She looked at his hand, then at the approaching flashlight.
Finally, she took it.
His grip was warm and firm.
Without another word, he led her through the hidden doorway just as the office lights suddenly flickered back on.
Behind them, someone shouted.
"They're escaping!"
The hidden door slid shut.
For a brief moment, only darkness surrounded them.
Tiny emergency lights embedded in the walls slowly came to life, revealing a narrow concrete tunnel stretching into the distance.
The air smelled of dust and old stone.
Ava had never imagined a billionaire's office hiding something like this.
"How long is this tunnel?" she whispered.
"Long enough."
They hurried forward.
Behind them came a loud crash.
"They found the door!" Ava cried.
"They won't catch us."
Damien's voice remained calm, but his pace quickened.
After several minutes, they reached a steel door.
Damien entered a six-digit code.
The lock clicked.
The door swung open.
Cool night air rushed inside.
They stepped into an underground garage filled with luxury vehicles.
A sleek black sports car waited with its engine already running.
A man in a dark suit stood beside it.
"Mr. Blackwood."
Damien nodded.
"Any problems?"
"The east exit is blocked."
"What about the west?"
"Clear for now."
Damien opened the passenger door.
"Get in."
Ava climbed inside without arguing.
The moment Damien started the engine, tires screeched somewhere behind them.
Several black SUVs burst into the garage.
"They're here!" the driver shouted over the radio.
"Go!"
Damien slammed his foot on the accelerator.
The sports car shot forward like an arrow.
The pursuing SUVs followed close behind.
Ava grabbed the dashboard.
"They're chasing us!"
"I noticed."
"This isn't the time for jokes!"
"I'm not joking."
He expertly swerved around a concrete pillar.
One SUV clipped the wall, sending sparks flying.
Another closed in from the left.
Ava looked through the rear window.
"There are three of them!"
"There were four."
"What happened to the other one?"
"It crashed."
She stared at him.
How could he remain so calm?
The garage exit came into view.
The security gate was still closing.
"We're not going to make it!"
Damien didn't slow down.
Instead, he accelerated.
The sports car shot beneath the gate with only inches to spare.
The first SUV wasn't as lucky.
Its roof slammed into the metal barrier.
The impact echoed through the night.
Ava jumped in her seat.
"Oh my God..."
The remaining vehicles continued the pursuit.
Rain poured heavily onto the empty streets.
Damien drove with incredible precision, weaving through traffic and taking sharp turns that left their pursuers struggling to keep up.
After nearly fifteen tense minutes, the black SUVs finally disappeared from view.
Damien slowed the car.
"We lost them."
Ava released a shaky breath.
"I can't believe I'm still alive."
Neither could she believe something else.
The man she had hated for years had just risked his own life to save hers.
She turned toward him.
"Why?"
He kept his eyes on the road.
"Why what?"
"Why are you protecting me?"
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he answered quietly.
"Because I made a promise."
"A promise to whom?"
He looked at her for the first time since they escaped.
"Your father."
Ava's heart skipped.
"My father?"
"He knew his life was in danger."
"He asked me to protect you if anything ever happened to him."
Tears stung her eyes.
"No..."
"My father would never trust you."
"He did."
"He trusted me with the one person he loved most."
Ava looked away, unable to process his words.
Everything she had believed about Damien was falling apart.
If he was telling the truth...
Then someone else had destroyed her family.
And that someone was still out there.
Ava leaned back against the leather seat, still trying to steady her breathing.
The city lights blurred past the rain-covered windows, but her mind was fixed on one question.
Who was Damien Blackwood?
The ruthless billionaire she had hated for years...
Or the man who had just risked his life to save hers?
Neither version made sense anymore.
After nearly twenty minutes, Damien turned into a quiet, heavily guarded estate surrounded by high stone walls and towering trees.
A pair of iron gates slowly opened.
Security cameras followed the car as it drove inside.
"This is my private residence," Damien said.
"Only a handful of people know it exists."
Ava looked around.
The mansion was unlike anything she had ever seen.
It wasn't just luxurious—it looked like a fortress.
Several security officers patrolled the grounds.
Others monitored surveillance screens inside the entrance hall.
"You live like this every day?"
"I don't have a choice."
"Why?"
He didn't answer.
Instead, he led her into a spacious living room where a middle-aged woman was waiting.
She wore a simple navy-blue dress and smiled warmly.
"Mr. Blackwood."
Damien nodded.
"Martha, this is Ava Lawson."
"She'll be staying here for a while."
Martha smiled kindly.
"Welcome, Miss Lawson."
"You must be exhausted."
"I've prepared a room for you."
Ava managed a weak smile.
"Thank you."
As Martha disappeared upstairs, Ava turned back to Damien.
"You planned all this."
"I planned for the possibility."
"You expected someone to come after me."
"I hoped I was wrong."
A heavy silence settled between them.
Finally, Ava asked the question she had been avoiding.
"If my father trusted you..."
"Why did he never tell me?"
Damien walked toward the fireplace.
"He wanted you to have a normal life."
"He believed that if you knew the truth, you'd become a target."
"And now?"
Damien's expression hardened.
"Now they already know who you are."
Ava wrapped her arms around herself.
For the first time since her father's funeral, she felt genuinely afraid.
Not of losing the company.
Not of Damien.
But of an enemy she couldn't even see.
Just then, Damien's phone vibrated on the coffee table.
He glanced at the screen.
His expression changed instantly.
He answered without hesitation.
"What is it?"
He listened silently for several seconds.
"What?"
He shot to his feet.
"How did this happen?"
Ava's heartbeat quickened.
"Damien..."
He slowly lowered the phone.
His face had gone pale.
"They've kidnapped your uncle."
Ava frowned.
"My uncle?"
Damien looked directly into her eyes.
"No..."
"They want everyone to think they've kidnapped him."
"They've actually taken..."
He swallowed hard.
"...your younger sister."
- Writer
