HER FACE, MY WIFE'S SHADOW

Chapter 11: Perfect Lie

Aria’s POV

I stepped cautiously out of my quarter, my eyes roaming around the hallway, spotting red lights on the CCTV cameras that flickered like watchful eyes, and the maids moved through the corridors with an eerie, quiet efficiency. Outside the windows, the security men stood like statues.

This is going to be difficult.

I went back to my room, taking my passport and my phone. I had already booked an 8:30 PM flight to New York.

Looking at my heavy suitcase, I realised it was a distraction. I couldn't afford to let anything stop me.

I abandoned it, stuffing only my essentials into a small bag, and hurried toward Mila’s room.

I pushed her door open, my breath instantly caught in my lungs, my feet rooting on the floor.

"Mila! " I screamed out, the bag slipping from my fingers as I rushed to her.

She was sprawled on the floor, her body surrounded by a pool of blood. Her eyes were shut, her face unnervingly still.

Within seconds, the room was filled with guards and maids. The lead security man barked orders, his face pale as he realised a killer had supposedly breached his impenetrable perimeter.

He stared at the open window and the bloody knife on the floor; his brows were knitted together to understand how an assassin could vanish without being seen by dozens of guards outside.

"Help her! Please, someone help her," I sobbed, the guilt devouring me.

This was all my fault.

The guards tried to hold me back as they lifted her onto a stretcher, but I was a woman possessed until they finally let me into the back of the ambulance while five black cars followed us.

Inside the van, the doctor and two nurses worked feverishly. The doctor reached down to examine the wound in her stomach. He pressed a gauze pad to the blood, then pulled it away, staring at the bright red stain.

"What the..." he whispered, realising that there was no wound on her skin.

Before he could shout for the guards, I pulled a small knife from my bag, the one I’d swiped from the kitchen, and pointed it at his chest. My hand was trembling, but my gaze was steady.

"You have to help us, doctor." My voice was low. "I have a flight to New York tonight. You are going to find a way for us to disappear from your hospital."

Mila sat up abruptly, wiping the red dye from her face, while the nurses shrieked and retreated into the corner of the van.

"Doc, help us," Mila pleaded. "We had to do this. It was the only way to leave that house."

"But... Mrs Sterling," the doctor stammered. "Your husband... if Mr Alexander finds out I helped you escape, he will destroy me."

Does everyone tremble at this man's name?

His wife was a criminal; his mother was a shooter. Why is the world bowing to them?

"Then I will make your life miserable right now," I threatened. “Either you help us, or I tell my husband you tried to kidnap me. Choose one. But if you help us, I’ll make sure no one ever knows you were involved."

I’m sorry, sir. I shouldn't be doing this to you, but I'm desperate to leave this country.

By the time the van screeched to a halt at the hospital, the doctor had buckled under the pressure.

The doors swung open, and we shifted back into our roles. I burst into tears as Mila was rushed inside the building.

Twenty bodyguards marched behind me, forming a wall that pushed aside anyone in our path.

People in the lobby stopped and stared; I saw shock, excitement, and whispers of Isabella following me.

“Ma'am, take this.” The leader gave me a scarf and black glasses. “The media will be there anytime soon if they find out you're here.”

I understood what he meant. I took the things from him to cover my hair and eyes.

An old woman who had already seen my face tried to step forward, but a guard stepped in her way, his hand moving toward his holster.

"Step aside!" I snapped, putting the guard’s arm down. "Don't you have any manners towards your elders?"

“I’m deeply sorry, Ma'am." The guard’s voice was gentle. "But your safety is our only priority. We have already alerted Mr Sterling. He’s left his grandfather's estate and is on his way here now."

I stood frozen staring at the man.

"What?"