Chapter 5: The Escape Attempt.
788 Words
Chapter 5: The Escape Attempt
By noon, Ava had officially reached her limit.
She had spent the entire morning wandering around the mansion, trying to understand why one man needed forty rooms, three living rooms, two libraries, an indoor pool, and what appeared to be an entire garden dedicated to flowers she couldn't even name.
It was ridiculous.
Nobody needed this much space.
Nobody.
And yet Ethan Blackwood somehow managed to live here while acting as if it were completely normal.
Ava sat on a bench in the garden and sighed heavily.
The longer she stayed here, the more trapped she felt.
Her grandfather was alone.
She hadn't seen him since yesterday.
And although Ethan claimed that his men were protecting him, she wasn't comfortable relying on a stranger's promises.
Especially not a stranger who treated every conversation like a business meeting.
"Nope," she muttered, standing up.
"I'm leaving."
The plan was simple.
She would walk out through the front gate, call a taxi, go home, check on her grandfather, and never return.
Easy.
At least, that's what she thought.
Ten minutes later, she discovered otherwise.
Ava confidently walked toward the massive front gates.
The moment she approached, two security guards stepped directly into her path.
She stopped.
They stopped.
She stepped left.
They stepped left.
She stepped right.
They stepped right.
Ava blinked.
"What are you doing?"
The guards exchanged looks.
"What are you doing?" one of them asked.
"I'm leaving."
"Mr. Blackwood instructed us not to allow that."
Ava laughed.
The guards didn't.
Slowly, her smile disappeared.
"You are serious."
"Very."
Ava folded her arms.
"I am not a prisoner."
"No, miss."
"Then move."
"We can't."
Ava stared at them.
They stared back.
Several long seconds passed.
Finally, Ava spun around dramatically.
"This is kidnapping."
One of the guards rubbed his forehead.
The other looked as though he had heard that sentence at least twenty times before.
Fuming, Ava stormed back toward the mansion.
If Ethan thought he could keep her here against her will, he had another thing coming.
She marched directly into the house.
Past the staff.
Past the living room.
Past several confused servants.
And straight into Ethan's office.
The door slammed open.
Ethan didn't even look up.
"You lasted longer than I expected."
Ava froze.
"You knew?"
"You tried to leave."
"You imprisoned me!"
Ethan continued signing documents.
"No."
"Yes!"
"No."
"Ethan!"
That finally got his attention.
He slowly looked up.
The calm expression on his face somehow made Ava even more annoyed.
"You have security guards blocking the gates."
"For your safety."
"For my imprisonment."
"For your safety."
"For my imprisonment."
The two continued staring at each other.
Neither willing to surrender.
Finally, Ethan leaned back in his chair.
"You are free to leave."
Ava blinked.
"What?"
"You are free to leave."
Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"Really?"
"Yes."
Ava immediately smiled.
"Good."
Then Ethan continued.
"Once the threat against you is eliminated."
The smile vanished.
"There it is."
"There what is?"
"The catch."
Ethan returned to his paperwork.
"The catch is staying alive."
Ava opened her mouth.
Closed it.
Opened it again.
Then closed it once more.
The frustrating part was that she knew he wasn't entirely wrong.
That didn't mean she had to like it.
Before she could continue arguing, a knock sounded at the office door.
One of Ethan's men entered.
His expression was serious.
Very serious.
Immediately, Ethan's posture changed.
"What happened?"
The man handed him a file.
"We found something."
Ava watched as Ethan opened it.
The temperature in the room seemed to drop instantly.
His jaw tightened.
His eyes darkened.
And for the first time since she'd met him, he looked genuinely angry.
A dangerous kind of angry.
"What is it?" Ava asked.
Nobody answered.
Ethan slowly closed the file.
"What happened?" she repeated.
The bodyguard glanced nervously at Ethan.
"We found one of the attackers."
Ava's stomach tightened.
"And?"
The room fell silent.
Then Ethan spoke.
"He's dead."
A chill ran through her.
Dead?
The bodyguard nodded.
"We found the body this morning."
Ava suddenly felt uneasy.
If someone had killed the attacker before he could talk, that meant somebody was trying to hide something.
And whoever that somebody was...
They were powerful.
Very powerful.
Ethan stood up.
His expression was unreadable again, but Ava could tell something had changed.
"What aren't you telling me?" she asked quietly.
His gaze met hers.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then he said something that made her blood run cold.
"This was never supposed to involve you."
For the first time since arriving at the mansion, Ava realized just how dangerous Ethan Blackwood's world truly was.
And something told her that the worst was still yet to come.
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