ChapterFive:TheEscape
1086 Words
The escape
“Lucien!”
My scream tore through the silent forest as I staggered toward him, tears streaming down my dirt-streaked face.
He reached me in seconds.
His steel-gray eyes swept over my torn wedding gown, trembling hands, tangled hair, and scratched skin. For the first time since I’d met him, the calm mask on his face cracked ever so slightly.
“What happened?” he asked, his voice low and controlled.
I lowered my gaze, forcing another sob.
“Enzo…” My voice quivered. “He… he tried to force himself on me.”
Silence.
The air grew unbearably cold.
Lucien’s jaw tightened, and a dangerous glint flashed through his eyes.
“Where is he?”
“I hit him with a rock.” I pointed toward the woods with shaking fingers. “I… I didn’t know what else to do.”
For a long moment, he simply stared at me.
It felt as though he was searching my face for something.
Then he nodded once.
“Stay here.”
He pulled his phone from his pocket.
“I’m calling my security team.”
As he turned and walked toward the trees, my pulse pounded violently.
This was it.
The only chance I would ever get.
My trembling fingers slipped beneath the folds of my ruined wedding dress and wrapped around the pistol hidden against my thigh.
I drew it out slowly.
The weight of the gun made my hands shake even harder.
“Don’t move.”
Lucien stopped.
Without haste, he turned around.
His gaze fell to the weapon aimed directly at his chest.
There was no fear in his eyes.
No panic.
Only quiet observation.
“You found Enzo’s gun.”
“Stay where you are!” I cried, tightening my grip. “Don’t come any closer.”
Instead of obeying immediately, he took one slow step toward me.
I stumbled backward.
“I said stop!”
He did.
His expression remained unreadable.
“If pointing a gun at me makes you feel safe…” he said calmly, “then keep holding it.”
My chest rose and fell rapidly.
“You’re insane.”
“No.”
His voice was almost gentle.
“I simply understand fear.”
The words caught me off guard.
For one brief second, I hesitated.
Then I remembered the wedding.
The vows.
The way everyone had sacrificed me without asking what I wanted.
“I won’t spend the rest of my life as your prisoner.”
A faint smile touched his lips.
“You were never my prisoner, Evelina.”
“Liar!”
I raised the gun higher.
“Get on your knees.”
Without arguing, Lucien slowly lowered himself onto one knee.
His eyes never left mine.
The silence between us became unbearable.
“Do it,” I whispered.
“Do what you came here to do.”
His response only fueled my anger.
“You destroyed my life.”
“No.”
His voice remained steady.
“I saved it.”
The gunshot exploded through the forest.
Lucien instinctively raised his arm.
The bullet tore through his shoulder, forcing him backward.
Blood quickly soaked the sleeve of his black suit.
I gasped.
I hadn’t expected to actually pull the trigger.
My finger trembled violently.
Lucien remained standing despite the pain.
He looked at me—not with hatred, but with something I couldn’t understand.
Almost… disappointment.
“I gave you a choice,” he murmured.
“I never wanted your choice!”
I fired again.
The second bullet struck high in his chest.
His body staggered before collapsing heavily onto the forest floor.
Everything became silent.
The pistol slipped from my numb fingers.
I stared at him.
Waiting.
Begging him to move.
He didn’t.
“Oh God…”
A sob escaped my lips.
I had killed him.
The realization crashed over me with crushing force.
Every part of me screamed to run.
Without looking back again, I sprinted toward the SUV.
The keys were still inside.
Moments later, the engine roared to life.
Gravel scattered behind me as I sped away from the only man powerful enough to ruin my life.
Or so I believed.
For the next two days, I drove without any destination.
Every black SUV made my heart race.
Every police checkpoint forced me onto another road.
I survived on bottled water, stale crackers from a roadside store, and pure adrenaline.
Sleep became impossible.
Whenever I closed my eyes, I saw Lucien collapsing onto the forest floor.
Blood spreading across his shirt.
His final words echoing inside my head.
I saved it.
Saved what?
Saved me?
The thought made no sense.
By the second evening, exhaustion blurred my vision.
Rain had begun to fall when I spotted a flickering neon sign beside an old country road.
Silver Pines Inn.
It looked forgotten by time.
Peeling paint covered the walls.
Several windows were boarded shut.
It wasn’t somewhere anyone would willingly stay.
Which made it the perfect place to disappear.
I searched the SUV before getting out.
Inside the glove compartment was a thick envelope filled with cash.
Enough to keep me alive for weeks.
I took only what I needed before locking the vehicle behind me.
The elderly receptionist barely looked up as I requested a room.
“Room Seventeen.”
His voice was flat.
He slid an old brass key across the counter.
The hallway was eerily quiet.
Too quiet.
The faded carpet muffled every footstep.
A light overhead flickered every few seconds.
An uneasy feeling settled deep inside me.
I told myself I was only being paranoid.
After everything that had happened, of course I was.
Stopping outside Room Seventeen, I inserted the key.
The door unlocked with a soft click.
I pushed it open.
Darkness greeted me.
I reached for the switch beside the door.
The lights came on.
My blood froze.
Four men were already inside.
One sat comfortably on the bed.
Another leaned against the window.
The remaining two stood near the bathroom, watching me as though they’d been expecting my arrival.
I stumbled backward.
“I… I’m sorry.”
“I think this isn’t my—”
The door slammed shut behind me.
Strong hands seized my arms.
Before I could scream, something sharp pierced the side of my neck.
My body instantly weakened.
The room spun violently.
My knees gave out beneath me.
As darkness swallowed my vision, a deep masculine voice whispered beside my ear.
“Sweet dreams, Mrs. Laurent.”
Everything went black.
- Writer
