Beneath The Billionaire's Deception

Chapter 4

The young woman’s heart was pounding as she thought about what she had heard. Raymond and Eric have been discussing the fact of somebody being a liability where they work; although they did not say her name after this discussion, the menacing stare Raymond gave her told her all she wanted to know. She knew she couldn’t stay there; she had to leave, she knew she must leave; she knew she couldn’t go on like that and she knew that she must get out.

Still sitting on the edge of her bed gripping the phone Charles had procured for her, she dialed her brother’s number clumsily. He responded without any hesitation and his voice was very low.

“Anita, what’s wrong? You sound terrified.”

“Charles, I think Raymond... I believe he wishes to discharge me, for no good reason at all. He is always monitoring me, always controlling what I get to do,” Anita’s voice broke at this point.

“I can’t stay here.” she finally managed to whisper.

“Calm down,” Charles said, although he was as nervous as a cat. It is not as easy to leave especially with such authority being wielded by him. But... there could be someone who will be able to.”

“Who?” Something which doused her voice and sparked a tiny measure of hope within her.

“Stanley.”

“Stanley?” This name seemed to elicit a thaw of feelings I hadn’t expected. She had not seen him for years, but the moments of their youth came to her mind for a second, and she stopped being afraid. “You believe that he will be in a position to come through with what we need?”

“He has only returned to town and I know he still has feelings for you,” Charles said to her. “Well, at least, you know, if anybody can get you out of there, it’s him. But for now, just lay low and pretend that the situation is normal. So be careful not to give Raymond a hint of that.”

Anita took a shaky breath. “Thank you, Charles. Just... please, hurry.”

The next night, Anita, however, had to sneak out to meet Stanley in a quiet section of the city park. She pulled a scarf over her face to make movements slow and unnoticeable so that Raymond’s security team would not notice her. She saw Stanley standing under the old oak tree with his hands in his pockets, looking around the place.

He also grew less aggressive when she neared him. “Anita,” he whispered to her as if he could make a wall between her and the whole world. He touched her gently on her arm; for a moment, his fingers made contact with her skin, and she flashed back to feeling safe.

“Stanley,” she said quietly, almost in a whisper. “Thank you for coming.”

He nodded, his gaze serious. “Charles told me everything. I feel for you and apologize that you find yourself in this position. This one shocked me most as I never imagined things were this bad.”

“Yeah it's that bad,” she answered, forcing a chuckle.

She looked nervous as she scanned the area. “That is why I have the impression that someone is spying on me all the time. Raymond … The man you are looking at is not the man I know. I want to escape, but do not know how.”

Stanley took her hand in his; it was strong, comfortable and had the feel of a man who meant it when he said he would protect her. “I’ll do everything I can. You’re not alone in this.” He stopped, looking deep into her brown eyes.

That phone call was something like this: “Anita, I have been dreaming of you over the years. We were always… close, dear.”

If there’s one thing that Anita couldn’t deny, it was the slow surge of warmth that stole through her despite the strain, a flicker of the past as they held hands. That warmth he gave, the moments of joy and conversations they had – all came back.

She managed a small smile. “Thank you, Stanley.” That kind of made me a little formal, so I said, “I don’t know what I’d do without you at this time.”

They communicated in hushed tones coming up with a daring means of escape. Stanley then proceeded to explain how she would be able to send him encoded messages depending on the hidden phone. This could be achieved by her going away at night when Raymond was much occupied with his business meetings.

“Just text ‘green light’ when you are ready,” Stanley said. “Wait for me. I will be taking my car and will be around the corner. Come on, we'll go somewhere he won’t bother to look for you.”

Anita only nodded her head, feeling her heart beat with great rapidity. In what seemed like the first time in a lifetime, she saw a way out of the cage Raymond had placed her in to live the rest of her life with him. But as they spoke, she noticed the mere shift of shadow. Her breath hitched. Was someone watching?

“Stanley,” she breathed out almost in a hiss, I think we are being followed.

Stanley scowled and glanced in the direction she pointed – one of Raymond’s guards had lingered just out of camera range with his phone up, as though documenting her presence. They both stopped, their gaze met and they realized they were both scared.

“We need to act as if we don't care,” Stanley whispered, pulling his hand from her own. He relaxed into the chair and crossed his legs loosely even though Anita could sense the stiffness of his body.

They both looked up to see the guard come closer, never taking his eyes off of them. When he was about ten feet away, he began a coughing sound. “Hello, Madam; Mr. Raymond wants you at the house again. Now.”

Frowning, Anita tried to remain as patient as possible, though she could feel her heartbeat rising; swallowing she said nothing. “Tell him I’m on my way.”

The guard nodded, staring Stanley directly in the eyes before moving aside out of the range of a swipe. She switched to Stanley so softly, as if she was in a fully different room, “I’ll get in touch.”

He nodded and his gaze became stern and determined. “Just to reiterate, I recollect you always said I’m here for you anytime you want me to be here. Don’t lose hope, Anita.”

As she started walking away with the guard behind her, Anita saw herself thinking only of fear and determination. She realized that she had to move fast. Raymond would soon grow suspicious if he wasn’t already. But in company with Stanley, she had a slight, threadlike gleam of hope—a hope that a woman in her position could view as dearly as her life was worth.

Then, as she walked back into Raymond’s house and got the stifling feeling of being owned by him, this was just the start. She would get out, no matter how she could do it, and she would do it hands down.