Bought by the underworld CEO

Chapter 06 (The Escape)

After Zoya finished breakfast, the maid told her to follow. She led Zoya to Ares’s room and left without a word.

Zoya started observing his room, but her gaze landed on the floor-to-ceiling window.

She moved the curtains and saw it was the 4th floor. Then she realized this window was sealed. There was no way to escape from here.

_If I want to escape, I have to get to the 3rd floor and use the balcony,_ she thought.

Lost in thought, she didn’t hear Ares come out of the shower. His hair was wet, a towel draped around his neck as he rubbed it dry.

He saw Zoya standing in front of the window. Her hands pressed to the glass, lost in her thoughts.

Ares smirked and walked toward her silently. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and whispered in her ear: "Thinking about escaping again?"

Zoya flinched. She tried to cover it up. She saw a little park across the street and said, "No. I was just looking at those kids playing on the swings."

She added, "I really like swings."

Ares studied her for a second, then let her go. He seemed to believe her.

He walked toward his study area, which was part of his room, and took out some books. He placed them on his desk — titles about human psychology and business strategy.

Then he glanced at Zoya and handed her an apocalypse novel. "So you won’t be bored," he said.

Zoya took it but didn’t open it. "I still don’t know your name," she said. "Or where I am."

Ares didn’t look up from his laptop. "Ares Blackwood" he said. "You’re in Country A’s capital city."

Zoya froze. Country A. The most powerful nation in the world. She was farther from home than she thought.

She couldn’t focus on the book. "I haven’t seen this place fully," she said. "Can I look around?"

_She wanted to see how big this place was. How many guards, servants, and maids. If there were any blind spots. Maybe she could find a way out._

Ares stared at her like he suspected something. Then he rang a bell. The maid came in, and Ares told her to show Zoya around.

The penthouse was huge and luxurious. Everything screamed money and power. There was a study that looked more like a library, shelves reaching the ceiling.

Zoya noticed there were a lot of servants and maids. Just running away would not work. She needed a proper plan.

The maid took her to the garden. It was massive and beautiful, with marble paths and fountains.

"I want to look around the garden," Zoya said.

As Zoya was walking around.

She saw it. _A gate._ _An escape._

The gate was half-covered by vines and branches, like it hadn’t been used in years. But it had a huge, rusted lock on it.

"Miss?" the maid called. "Follow me."

Zoya snapped back to reality and followed, but her mind was racing about the lock. About the keys.

That maid gave her a tour then

the maid left her in Ares’s room again and left. Zoya pretended to look around the room, like she was looking at the painting some antiques and stuff but she was searching for the keys to the garden gate and her brown bag.

Ares got a call from his assistant, Luna. She reminded him about his important meeting in an hour and a half. Ares told Zoya about it and said, "Behave."

Zoya nodded, acting like an innocent rabbit.

As soon as his car left the penthouse, she began to search for her brown bag and the keys to the garden gate.

She searched the whole place it took her 4 hours to check everything without catching anyone's attention but couldn’t find her brown bag. Fortunately, she found the keys.

They looked old, and the design matched the lock on the garden gate exactly. Zoya’s heart leapt, but then she saw through the window — Ares’s car was already coming back through the gate.

_ He’s back ...... Already ._

Zoya ran to her room, shoved the keys under the pillow, pulled up the blanket, and pretended to sleep.

Ares came into her room. He stood over her for a moment. Seeing her asleep, he walked out quietly.

Zoya exhaled. She was relieved that he was gone and her plan had worked.

Now she just needed to execute it.

---

She fell asleep with one intention: to wake up early, execute her plan, and escape from this place — from Ares Blackwood’s cage.

Sleep took her quickly.

In the early morning, she jolted awake. Adrenaline replaced exhaustion. She got ready to leave. She grabbed the keys and crept downstairs slowly, each step silent against the marble.

It was still early. The sun hadn’t risen yet. Everyone in the penthouse was asleep — even the servants and maids. The whole place was dead quiet.

She didn’t bring her suitcase. The suitcase wasn’t important. Her freedom was.

She hurried to the garden and pulled out the keys. She slid one into the lock and turned. The rust made it stiff, stubborn. She gritted her teeth and twisted harder. After a painful moment, it gave with a low _clunk_.

Zoya sighed in relief and smirked at her little success , but then she saw it. A very thin wire, almost invisible, stretched across the gate. It was attached to the security alarm. If the gate opened fully, the wire would snap and trigger the alarm. Everyone would wake up.

_But I could open it just a little and squeeze through,_ she thought. _But what if... what if the alarm still goes off? Then what will I do?_

Zoya took a breath. "Let’s try," she whispered.

She eased the gate open. It groaned, metal scraping metal. Her heart stopped.

Silence. The alarm didn’t go off.

She was shaking as she squeezed herself carefully through the narrow opening. The rust scraped her arms, but she didn’t care.

And she was out.

Out of that place... that cage...

She ran. She ran meters, then kilometers. She didn’t look back.

_End of Chapter 6 _