6

~Are you sure this will work?~

Clara's text read, and I glanced at her. My eyes met hers, and she averted her gaze to her purse on her lap.

~I'm sure it will. Lorenzo won't expect we would be so bold and sudden. Before he realises anything, it’ll be too late.~

I texted back, and her phone dinged.

Her lips were pressed into a thin line as she read my message, and she sighed.

~Ok.~

"F*cking women and their f*cking obsession with shopping. Materialistic b*tches." Macro grumbled as he pulled into the mall's parking lot, and I bit back my comeback.

So he wasn't just a brute a*shole; he was a misogynistic brute a*shole. Not surprising.

"We'll be back in three to four hours, so feel free to do whatever you want." Clara said as we stepped out of the car.

"The f*ck! Why do you need four hours to buy clothes? I can do that in twenty, no, ten minutes. You can't keep me here for that long after making me carry heavy boxes." He growled, glaring at us.

"We'll buy you a burger or something." She shrugged, and we walked away. He let out a long string of curses that could put a sailor to shame, and I bit my inner cheek, stifling my laughter.

"Oh, he's really going to hate us when he finds out," I giggled as we blended into the crowd.

"So, how are we going to do this?" She mumbled, fiddling with the strap of her purse.

"Just follow my lead. Come on!" I replied, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the nearest exit.

"Are you sure this is going to work? It's not like I don't trust you, but—"

"We'll be fine. We just need to get out of this city, which should take us around two to three hours. Marco won't suspect a thing until four to five hours later, and before he tells Lorenzo, we'll be done planning how we'll spend our five million. It's a foolproof plan." I grinned.

‘I wish I can see Lorenzo's face when he finds out he lost.’

"I guess I'm anxious because of how much I've tried and failed to run away from him." She sighed as I flagged down a taxi.

"You were young then, and I have a lot of experience from running away from foster homes. We'll be fine." I assured her as we got into the vehicle.

'Stage one complete. Stage two and three, here we come.'

~•~•~•~•~

"See, I told you you were scared for nothing." I nudged Clara's side as the bus began to move.

"I don't know; it seems too easy. It can't be this easy. I know my uncle. He probably knows where we are and is just giving us false hope so we can be completely disappointed when he gets us," she whispered, tugging at her face mask, and I groaned.

"That's anxiety and fear speaking. We'll be out of Sinclair in about two hours, and you'll see that I was right. We'll be fine," I promised and patted her knee.

"I really hope you're right. I would give anything to not meet Silvano tomorrow," she muttered.

"And you won't. Unfortunately, Lorenzo would have to find someone to take your place. Maybe he can marry him himself."

"Gwen!" Clara gasped as I snickered.

"What? He is part of your family. Surely he can replace you. Or do you have a cousin or—"

The car suddenly came to a rough halt, and we were thrown forward, almost knocking our heads into the opposite seats.

"What the hell was that?" I scowled, pushing my black hair out of my face as the other passengers complained too.

"G-Gwen." Clara trembled, tugging my arm as she stared through the window.

"Oh sh*t!" I mumbled as I saw the source of her fear and the reason we had suddenly stopped.

The bus was surrounded by tinted black cars, and men in black suits and shades stepped out of them.

"He has found us, hasn't he?" She asked, trying to confirm the already obvious truth. It wasn't her fault; I didn't want to believe my plan had turned to smoke right in front of my eyes.

"Unfortunately, he has." I clicked my lips and stood up.

"Where are you going?" She squeaked and grabbed my hand.

"To meet him. We've already been caught, haven't we? It's either we go to him with what's left of our pride intact, or he sends someone to drag us out like dogs." I explained, slinging the strap of my bag over my shoulder.

"I guess you're right." She sighed and stood up.

People whispered, saying something about the devil, and eyed us as we walked out of the bus. Clara bowed her head, but I held mine up. Can't have Lorenzo thinking I had already given up so soon.

Two guys were already waiting for us at the door, and I gave them a small, playful smile.

"Come with me, Miss Harper." One of them said, and I frowned.

"What about Clara?" I asked, holding Clara tighter.

"Miss Raimondo will come with me. The boss said we should separate the two of you." The second said.

"No—"

"It's fine, Gwen. Let's not test his patience again," Clara whispered and shrugged off my grip.

"Fine." I huffed and followed the first guy.

He pulled the door of the biggest car there open, and I wasn't surprised when I saw Lorenzo sitting in it.

"Did you really think it would be that easy? I have eyes all over the city, Gwen." He taunted and shook his head.

"Good day to you too." I said as I sat in the car and shut the door.

"I'm quite disappointed. I expected a lot more from you, and the best you could come up with is such a silly trick."

"Oh please, everyone knows plan A’s doesn't always work out. Besides, I was testing the waters. I wanted to know how deep your influence over this city is." I shrugged, acting unfazed, but ugh, I was so pissed.

How could I fail just like that? I underestimated him too much. The devil really owned Sinclair.

"I hope your curiosity was satisfied. We don't want another underwhelming escape plan, do we?"

"Oh please, my plan was smart and unexpected. You're just trashing it so I'll be discouraged and give up." I argued and glared at him.

"Am I? Because it seems like you're trying to convince yourself it was so you wouldn't be hurt by your failure." He smirked, and my jaw clenched.

Was he trying to get me mad because it was working. Damn, infuriating man!

"What? Did I strike a nerve? The truth hurts, doesn't it?"

Yup, he was trying to get me mad. Jokes on him; I wasn't dumb. I took in a deep breath and exhaled, letting all my steam out.

"Delude yourself all you want, but it doesn't change the truth. My plan was quite brilliant, especially since I came up with it so soon," I boasted and flipped my hair.

"It doesn't matter if it was brilliant if it failed." He leaned closer to me, and my breath hitched. "And it won't save you from my punishment."

'Punishment!’