4. Escape Route

★JANIE★

My eyelids fluttered open and a wave of nausea hit me immediately. Struggling not to puke, I covered my mouth with my right hand and pressed my lip into a grim line.

With every ounce of strength I had left in me, I pulled myself to a sitting position and almost at once, my instinct instantly became aware of my surroundings. Memories of what transpired between my dad, the scary but handsome mafia king and I flooded my brain. And that made my eyes glisten with tears. I couldn't believe the man I have known for years wasn't my father!

Someone I had known and loved for the whole nineteen years of my existence! He was the one I trusted the most in this whole world. Should someone foretold he would betray me in such a manner, I would have placed a bet on my life that he couldn't.

The man showed me so much affection and care. Especially during the period of my accident that almost took away my right to walk.

I wiped off the tears from the corner of my eyes with the back of my hand. I should not be crying for him. He ain't worth a single of my tears. But before I knew it, I was tearing up again.

Sniffling back tears, I surveyed the room. It was dimly lit with a vintage bedside lamp that seemed to be almost out of power. Painted in a shadowy and sumptuous royal blue with some touch of beige. There was a large wardrobe at the rear corner of the room, tightly closed shut with its content unrevealed.

The large and comforting bed I lay on was squarely in the middle. Surprisingly, the room felt very cozy even if I wasn't accustomed to it. My whole body ached and my eyes felt sunken from crying too much. Slowly, I placed my hand on my forehead to feel myself burning with a fever. No wonder I was beginning to feel a throbbing pain emanating from my skull.

I shuffled out of the bed gently, careful not to hurt my aching bones any further. As soon as my feet came in contact with the beige neat tiled floor, cold sensations sprang up from the sole of my feet through my veins, up to my knees. My knees wobbled immediately so I plopped down back on the bed to restrain myself from falling to the ground.

All of a sudden, I caught a glimpse of the bag Dad strapped to his back on our way here. With my heart in my hands, I took the bag from the floor and opened it.

My fingers delved into it in search of what could be inside. Shortly after, I brought out my favorite yellow gown. Immediately, I burst into a series of tiny sobs. Dad bought this gown for me on my eighteen year birthday. He said he used up most of his savings for me to look like a princess on my special day. So how could he have done this to me?

This hurts so fucking much!

Thereafter, I brought out a couple of pictures and my lips quivered once more. I stared at my mom with tears in my eyes. There she was, looking so pretty and happy as a smile brightened up her beautiful face.

I touched the picture tenderly. "Mom...." I sniffled. "Is Dad truly not my father?" I asked as if the picture was going to answer my pending questions.

With a very heavy heart, I stared at the next picture and more tears spilled out of my eyes uncontrollably. It was taken when I was still a child and mom held me so close to her bosom. I couldn't help but imagine what would have happened if she was still alive. Would things have turned out differently?

Another picture after the last one was that of my Dad. I stared at him blankly, unsure of what I felt at the moment. I couldn't decipher whether I hated him right now or not. But deep down, I know I resented his action. Alas, he might have his reason for betraying me but no matter what, none of it would have amounted to what he did.

I dropped the pictures on the bed and then tried to search for something helpful. Perhaps, a cellphone or a map to help me get the hell out of this damn place. There was no way I was going to stay here. My life can't be reduced to this, I won't accept it.

But all I found in the bag were my clothes and underwear. Heaving a sigh, I tossed my bag to the floor. Perhaps, could this is the reason why Dad stalled on buying me a new cellphone. Because I would be with it all the time and I might try to use it to escape?

A lot of questions tugged at the back of my throat. Yet, there was no one to answer them.

Nonetheless, I have to get out of here no matter what. I inhaled deeply and exhaled afterward. Then I jolted to my feet. I packed my stuff back into the bag and strapped it to my back then I tiptoed towards the door.

You can do this, Janie! I reassured myself over and over again as I pressed down on the door knob.

Peeping out of the door, I observed the long hallway for a couple of seconds. It was empty and very quiet. I heaved a sigh of relief and walked out of the room. Quietly, I closed the door and made my way through the hallway.

I prayed silently, hoping none of those Mafia took notice of my disappearance until I was finally out of this hellhole. With my heart thumping hard and fast in trepidation, I paused when I got to the end of the hallway.

Standing on my toes, I surveyed the stairs down to the lounge. Thankfully, there was not a single person in sight. A small smile crept to the corner of my lips and I did a sign of the cross.

Without further ado, I trudged down the flight of stairs as carefully and as quietly as I could. I have gotten this far and I would not like to attract any attention toward me right at this moment.

By the time I got to the end of the stairs, I heaved another sigh of relief. Afterward, I hid behind the stairs to observe any movement from every corner of the lounge, straight up to the kitchen. When there was none, I picked up my shoes and clutched them to my chest, then I sauntered towards the front door.

I did another sign of the cross as I pressed down the knob to the front door. But as soon as the door parted open, three huge men stood in front of it and one of them had his hand stretched forward to open the door too.

My breath hitched.

At first, they were busy chatting about some pending issues. But the moment they laid their eyes on me, they paused.

Faking a smile, I pretended to be looking for something. "Hi, please did you see my hair clip?" I asked, shoving my fingers into my disheveled hair. "I think I lost it out here."

Then I moved away for them to make their way in, whilst smiling sweetly at them.

"What are you trying to do?" one of them asked, arching a brow at me. "You want to escape?"

I shrugged then I leaned toward him. He was so huge and tall that I had to look up at his face to hold his gaze. His deep blue eyes were cold and daunting but I somehow summon the courage to maintain my poise.

And with a warm smile, I asked him back. "What are you doing too? Stating the obvious?"

His gaze narrowed into mere slits and his eyebrows furrowed as he stared down at me.

I giggled. "That was a joke, just trying to find my hair clip." I lied then I looked around as if I was searching for something. "As you know I'm a very pretty girl and someone as beautiful as I am, shouldn't be going around with unkempt hair," I commented.

Deep down, my heart was thumping fast and hard. At this rate, it might as well jump right out of my chest.

The man scrunched up his nose in anger while the other two, stood quietly staring at the both of us. I was hoping they would walk away and let me be. But it seemed as though they had caught a whiff of what I was trying to do.

"Adriano, go and get the boss." The most daunting one instructed. "we will hold her down here!"

I swallowed hard.

At this point, all hope was lost and it felt like my whole world was crumbling at my feet.

Why does this have to happen to me all the time? Was I that unlucky?

With a swift maneuver, I dashed towards the door in an attempt to escape quickly before that darn Lucifer came for me. But I was whisked into a pair of strong arms like a piece of paper before I could even get to the door.

Dang, it!

Could this get any more complicated?