Chapter ten

Rita opened her window and peeped to check if there was anyone guarding the window-side, and true to her fear, there they were: three guards standing firm like rooted poles. They noticed her and looked up.

"It's nothing," she said, waving her hand as if surrendering to them. The guards returned their gazes forward, and she recoiled back into the room.

She paced aimlessly in the room, biting her nails. "I need to get out of here," she muttered, and an idea seemed to have popped into her head as her eyes lit up. She rushed to her mini studying chair, pulling it away from the table with which it was perfectly synced.

She quietly dragged it to the bathroom, trying not to make any noise to arouse their suspicion. She sat on the chair and turned on the recorder on her phone, recording herself singing. After about thirty minutes, she saved the recording and quietly returned the chair to the room.

She smiled sheepishly, as if giving herself a pat on the back for coming up with such a brilliant idea.

She walked to the door and said to Fen, "I'm not going anywhere. I will stay indoors as instructed. Can you please leave now?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but we cannot do that. We were instructed to guard and not leave your side for a minute. Don’t let our presence bother you; just go about your business," Fen replied.

She grumbled to show her dissatisfaction and went back inside. A smile crept onto her face the moment she closed the door. "I knew they would buy it," she said to herself before proceeding to her next plan. She turned on the music player and started playing songs at a loud volume.

Fen opened the door and came inside to speak to her. "Ma’am, can you please turn that off or reduce the volume? We wouldn't be able to hear anything happening from inside with this noise."

"This is how I enjoy listening to my songs. If it's not loud, I would not be able to connect to it. And right now, you’re disturbing me. You said to pretend you aren't here. That is exactly what I'm doing right now, so please don’t bother me."

"If you're not willing to turn off the music, I will have to stay here and guard you. I don’t want to take any chances."

She became scared at that point, knowing that with him in the same room with her, it would be impossible to follow through with her escape plan. She hesitantly responded, "I will reduce the volume. You don’t have to do that."

"Okay," he said but did not make any attempt to leave the room. "I said I will. Why are you still here?"

"I will be here for as long as the music is still playing loudly," he replied. She got frustrated and slammed the speaker shut. Fen bowed lowly and left the room.

Seeing the departing figure of Fen, she started pacing again. "I will just have to try. I cannot conclude that it will not work without trying." She turned on the music player again but reduced the volume this time around.

She started playing the songs she recorded earlier to make it look like she was just indoors singing. She waited for a few minutes, and when she did not see any sign of Fen coming in to stop her, she became elated and rushed to her closet.

She held her shoes in her hands before folding herself into the closet and pushing it hard and as quietly as possible to access the secret passage leading to the tunnel. She had just discovered this hidden passage a few days ago, and she was very grateful she did right now.

She grabbed the handle of her closet door and pulled it open, revealing the trapdoor hidden beneath the piles of clothes.

Her breath caught in her throat as she descended the creaky wooden ladder into darkness. The musty smell of damp earth filled her nostrils as she landed softly on the ground below. With a sense of urgency, she pushed the trapdoor closed above her, blocking out the dim light from her apartment.

In the darkness, Sarah felt her way forward, her fingers brushing against rough stone walls as she navigated the narrow passage. Every sound seemed magnified in the silence, echoing off the walls and sending shivers down her spine.

Finally, she reached the end of the tunnel and pushed against the heavy metal cover of the manhole. With a grunt of effort, she lifted it open, revealing the deserted street above. She peered cautiously around, her heart pounding in her chest, before pulling herself up and out into the street.

She hurriedly wore her shoes before taking to her heels. She had been running without looking back for some minutes before she burst out in tears. She suddenly realized she had nowhere to run to, and she had not taken her purse or phone from the room.

She could not even book a train to go home now or call her father to come to her rescue.

Her boss would definitely give her out if she runs to him, and she had not made any other friends. She wiped the tears off her face with her hand that had gathered enough dirt from the tunnel. Rather than cleaning her face, the dirt smeared on her face, and with the wetness of her tears, her beautiful face became hideous.