Chapter 103 The Plan
Anna's POV
I paced the length of my room, back and forth, trying to think of a way out. Every plan I came up with died before it fully formed.
Lilly watched me too closely. She always had. There was no slipping past her, not without a reason she'd accept.
A knock hit my door. "Come in," I said.
The door opened. Lilly stepped inside, composed as always, hands folded in front of her.
"Sorry to bother you, ma'am, I just felt it is better for you to know about the latest update."
I nodded. "Go on," I urged.
"Xavier just called," she said. "He's delayed. He said he won't be back until tomorrow."
Relief rushed through me so fast it almost showed on my face.
I forced my expression still, buried the reaction before it could reach my eyes.
Lilly tilted her head, studying me for a beat too long. "Is there a problem?"
"Nothing," I said, too quickly maybe. "Did he say why he's delayed?"
"He didn't say, and I didn't ask, didn't think it was necessary," she answered.
"Alright. No problem."
She bowed her head and turned toward the door. I watched her hand reach for the handle, and something in me refused to let her leave.
"Wait," I said. She stopped. Turned back to face me, waiting.
I held my breath for a second too long, and then the words just came out, faster than I meant them to.
"I need to leave the mansion," I said. "I can't be followed. And I can't explain why. Not yet."
Lilly's eyes stayed on me, steady.
"And whatever happens," I said, "Xavier can never find out about this."
The whole thing spilled out in one breath. I wasn't even sure she'd caught all of it.
Lilly blinked twice. I could see her turning it over, piecing it together.
Then she cleared her throat. "I'm your assistant, Anna. Not your boss." Her voice stayed even, careful. "Xavier left you in charge of everything while he's away. That means I follow your lead, as long as it doesn't put the cartel at risk."
I let my breath out slowly, quietly, so she wouldn't notice how much I'd needed to hear that.
But she wasn't finished. "So understand what you're asking, but," she said. "Leaving without security is risky enough on its own. Hiding it from Xavier is worse."
I swallowed hard, feeling the weight of that land somewhere in my chest. "I'm not exactly hiding it from him," I said. "I just don't want him to find out yet. There's a difference."
She studied me another moment, like she was deciding whether to believe that. "Alright. You know him better than I do."
"Thank you, Lilly. It means a lot to me," I said. "Can I count on you?"
She nodded, slow, then paused before answering fully. "The only way I can work with this is if you give me something. Just in case things go sideways."
"Alright," I said. "I'm going back to Parkview. I'll be back tonight. I just need to leave quietly, without being noticed. Alone. That's the only way this works."
Lilly's eyes narrowed slightly, reading me the way she always did. "How exactly does this secret outing help you?"
"It isn't about me," I said. "It helps the cartel. In every way that matters. It all comes back to that, eventually."
She nodded slowly, though I couldn't tell if she believed me completely. "It's six now. When exactly will you be back? I need a time frame. So I know when to start looking, if things really do go sideways like you said."
I sighed, running the numbers in my head. "Good plan." I thought it through for a moment. "If you doesn't hear from me by 3am, You'll get a scheduled text with my location. Then you can come looking."
Lilly exhaled, like she was bracing herself for whatever came next. "Alright, I can work with that. What do you need?"
I let a small smile show. "Just a car with no registration. A nose mask. And a lipstick tear gas, that's all."
Her eyebrow rose, slow and deliberate. "That's weirdly specific." A pause, her eyes searching mine. "You almost sound like an assassin."
I laughed, but it came out dry, hollow. "Have you ever seen one before?"
"Not really," she said. "Just movies." Her tone didn't shift, didn't crack. "I'll get the stuff ready. I'll let you know once it's set."
"Alright," I said. "Thank you."
She left without another word, the door clicking shut behind her.
The second she was gone, I let out the breath I'd been holding since she walked in.
Relief, sharp and immediate, moved through me, and then I was moving too, fast, pulling open my closet doors and digging through everything inside.
I picked a black catsuit, tight and practical, something I could move in without thinking twice.
Then a blonde wig, though I didn't put it on. I just dropped it into my bag, along with a pair of dark shades, folding them carefully so they wouldn't crease.
When I opened the door again, Lilly was already standing there, hand raised mid-knock, like she'd known exactly when I'd be ready.
"Everything's ready," she said, holding out the things I'd asked for.
I took them without a word, and we walked outside together, toward the car waiting in the dark, black, no plates, no registration, exactly as I'd asked.
I slid into the driver's seat and started the engine right away, the sound low and steady beneath me.
"The security at the gate," I said, glancing at her. "What about them?"
"Don't worry about it," Lilly said. "I've already handled them. Just drive."
"Alright," I said, hands tightening slightly on the wheel.
"Be careful," she told me, stepping back from the car.
"I will." I pulled away from the mansion and drove straight into the night, the road ahead dark and empty, my mind already racing toward Parkview.