I imagined making Nathaniel believe he was receiving a real ransom call from the mafia would be the hardest part of the plan. I was so wrong about it because the hardest part was to get out of that estate unseen. Luckily, I had Elijah, which made the process possible, if not a piece of cake.
To avoid getting recognized, we debated dressing me as a nun or a maid with a dust mask over my face. In the end, we landed on a very different option. Shockingly, Elijah’s giant wooden box came with wheels. I didn’t notice it until he pointed it out.
Without wasting time, I got inside the box, and Elijah pushed it. The plan was to claim that he had some fragile half-body sculptures in there.
That time, I could breathe fine, which confirmed my trauma-induced panic attack. The ride was fairly smooth yet slightly bumpy until it stopped all of a sudden. Was someone suspicious of the box and had silently gestured for him to stop?
Carefully, I moved my eyes closer to the two holes. The person who had stopped us was none other than Mr. Sinclair. Although I couldn’t see his face, I recognized him from his outfit.
“Elijah, what is this?” Mr. Sinclair started. “Why are you doing the donkey work when we have plenty of servants roaming idly around the house?”
Elijah moved forward and leaned against the box, blocking my view. “You know how I am, uncle. I enjoy doing my own work. Let me drop this outside and meet you in a while.”
“No. I can’t allow this. Why would I let my favorite nephew carry something so big? Not a chance. I’ll call someone to take this outside.” Mr. Sinclair sternly refused.
“There is no need for that. You know, I hate saying no to my favorite uncle, but I can’t trust anyone with this. It contains some of my greatest hard work. I had left it here for some final touches,” Elijah lied. “It won’t take long to carry it outside.”
“Impressive. Can I see it? You haven’t worked on a sculpture for so long. I would love to see it and arrange a potential buyer for you if you want. You’re so skilled that I might even offer you a generous price for it myself,” said Mr. Sinclair. Oh no, Elijah had piqued his uncle’s interest by giving him an idiotic answer.
“No. I can’t let you do that as it’s a surprise present for you, uncle,” Elijah told a fib. “The surprise is already half ruined. Let’s not do any more damage.”
“A present?” Mr. Sinclair’s excitement multiplied. “Thank you for thinking of me. Nathan could use a kind gesture.” He exhaled noisily. “You should see him.”
“Why? Is there something wrong?” Elijah questioned. I don’t know why I expected him to say that Nathan was heartbroken and regretted saying everything he had said.
“Nothing too special. Something is always bothering him,” Mr. Sinclair replied.
Nothing? Was I nothing to Nathan? My heart ached to hear those words. It proved that having an army of servants behind me was an ego thing. No one was allowed to escape or defy him.
Mr. Sinclair didn’t stay long after that and asked Elijah to see him when he was free. Seeing his calm attitude gave me more clarity about doing the right thing. Nathan deserved to receive a ransom call. I also felt less opposed to Frank’s idea of asking Elijah’s men to throw a few punches at him.
The rest of the ride was smooth and quiet. I once badly bumped my head on the top, and that’s when I realized I was being transferred into a truck.
“We are almost there. Don’t worry. You are in a safe vehicle. Call my name if you are in pain or distress. I am right here with you,” Elijah reassured me.
I hugged my legs, desperately waiting for us to reach our destination. I could feel every movement trapped in that box. The road was smooth for a short while until it became very bumpy and uneven. I had to use physical force to prevent myself from hitting my head repeatedly. Since I had arrived on the Sinclair estate in a chopper, I knew very little about the surrounding areas. We could very possibly be headed to the woods.
“We are here. It’s safe to come out now,” Elijah announced after a journey of no less than forty minutes in a moving vehicle.
I pushed the top to stand up and was immediately hit by a refreshing breeze. I had guessed correctly about where we were headed as I found myself surrounded by nature.
“Welcome to your home for the next few days, prisoner,” Elijah jested. I thought it was purely a joke until I realized he was pointing at something in the opposite direction. I turned around to find a spectacular wooden home. From the outside, instead of appearing abandoned or old, it looked like a lavish summer home.
“Elijah, is this the right place?” I asked, unable to take my eyes off it.
Elijah was awfully silent for being a chatterbox. I slightly moved my neck to look behind, and suddenly, a hand fell on my mouth, muffling my screams. And another hand went around my waist. Before, I knew I was being roughly dragged against my will.