Chapter 43 A LEAP AT FREEDOM
A strong wave of wind suddenly blew at me, arousing me from my supposed death bed. I gasped out loud, my soul returning to my body as I did.
“I cannot end it here.” I said to myself, my strength returning back to my weak and feeble body slowly.
Once again, I began to crawl through the dark tunnel. I wasn't going to give up in the middle of nowhere and I knew with time, Rafael's men would find my escape route and would come after me once they did.
I couldn't let my state of tiredness wear me down, so I moved through the murky waters regardless, pushing all my strength into crawling towards my freedom— I was indeed still full of hope.
I continued crawling through the damp tunnel and darkness endlessly that I began to wonder if there was ever an exit to begin with.
After what felt like an eternity, I finally could see the soft glint of light at what seemed to be the end of the tunnel.
My heart could have jumped out of my mouth at the sight of the light again as I was overjoyed that I could feel all my strength returning to my body in an instant like they had never left.
Leah had written in the letter that a man would be waiting for me at the base of the tunnel that led to the city and he would be responsible for taking me back to New York— away from Italy, away from Santiano Rafael Devereaux.
Yes, that must be him, the one with the light must be the man Leah had mentioned in her letter to me.
I suddenly could hear the pattering of rain against what could be the roof of the tunnel and I wondered how long it had been raining for since I crawled far deeper away from the Devereaux family mansion.
For a brief moment, I thought about it— how Rafael was now nothing but a painful past to me with my total freedom in sight.
I would be back in New York soon, back to my old life, back to what Vanessa Hudgens used to be before Santiano Rafael Devereaux happened.
Soon, I could clearly make up the figure that was standing up ahead, waiting for me.
They were two men.
One of the men was standing with an umbrella over his head under the heavy downpour, while the other held a torch towards me as I approached with his clothes getting soaked mercilessly by the rain as he had no umbrella over his own head.
My heart skipped a bit at the sight of the men. Leah had never mentioned the appearance of a second man.
Could Rafael's men have gotten there just in time before the man from Leah arrived?
Has the pre-made plan been busted and fished out by these ruthless men from Rafael's turf?
I looked back briefly, my heart pounding heavily as I felt suddenly trapped and clueless about what to do next with the hope of my freedom fading away fast.
Crawling back into the tunnel was as well equal to going back into Rafael's arms, so my last resort was probably to face what was up ahead since I wasn't sure who they were.
I couldn't be so sure what or who to expect, but I had to try because my thoughts about the men being from the Devereaux family could be wrong and they might be a different person from Rafael's men, so I moved forward.
Finally, I reached the tunnel's end and the man with the torch bent over to help me out. I took his hand, a sense of familiarity washing over me as I saw his face.
The man quickly switched off the torch he had been holding, blinding everyone at the sight of my nakedness. I was thankful for this, and he knew it to be true.
“Leah said I would find you here…I'm so glad I could make it in time.”
“You…” I tried to say, surprised to see him out there, but my words got stuck in my throat and before I could try again, he had started to say something again.
“We do not have much time, we have to leave now before the news of your disappearance gets to Santiano Rafael Devereaux else, it will be difficult to stow you away back to New York tonight.” He said.
I was glad, happy and satisfied that they weren't Rafael's men but whom I should have been expecting.
They were from Leah and at the thought of this, I could already picture myself at the comfort of my penthouse back in New York.
I could finally smell what freedom was like again and I could say I was no longer the mafia's plaything.
The other man, who had been silent, removed his coat and wrapped it around me, then he proceeded to lift the hat he had been wearing, sending me into an extensive shockhold.
I was taken by surprise as I could recognize the man standing before me also. My mouth flagged open to express my surprise briefly.
“You…how…” Again, my voice betrayed me, the surreal feeling of surprise still blowing into my being.
A sadistic grin of victory crawled on his lips as he greeted me.
“Hello, Vanessa.”
The Authors’ POV
—
It had been two hours since Vanessa had been missing from the Devereaux mansion which had caused an uproar among the workers on duty within the mansion.
Vanessa's disappearance had forced an extensive search outside the mansion and everyone was growing restless in search of just one single woman.
Marco knew he could no longer delay the news of Vanessa's disappearance from getting to Rafael. He knew he had disappointed his boss, but in his current state, there was nothing much he could probably pull compared to how well Rafael would handle the matter.
And at once, he rang Rafael's mobile number, ready to deliver the news to his boss who had been off to fight off a war that was rising against the Devereaux family.
“Turn the car around.” Rafael said to his driver, his tone extremely dangerous and cold, the cold glint he had had in his eyes deepening and turning into something more crude— a lot more unforgiving.