★JANIE★

My right toe collided against a small rock and I found myself toppling over to the ground, face flat.

“Ouch!" I expelled a wail of pain as my knees throbbed and my whole body ached.

Tears instantly pooled in my eyes. I could not explain the amount of anguish overwhelming my guts at the moment.

Yet, this was all for the best.

I expected that escaping from Luciano would come with a daring price. Infact, I knew it would. Having injuries like this, the risk of getting kidnapped by yet another gang, or perhaps never making it out of here alive. But it was worth giving it a shot anyway.

"You can do this, girl," I muttered to myself as I gathered every ounce of strength left in me and then thrust my body upward.

"Oww!" I groaned again from the shock that gripped the region of my knee, down to my legs.

When I looked down at my throbbing knee, terror engulfed me as I watched the crimson-red blood trickle down. No wonder both of my knees hurt like crap.

Breathing heavily, I decided to rest a little then nurse my bleeding knee. Since I have been running for about thirty minutes now, it would take more time for Luciano and his men to find me. Alas, I could use that time to gather my strength before running again.

I struggled with my labored breathing pace as I plucked some leaves and then scrub against the surface of the injury.

My whole body surged and tears gathered once more as the leaves incited a stinging sensation and I almost bawled my eyes out.

Pressing my hand to my mouth to muffle my little screams, I squeezed out more of the juice on my wound before tossing the remains to the ground.

My head fell backward and I took in a deep breath, trying to regulate my tense nerves for more seconds. But then, I heard ruffles among bushes.

The ground trembled beneath my overbearing weight accompanied by a couple of voices.

“She has to be here, somewhere!" One of them yelled.

"Yes, since she doesn't know her way around here, I'm sure she would be lost." Another added.

A loud gasp emanated from the back of my throat.

Panic surged through my veins as I quickly scanned around, looking for a place to hide. With my injured knees, there was no way I could outrun them. So the smartest move was to hide and hope they wouldn't find me.

Luckily, I found a fallen, almost rotten tree by my right. It had a small hole for me to fit in and I couldn't be more grateful as I picked myself up from the ground, then limped over there and crawled into the tiny hole.

It contained me perfectly. So what I just hoped for now was that— they don't find me here.

I covered my mouth to muffle the whimpering sound coming from the back of my throat.

For Luciano's men to be searching for me, that meant he has already found out that I left. However, a part of me kept wondering why Luciano doesn't want to let me go. He has done enough by destroying my life and ruining my plans. But still, he should let me live now.

We are two different people, meant to be a world apart. While he was a ruthless mafia king, I happened to be a young girl, unable to hurt a fly.

He always had a thirst for blood, while I, on the other hand, detested the sight of blood. I only began to get used to it because of my passion to become a nurse.

More tears gathered in my eyes and I sniffled back sobs, so I wouldn't have to attract any attention to myself.

With each passing second, I could hear them drawing closer and closer to where I hid.

The sound of their boots crushing twigs, coupled with the intense ruffling of bushes filled the atmosphere.

I didn't even realize they were now very close to me until I heard one say. “Matthias, check around that area. Especially that fallen tree, she might be hiding there."

My heart skipped a beat and I almost blacked out of anxiety.

Pressing my hands tighter to my mouth, I prayed silently to God that they never get to find me. Holding my breath as I wished luck played a role on my side for once.

I have come this far from escaping Luciano. If they should find me, my life would be over because he would never let me out of his sight.

That's— if he doesn't kill me first.

A pair of large boots became visible in front of me. I could make out a man towering above the tree as his eyes frantically surveyed the whole arena.

My face paled just as he bent over, ready to peer into the spot I was hiding, but then a loud yell split through the atmosphere, prompting him to snap his head toward that direction.

Still holding my breath, I didn't attempt to move. Instead, I remained there, wishing that noise was enough to help me distract him.

But he turned towards my direction once more.

“Matthias, didn't you hear that noise?" Another voice chimed. “I think they've found her. Let's go that way."

“Okay." Matthias' deep voice rumbled above me.

And in no time, he scuttled off with the other person towards the direction the noise emerged from.

Expelling a sharp breath of air, I gasped in relief. Then, wasted no time in scrambling out of the tree.

If they got there, it wouldn't take them a minute to realize it wasn't me and they would come searching for me again.

Hauling myself out of the tree trunk, I grunted and winced in pain because my knees scraped against the wood with each movement to make my way out.

The excruciating pain coursing through my bones was enough to make me run wild, but surprisingly, I contained myself.

Limping on both feet, I hastily scurried through the woods. After taking a few more turns, I eventually came across a short wired fence and a highway.

Although the wired fence obstructed my freedom, I didn't let that stop me.

So I ran there, opened my bag and brought out one of my clothes, then zipped it back.

Promptly, I placed the cloth on the edge of the wired fence to enable me to place my hands. When I did, the fence pricked my hands and I grunted again. However, the damage could have been worse if I didn't use anything.

So I took a sharp breath and then grabbed onto the fence. Thrusting my weight forward, I perched on the fence, jumping to the other side with a weak smile of victory.

My hands were now bleeding profusely. Yet, that didn't bother me.

Intentionally leaving the bloodied cloth at the edge of the barbed wire fence, I made a run to the highway and then flagged down a blue upcoming truck.

“Please stop, please stop," I mumbled under my breath, hoping the driver would be compassionate enough to stop and help me.

Alas, the truck pulled to an abrupt halt in front of me, revealing a Middle aged man behind the wheel, with a young boy around my age, seated in the passenger seat.

The man had a confused look laced with a bit of terror on his face while the boy just seemed unfazed.

“Please help me," I said quickly.

Soon, Luciano's men might catch up with me here and these people's lives wouldn't even matter to them.

If they should find me— the man and the boy who I presumed to be his son would be dead. While I would be back at Luciano's mansion. Perhaps as a captive or another dead body.

“What the hell happened to you, young lady?" The man asked, scrutinizing me from head to toe.

“Please help me." I reiterated once more. “They are after me and I promise to explain everything on the way. But first, you have to get me out of here."

The man's eyes traveled from me to the out space behind, obviously wondering who were the people after me and why. But a few seconds later, he brought his attention back to me, permitting me to hop into his truck.

I hastily opened the back door and helped myself in. “Thank you so much, sir. Thank you so much."

He ignited the truck's engine at once. “You are welcome." And with that, he drove away.

Every bit of tension in my body slowly dissipated into thin air. Even if I was covered in my own blood, sweat, and tears, it was definitely worth it.

I felt myself relaxed into the chair then I closed my eyes, excited that I was able to accomplish this.

“Do you have a destination in mind?" The man's voice cut through my thoughts.

Although I recalled our house address, I wasn't ready to face my father just yet. And also, Luciano might be aware of that place, he might look for me there and I wouldn't want to risk being taken all over again.

So it was better to act like an orphan. After all, that's what I have become anyway.

So I shook my head in response. “No, I don't have anywhere to go."

The man spared me a glance through his rearview mirror then smacked his tongue. “That is another mystery. So I guess I will be taking you home then."

“Thank you," I said to him, grateful to have finally gotten out of Luciano's den and all the miseries he put me through.