Finding an Escape Route

After finally freeing herself of uncomfortable handcuffs and bra, Leona looked around the spacious bathroom and sought for anything that could help her escape. She remembered one of the scenes she wrote in her chapter, the female lead escaped through an air vent.

In her completed novel [Mysterious Manager of Monterey], Shane was forcibly trapped inside one of the office rooms in an old company building. She tried to break open the sturdy metal door by hitting it with a chair, but it did not work. She couldn't even escape through the window, as she knew she's ten floors above ground. Desperate to escape, Shane looked at all the corners of the room. She found a large air vent on the ceiling near the copier machine, and used it to escape just in time before the whole building was demolished before her eyes.

Inspired by the novel she wrote, she tried to use her head. Hearing something noisy, she panned her sight upwards to the bathroom’s ceiling, hoping to find a rectangular-shaped vent. Finding that the air vent was too small for a human, she creased her brows. Was this a dead end?

Leona hadn’t been to an escape room game, but she felt like she was in one now. Feeling challenged, she started knocking at the walls as she walked around, hoping there was a secret room or something that could magically spawn a portal and teleport her back to safety. Sadly, there was none.

The gingerhead captive did not give up. For some high-class but dangerous criminal, there had to be a rat hole somewhere to escape from in times of danger. Remembering that she still had not searched the bedroom, Leona was about to leave when she heard the doorknob click open. Immediately, she retreated to the safety of the expensive toilet and locked the door.

She heard several loud knocks on the other side of the bathroom door. In a predicament, she tried to calm herself.

“There has to be something here… I have to think fast!” she thought to herself and tried not to scream when someone slammed against the door.

Scrambling around to find something useful as a weapon to attack those kidnappers trying to break down the bathroom door, Leona chanced across something at the end of the counter. Her saving grace came in the form of a large rectangular frame on the lower part of the wall. Leona almost cried tears of relief that she looked behind that fat trash can. With this, she could finally escape.

In another room, the mafia boss smirked as he watched his newest hostage using the hidden CCTVs. He never expected her to release herself from the cuffs with a bra wire or find their escape route. This woman was interesting, more so than her brother.

Ignatius leaned back on his comfortable office chair, noting to himself that he shouldn’t underestimate the redhead’s sister. Unlike Leonard, his sister must have acquired more nutrients to feed her brain. Then again, she could use a little more nourishments with how thin she was. Those arms look like they would snap if she tried to lift one of his dumbbells.

The boss decided to observe how she would open the escape route without a screwdriver. How far would her wits take her?

He called two of his men and handed them a screwdriver each. After giving out orders for a secret task, Ignatius dismissed them to do his bidding as he returned his attention to the screen in front of him.

When Leona saw her ticket out of the luxurious prison, a great idea popped onto her head like a light bulb that was suddenly lit. She hurried back to the shelf to retrieve the toothbrush. Snapping off the upper part where the bristles were, Leona spent the next minutes sanding it on the side of the bathroom counter to sharpen it. It was difficult trying to file plastic on smoothened marble surface but Leona was full of determination to get out of here.

Eight long minutes later and a forehead full of sweat, Leona grinned as she stared at the perfect escape tool. Satisfied, she quickly rendered two bolts on the metal cover useless. Prying the cover off as silently as she could, Leona peeked inside and was thrilled to see a smidge of a light!

Leona could hear the doorknob moving. Those goons might have gotten the key! Ignoring the smell and grime collected in the secret escape route over the years of disuse, Leona crawled fast through the oddly spacious tunnel that only went in one direction. The desperate ginger-haired woman did not mind the dustiness and held back a sneeze, especially when she realized that her sight was becoming brighter. She could already see the end of that tunnel!

Victory was so close in her grasp and Leona hastened her crawling to reach for the vent cover. She peeked through the horizontal opening and saw the tar road!

Using the sharpened, broken toothbrush, she slid the tip to the side. The vent cover creaked a little and quickly gave way with little effort on her part, much to Leona’s surprise. Feeling lucky that her kidnappers weren’t as smart as the villains in her story, Leona gave the vent one hard push and counted her blessings.

Thinking about what to do and where to go as soon as she escaped, Leona failed to realise that it was all a ruse. She thought about hitchhiking to find her police friend Alwin for help. Alwin must be terribly worried by now after she failed to turn up for breakfast. Leona hoped that it wasn’t all too late and that she could still make it. The plan was perfect!

Leona was still struggling to free her legs from the vent and her arms were starting to cramp up from all that crawling action when a pair of shiny, leather boots stood in front of her.

When she looked up, she saw two men in black suits each holding a screwdriver.

"Where do you think you're going?" one of them growled.

Leona knew she already screwed up her golden opportunity. So much for a grand escape plan!

From the pan into the fire, Leona tried to crawl back into the vent but two men in suits were faster. They grabbed her arms tightly and forcibly pulled her out.

She was going to shout but guns were pointed at her side, making her shut up at once. Instructed to keep quiet, Leona was dragged back inside.

Trudging along, Leona looked around. Ever since she woke up and freed herself from the handcuffs, Leona did not have the time to tour her new prison. The hallway was full of mirrors and she saw how filthy her appearance was after crawling through the vent.

She was dragged towards a room that looked like an office. In front of two large bookshelves was a simple black modern desk. On that desk, Leona saw an expensive brand of laptop she would die for.

Forced to sit on the black velvet-covered sofa in front of the boss' desk, Leona wondered what would happen to her now.

"Leave us," he ordered, and they bowed before they stepped out of the room.

Leona examined Ignatius from head to toe. She noticed how his biceps and chest were firm while he wore that slim fit, black, long-sleeved shirt. With those long legs of his, he would pass as a runway model, and if his handsome face was uploaded online, he’d be famous in just an hour!

Ignatius leaned forward. It was obvious that this woman was mesmerized by his looks. Smirking at the thought, he crossed his arms then asked, “Do you know why you are here?"

Leona turned her head and bravely gazed into her kidnapper’s gunmetal gray irises. She furrowed her eyebrows, "I'm guessing it has something to do with my brother?"

Ignatius smirked at her response. As expected, what an interesting woman she was! In front of him, her unwavering celadon green-colored eyes remained unintimidated by his presence. If anything, that small spark of curiosity interested him more.

The mafia boss stepped forward. Then he cupped her chin and tilted her head up, meeting her fearless eyes.

"You are going to stay here until I am done dealing with your brother. You know what this means, right?"

When Leona heard his deep and sexy voice, she gulped. It took her a few seconds to get her mind out of the gutter and focus on the more important matters at hand. What could be her stupid older brother doing? Why did she have to be dragged into this mess? She knew he’s a troublemaker, but not to the extent that dangerous people would be involved!

Ignatius let go of her chin and moved backwards to lean on his desk again.

"You will stay here with me until I decide to let you go," he uttered. "But I still have to punish you for attempting to escape."

Waiting for her sentence, Leona felt a nervous drop of sweat roll down her back. Is she going to be flogged a hundred times like the ancient eras? Or maybe they'd make her sleep in a bed of thorns? Perhaps they would starve her for several days?

Ignatius felt like laughing when he saw the nervousness on her face. He knew that she might be thinking about something extreme, but he only had a very light punishment in his mind. It was a very light and practical punishment.

With a grin on his face, Ignatius let her have it.

"From now on, I want you to be my personal maid."