Jay's POV
Darkness swallowed me whole.
One second I was searching drawers, the next a hand clamped over my mouth and dragged me backward into the shadows. My heart tried to escape my chest. I kicked. I twisted. I prepared to bite like a feral raccoon.
"Jay… please. It's me. Ruth."
I froze.
My brain took a second to reboot. Ruth ? The cleaner?
I nodded quickly, and the hand loosened from my mouth. I spun around, breathing hard.
"How did you know I was here?" I whispered.
Ruth adjusted her glasses calmly like we were discussing grocery lists. "Keifer Collin. And I saw your red-haired friend earlier. You are not as invisible as you think."
Oh.
Noted.
"Okay," I muttered. "But why are you helping me?"
Ruth's face changed. Softer. Sadder.
"Because ma'am is getting worse. She is blinded by revenge."
Revenge again. Always revenge. Why can't people be blinded by cake or something?
"But why?" I pressed.
Before she could answer, gunshots cracked through the air outside. Shouting. Fighting. My stomach dropped straight through the floor.
"My friends," I whispered.
Jerry glanced toward the window. "It looks like they have been caught."
My chest tightened. Keifer.
"I need to go," I said immediately.
Ruth grabbed my arm. "If you go now, everything will be useless. After tonight security will double. You will never get another chance like this."
I hated when people made sense during emergencies.
She leaned closer. "I have to show you something."
"How do we even leave here without being seen?" I whispered.
Without another word, she handed me a cap and a black mask.
"Put this on. Follow me."
Great. I always wanted to cosplay as Suspicious Side Character Number Three.
We stepped out of the shadows. Calm. Casual. Like two people who absolutely were not breaking into a revenge mansion.
Ruth moved fast through the hallway, straight to Sienna's study. My heart started sprinting again.
She pressed her finger to the scanner.
Click.
The door opened.
We slipped inside and shut it quietly.
I immediately went through documents, files, drawers. My hands were shaking, flipping pages faster and faster.
"I'm not finding anything!" I whispered.
Ruth stepped closer. Her voice dropped.
"Do you remember the masked man who helped Victor and Kaizer kidnap you long ago?"
My blood ran cold.
"Yes."
"That masked man… was ma'am Sienna's father."
My hand flew to my mouth.
"No," I breathed. "No. That's not possible."
Ruth nodded once.
"So why does Sienna want to kill me? Why my friends?" My voice cracked slightly.
"Sir's last words to her, the morning before he died, were… 'I will come back if I do not find my killers.'"
Silence filled the room like thick smoke.
"So she thinks…" I whispered.
"She thinks someone murdered him. And she believes it you."
I stared at the floor.
"So she knows her father was a bad person, right?"
Jerry shook her head. "No. She saw him as her shield. Her hero. Her entire world. She is blinded by sorrow."
I let out a slow breath. "This is wrong. She's crazy. Your ma'am iscr77
cccrrraaaazzzzyyyyy, also her father killed himself"
Ruth gave me a look. "She is good to innocent people."
I blinked. "What are you saying?"
"She blew up a university," I reminded her.
"I know," Ruth said quietly. "But she secretly gave every innocent family two million each. They do not know who sent it."
I stared at her.
"What are you trying to say?"
Ruth 's eyes hardened. "Ma'am Sienna is evil in mind… but not heart."
That sentence made absolutely no sense and also made too much sense.
"Today," Ruth continued softly, "she killed a man right where you are standing."
I physically froze.
"Why?"
"Because he failed to kill you and Keifer."
My throat tightened.
"He had an old mother. A young son."
"She's bad," I whispered.
"She hired a nanny for them. She is paying for the boy's entire education until university."
My brain short-circuited.
So she kills… but then funds tuition.
What kind of villain does financial aid packages after murder?
Before I could respond, the door handle turned.
My soul left my body.
Ruth shoved me behind the large table. I crouched low, holding my breath.
The door opened.
"Jerry, what are you doing here?" a voice asked.
"I heard intruders broke in," she replied smoothly. "I came to check."
"Oh. Good. Ma'am wants everyone in the living room in three minutes."
"Understood."
Footsteps faded. Door closed.
Ruth turned immediately. "Jay. You must go. Now."
I quickly pulled the cap and mask back on.
"Go straight down the hall," she whispered. "You will find a small door. It leads to the back. There is a black horse tied there. Take it."
I stared at her.
"I can't ride a horse."
She blinked once. "You will learn."
This woman was calm in a way that scared me more than Sienna.
"Go."
I hesitated only one second.
Then I ran.
Down the hall. Through the small door. Cold night air hit my face.
I stepped outside… and stopped.
I was behind Sienna's mansion wall.
And there it was.
A massive black horse tied to a post, glossy and intimidating, like it knew secrets about me.
It snorted.
I stared at it.
It stared at me.
"This is not how I imagined escaping tonight," I muttered.
Gunshots echoed faintly in the distance.
Somewhere inside that house, Sienna was gathering everyone.
Somewhere out there, Keifer thought I was missing.
And I was standing in front of a horse like I was about to audition for historical drama: Traumatized Girl Edition.
I slowly approached it.
"Hi," I whispered. "We're about to become best friends."
The horse flicked its ear.
I took a deep breath.
If Sienna was evil in mind but not heart… then what did that make me?
And why did I have a feeling this was only the beginning?
The horse stomped once.
"Okay," I muttered, grabbing the reins. "Let's not die tonight."
End of Chapter. 🖤