A Dangerous Captive (Completed)

41. Finale

Song: Princess Castle - Jazmin Bean ft. Cottontail

(edited)

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Adelaide

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Then, my hands were free and something I haven't used in a long time was pressed into them.

One bullet.

Two men.

One choice.

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My decision lay heavily on my shoulders as I escaped the panic room, my head still ringing from the shot that seemed to reverberate around the room and echo in my head. 

The person I shot.

I kept my tears at bay as I stealthily snuck around the next corner, I couldn't linger, I could never let myself linger. 

Every death had to be buried away, so far out of mind that others may think that I had forgotten about the kills I'd taken but that was far from the truth. 

I remembered every face, every name of each person I had killed, their lives weighing heavily on my soul and now another had been added. 

I had no idea where I was, other than the fact that the place had a panic room, meaning that I could be anywhere that required a panic room, and that list isn't short in the slightest.

The most likely option would be that I was in the basement of a house, a very likely option considering the fact that I was facing a flight of stairs leading upwards. I didn't know how many people were in this house and I was armed with a knife that had been previously held to Jamie's neck and a gun with no bullets.

Jamie.

If I die, I die, I chanted in my head as I walked up the staircase, gun held in front of me.

If I die, I die,

If I die, I die,

Excrutiatingly slowly, I twisted the doorknob and poked my gun out first before following.

If I die, I die,

Empty.

The room was empty.

Boy, was it a room.

It screamed modernity.

It was completely unlike the mansion I lived in under Romano's contract where everything was done in classical taste. 

Here, everything was dark, and I couldn't say I didn't like it. The walls were an artfully deep grey, border lining on black and all of the furniture were in similar shades, giving the room a very dangerous feel.

The only pop of colour was the bouquet of lavender that lay in a vase on the table.

It felt like a perfect place for a villain to reside.

A villain like me.

The echo of footsteps forced me out of my dreamlike state and I quickly ducked into a small room, also empty, and kept my ear pressed to the door.

I held my breath as two people entered the outside room.

"Where the hell is she?" One voice shouted.

A voice that was too familiar for me to let go of.

"I'm not at liberty to say, ma'am." A second voice replied, obedient and tame.

I heard Jaekyung sigh, obviously not amused by his answer.

"Get out before I kill you."

It didn't take long for the second person to scuttle out of the room. 

As soon as I heard the door close, I jumped out of my hiding place and embraced her, elated to see a familiar face after the day I had had.

"Adelaide I-"

I shushed her and tightened my arms around her shoulders, waiting for her to hug me back, which when she did, let me breathe a sigh of relief.

"Please help me get out of here," I whispered in her ear.

I felt her body tense up as I said the words, I knew I was asking a lot from her.

She was getting paid by Silver, not me.

Silver.

I didn't even know his real name.

I pulled away to look into her eyes, our faces so close it seemed as if her dark eyes were pools of obsidian, pulling me in.

After what seemed like eternity, she nodded and clamped her hand around my upper arm, pulling me to another connecting room, a bathroom.

No words needed.

No explanations.

She didn't switch the lights on, instead, making her way through the dark towards a window, me in tow.

She carefully slid open the window and leaned over to whisper in my ear.

"This is New York, I swiped your card before we left for Portugal, it has all the money you've made by Romano, I recommend you taking all the money out in cash and opening a new one under a new name, a new identity, good luck."

She slid the card into my back pocket and handed me a business card with only one thing on it, an address, no name.

"Who is it?" 

She only shook her head, "you've already met them."

My jaw clenched at her noncommital answer, but I knew I was already asking for too much, she had already jeopardised herself enough.

"How's your brother?" I asked before she could leave.

"Safe," she replied, shutting the door behind her, leaving me alone in the dark room. 

Alone.

I looked out through the window, the chill of the night cutting straight through to my bones.

I took a deep breath and pushed through the open space.

The wind whipped through my hair as I walked out of the gates of the mansion and onto the street. I couldn't help myself from smiling a devilish smile as I twirled the knife in my hand and pocketed the gun, doing my best to smother the unwelcome isolation that was slowly trickling into my bones.

Long forgotten was the shot that I took down in the panic room, or the people I killed for Acerbi.

Long forgotten was the Adelaide that put trust in men like Acerbi and Jamie.

I had a new mission, one that involved my freedom.

Freedom, I thought, as I turned right to walk down a busy road, disappearing into the bustling streets of New York, becoming just another face in the ever flowing crowd.

Is this what freedom felt like?

I pushed forward, the adrenaline previously pumping through my veins slowly dissipating and launching me into the harsh reality of my predicament.

Despite my better judgement, I stopped walking in the middle of the busy pavement, the crowd parting around me as a new kind of smile grew on my face.

One with no malice, one that only held relief and complete elation.

It was almost like the chains that held me back were falling to the floor, leaving me as weightless as a bird on a summer afternoon. 

In the middle of the still bustling pavement, tears collected in my eyes and instead of holding them back, I let them run their course.

And I cried. 

For the first time in years, I cried.

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awwwn, this is kinda bittersweet