Secret wife

Chapter 16

15 years ago (continued)

"Please help us. My brother is ruthless; he might harm my child," pleaded Teena, fear emanating from her eyes.

"If your brother is that ruthless, I wonder what he might do to me," said Leena in panic.

"We need to escape from here," said Teena.

"You said all the servants and security guards were appointed by him. We won't be able to escape from here unnoticed. Is there a secret way out?" asked Leena.

"There is. Omji made it in this house. But we can't escape without a vehicle," said Teena.

"My car is parked outside," informed Leena.

"Then come with me," said Teena, and they went into a bedroom. Inside, on a huge bed, a girl of 3 or 4 was sleeping soundly. Teena quickly locked the door and said, "the secret way is through our bedroom. I will grab the essentials."

She took out a duffel bag and started filling it with clothes.

"What are you doing?" asked Leena in confusion.

"Packing clothes," said Teena.

"We are not going for a Kullu-Manali trip. When you are trying to escape, clothes are the last thing to pack. Put money, jewelry, important documents, ID cards, passport, medicines, etc., before you stuff it with things you can buy or replace later," said Leena urgently.

"Yeah, you are right," said Teena, and she threw out the clothes and stuffed the folder she gave her. Then she opened the wardrobe and filled the bag with cash, jewelry, and documents.

"Please change into something casual so that you can blend into the crowd," said Leena, staring at Teena's white sari.

"You are right," Teena replied, and she quickly changed into jeans and a T-shirt. She then hastily stuffed two sets of her own clothes and the kids' clothes.

"Come, let's go," said Teena, and Leena was finally able to breathe.

Teena opened a lonely wardrobe at one end of the room. Inside it, hidden behind the clothes, was a digital lock. She pressed in some numbers, and the back panel of the wardrobe opened. Teena quickly grabbed the sleeping girl, a torch, and a keychain from the nightstand. Leena grabbed her bag. They stepped into the wardrobe and closed the doors carefully. The dark stairs were illuminated by the lonely torch, and after that, they walked down two floors and reached a narrow tunnel. They kept walking until they reached a door in the ceiling. Teena showed the torch, and Leena climbed the steps and opened the door. It led next to their backyard gate and was shielded by a kitchen garden from the house. Teena fished out a key and opened the gate, and they scurried out. Then they circled the perimeter of the house on the outside and reached the front, hiding behind parked cars and trees that flanked the road. In a few minutes, they reached Leena's car and got in.

Inside, they took deep breaths in relief, and the child, who had woken up in the middle of all this, asked Teena with wondrous eyes, "Mumma, hum kaha ja rahe hain?" (Mother, where are we going?)

Teena gave Leena a helpless look, and Leena started the car and said, "Yeha se door, beta." (Far away from here, dear.)

***

Rajiv had gone to meet the private banker that Thomas had asked him to, along with Mani. He was on edge because that night Leena had promised that she would deliver the documents to Teena Sethi, and the next day she would catch a flight to Thiruvananthapuram. He had to make arrangements to safely get her back to their new home and hide her until things cleared up.