Still Holding On

Chapter Ten

I walk down the basement to Lillian's cell and open the door but keep my face as well as my hair hidden from her. "I have one last question Lillian. It needs to be answered." I say and she chuckles. "Go ahead then." She permits and I smirk. "What's the plan here, Lillian? Why would you do all of this?" I ask and she sighs. "Again with the plan. I won't tell you that... I'll tell you why though. See, I want Vitaly to suffer the way I did as a child. No one to love and no one to love him. You love him, Alek loves him, and so does everyone in the Russian Mafia. They all need to go. Get it?" She asks cheerily and I scoff. She's disgusting. "You make me sick." I sneer and storm out of the room. I grab a pistol from father's guns before I go back upstairs and groan when I realize I need the scrapbook. Luca has it.

I sneak into Luca's room and see it peeking out from under his pillow. Shit. I tip toe over and lift the pillow up enough to not wake him as I slowly pull the book out. When it's out I set the pillow down as carefully as possible. Ha! Victory is mine! I tip toe out of the room and smile as I sigh in relief. It's mine. I take off my bag and put the scrapbook in it before heading down to the laundry room. I can finally leave. I hide in a closet when I see Lucinda and she whistles happily while carrying baskets of clothes around. I see her head into the living room and run to mother's secret exit. "Rosangela?" A voice says in shock and I look up at Lucinda. Tears fill my eyes and she sighs. "I have to leave Lucinda... You see the way they treat me." I plead and she smiles. "Go. Before he wakes up. I will stall as long as I can. Be safe." She warns and I smile as I disappear into the tunnel. 

I shut the cabinet behind me and race down the staircase. Thank you, Lucinda. May God smile upon your compassion. I pull out a flashlight from my bag and walk down the concrete tunnel. I reach the end and see a small wooden door with a metal latch. I put the flashlight away as I open it and walk into an open field. It's beautiful. I see why she came here so often. But I can't stay long. Ric will be looking for me. I smile as I pull out my map and use the morning sunrise as a light. Okay, so I should go... that way. I take off running west and sling my bag over my shoulder. I should reach the highway in a bit. Then I can hitch a ride to the city and get to the penthouse. Then it'll be smooth sailing... I hope. After about thirty minutes I take out my yellow Gatorade and chips. On the bright side the forest is pretty cool. 

After a while I see the main road and put my trash away into my bag. I run to the main road and start looking for cars. After four cars have passed me an old beat up truck stops in front of me. "Where you goin little lady?" The old man asks and I smile. "The city. Can you get me there?" I ask and he chuckles. "Get in." He replies and I get in the car. "So who are you running away from?" He asks and I chuckle. He's a smart man. "My ex fiancee... Why are you in New York?" I ask and he shrugs his shoulders. "I'm running from someone too." He replies and I frown. Him? "Wife?" I ask and he nods. "Smart girl." He replies and I blush. I like to think so. "What's so bad about your ex fiancee?" He asks and I scoff. What isn't would be a shorter answer. 

I shrug as I take my bag off and place it on my lap. "He's just unstable... Not to mention I'm in love with someone else." I laugh and he smiles. "Arranged marriage huh?" He asks and I nod. That obvious huh? "You running to the other man?" He asks and I nod again. That's about as much as I can tell him. "He was more than worried for me. But I'm happy to go home to him." I whisper and he watches me play with the ring on my necklace. "Is that the ring he gave you?" He asks and I nod with a bright smile. "He proposed and I said yes... shocker." I laugh and he chuckles. "I'm Angela." I greet and he smiles. "Josh." He replies and I see the city coming up. He said it was like a giant mirror for a building. "You can stop here." I say and he pulls to the curb. "Hope you find what you're looking for." He says and I nod. "You too." I reply and take off running down the sidewalk. 

I pull my hood further over my face when I see some traffic cameras and run across the street. I'm pretty sure the penthouse is this way. I see the number of a building resembling a mirror and smile. This is it. I take off inside and hear arguing as soon as I walk in making me lower my head so no one can see me. I look at the two arguing people to see a maid and the desk manager. "Excuse me?" The manager calls and I freeze in my spot. "Yes?" I answer in an extremely light voice to disguise my original voice. "Do you know someone here?" He asks and I nod my head. "Yes, I do. He's expecting me now." I reply and he scoffs. "Sure, street rat. Move it along." He says and I rip my arm from his grip. "My fiancee is up there now. If you'd like me to tell Alek Bytchnovik that you decided to manhandle me then I can." I snap and he immediately backs away. How did I know he'd fear Alek? Oh, yeah, everyone does. "I apologize, ma'am." He says and I nod as I walk towards the elevator.