A week passed by.

Two weeks passed by.

It had been a month since she was at the mansion.

In the middle of nowhere.

With no idea where her aunt was.

But it wasn't nothing being captive. Zara kept track of the members of the Cardenas' shifts every single night. She was ready to sacrifice her sleep if it meant it would lead her one step closer to her freedom.

Freedom.

Such a beautiful word.

Such a beautiful idea.

What everyone takes for granted.

She had spent the month trying to get information out of Adrian but he had been quite secretive, which was expected after all. He wasn't going to trust her that easily and neither was she going to trust him.

They were the players on opposite sides of the board of chess.

There was a soft siren call from the basement that happened every night before the lights were shut down in the gardens. That was step one. A grin spread across Zara's face as she ran to her bed and pulled out the cargo bag with all her belongings out. Marvin had told her to use the closet but there wasn't one in her room. She wondered what that was about but didn't ask him more about it.

She wasn't going to stay there for long enough anyway.

Pulling her jacket on and wearing her gloves, she tied her hair into a bun, going through the details that she had been memorising about the bodyguards walking around the perimeter with their guns out for the past few weeks.

It was time for the execution of her plan.

Zara opened the door to the balcony in her room and threw out the rope that she had made out of bedsheet covers. She tied it to a strong railing against the bed inside the room and made sure that the rope reached the ground. It would have been an easy jump for her but she couldn't risk twisting an ankle or spraining her arm.

Not when she had to outrun Adrian and his goons.

Swinging the bag over her shoulders, she began her climb down. She swung one leg over the counter and braced herself over what she was about to do. The lights were down and nobody could see her. 

But she had to get out. 

Whatever it took.

She swung her other leg and held onto the bed sheet. Her hands slipped at first, making her heart race for a second. But eventually she got her grip and she slid down. She was glad that she had worn her gloves because she couldn't have risked burning her hands.

Her feet hit the ground with a soft thud.

She let out a sigh of relief.

Step one? Accomplished.

She brought the cap of her hoodie over her head and wore her mask. She may have looked like a thief but she couldn't have anyone run to Adrian. Besides, he was out of town like Marvin had told her. That was what timed her escape to perfection.

She squatted on the ground as she looked around, waiting for Peter to go back into the house meant for the bodyguards near the west fence. He was the most difficult to dodge in all the time that she had spent there. And after seeing the redhead pass by her as she waited in the shadows, she knew that it was time for step two.

She smiled silently to herself as she walked straight into the garden, waiting for the end of the two minutes that she had time for the lights around the perimeter to dim. And once that happened, it was time for the most important and at the same time, riskiest part of the plan - knocking out Lei.

She walked closely behind him, but he had heard her coming. She had accidently stepped on a stone and kicked it closer to the back of his ankles, making him turn around. And that was when adrenaline took over her.

She punched his throat, breaking his flow of air, and pulled his gun out of his hand. One detail that she had overhead in this past month was that the guards only kept their guns on safety mood until there was an immediate threat.

And that would work perfectly to her advantage.

"I'm sorry." She whispered after grabbing his arm and pinning him to the ground, making the blood rush to his brain, knocking him out instantly. Seeing his eyes close up, she hung her head for a second, praying that he would be alright in the morning.

She stood up and brushed her hands against her jeans. She was so close to the fence that she could taste the sweetness in the air. She only needed to take one more step towards it and then, she would be out in the world. Picking up Lei's standardised dagger that every member of the Cardenas got, she took her step.

The entire time, Zara was praying to the ultimate force that she referred to as her Saints that the opening in the fence that she had seen hadn't been imaginary. And when her hands fumbled to search for it in the dark, her heart beat out of her chest. Anyone could have found her then.

But she heard a low crack and then, she saw the hole between the bushes. She looked back at the mansion. "I won't miss you." She smiled to herself before walking through.

It took her a minute or so but she was out of the bushes and into the outside roads.

She pulled her phone out and searched for the signal. She needed to know where she was on the north side. She searched for her location and saw that the main road was five minutes from where she stood if she took the road to her right.

She looked at the empty street.

At the night sky.

At the stars and the moon.

Taking a deep breath, she kissed the ring that she always wore on her left hand. It passed on for good luck. It was a stupid thought really but her aunt always encouraged her to believe even in the littlest things in the world.

Zara took one step to the right.

Then another.

Then another.

She was walking towards the main road.

Towards freedom.