"SHIT!" The man slapped his hands on the window sill as he watched the woman jump from the window. She fell back first into the bush below while covering her baby's head with the curtain. She quickly climbed herself out and started to run towards the back of the house.

"ILIANA!" She heard him shout from somewhere in front of the house, no doubt making his way towards her direction. But she needed to run as quickly as possible to find some cover, somewhere to hide until it was dark enough to move freely enough. The sun was already setting and the temperature was dropping. She knew it was a huge risk, but she had to take it for the sake of her baby.

She ran through the brush, acquiring multiple cuts and scratches to her arms and face, some lowere branches were tearing through her pants. She still had a protective arm over Zach's head. Iliana felt leaves and branches snap under her feet. She ducked under a branch and looked behind her briefly to see if there was any sign of the man. She turned ahead and tripped over a root that was above ground. She fell forward, but used her free arm to break her fall and pushed herself to her feet and kept running.

She looked down to check on Zach who quieted down, looking more scared than anything. His blue eyes met with her green ones and he seemed to relax a bit and she smiled and kissed his forehead and covered his head again. "ILIANA!" She could hear the man's voice echo. She didn't know where it came from but he sounded too close for comfort. She crawled under a bush and turned on her side and curled up. Zach stayed quiet, bit too scared to make any noise.

She heard the sound of leaves crunching and the sound of foosteps grow closer and she hugged the baby close to her, praying that he would be quiet. She saw the man's shoes and he stood right in front of her. She held her breath, not moving an inch. "ILIANA!" He bellowed which caused her and the baby to jump slightly but it didn't give their location away.

There was a pregnant pause before the man swore under his breath and started to stomp away looking for them. She didn't dare move from her spot. She just laid their holding onto her baby. "It's going to be okay, Zachy." She whispered as she kissed the top of his head and the baby sniffled. She rubbed his back and she closed her eyes for a moment. "We just have to wait here a moment." She said softly as she closed her eyes for a bit.

~*~

"Where is that stupid girl?! She's playing with my money!" A voice bellowed from outside the girl's hiding place. Iliana was hiding under the floorboard in her room. She had just sneaked into it just before he walked in. While his back was turned, she slowly moved the plank into its proper place so he wouldn't get suspicious.

"Santiago, she's just a child. Alex's child. This is wrong-" The woman said as she stepped into the room. She had soft features, honey brown eyes and melanated skin. Her dark brown hair waved loosely down her back. She had a thick Italian accent. "What has gotten into you, lately?" She asked as she stood in his way, with her hands on her waist.

"Giovanna, I'm not in the mood. Help me look for the brat or move out of the way-" The man glared at her. His complexion was lighter than hers and he had a goatee, his dark hair was slicked back. He was wearing a red button up that was tucked into his black slacks.

Iliana stared through the crack in the floor, careful not to move or make a sound, but she was terrified. She was just waiting for the right to escape and possibly run away.

"She's eleven! ELEVEN SANTIAGO! And you're tossing her to these grown men for money?! I can't stand by and let you do this to her!" She shouted.

"If you don't like it you can leave. No one is asking you to stay. Why are you still here anyways?" He asked as he looked around the room, starting to throw things around in search for the small girl.

Giovanna's face tightened and she became silent. "Exactly. You don't want to leave because you came from nothing and you will go back to nothing. You were some penniless hooker that I picked up from some crack in the wall bar." He hissed. He was highly intoxicated at the moment.

The woman started to tear up but she quickly held her composure together and took a deep breath. "You take that back." She said in a low tone.

"Take what back? The truth?" He swiveled around to look at her swaying slightly as he leaned against the dresser to keep himself upright. "You were some cheap bitch but you had a nice brain on your shoulders and a nice body so why not marry you? And I don't know why you're upset anyways... It was your idea for extortion." He muttered.

Iliana's eyes widened. This whole time she thought she had someone to rely on and cry to but this seemed to be a common recurrence in her life, betrayal. She covered her mouth and curled up more as tears stung her eyes.

"This is not what I meant. You should have used her sob story to gain more press and launch campaigns, not this-" She slapped her hands on her thighs. "Do you not know how much coverage this could have gotten. Family tragically killed and she's the lone survivor?! Use your head, Santiago-" She slapped his arm.

He grumbled and looked at her. "You're right, but this seems to pay a way more. Who knew that there are a lot of twisted fucks that would pay this much to see a child-" He chuckled.

"It takes one to know one." She replied curtly as she turned to walk away from him and she left the room. He quickly pushed himself to his feet and hurried out after her. "NOW WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO IMPLY!" He shouted.

Iliana waited a bit longer as they cotinued their bickering downstairs as she slowly eased herself from her hiding space and placed the plank back. She grabbed her bag from under her bed and opened the bedroom window and started to climb out.

~*~

Iliana opened her eyes. She had fallen asleep briefly on the cold ground. The moon's light was peaking through the canopy and she looked down at Zach who was fast asleep himself. She uncurled herself with a groan, feeling every part of her aching and she knew this was going to be rough on her. She was freezing and she couldn't feel her feet. She scooted herself from under the brush and repositioned Zach in her arms. She took the first step feeling like she was stepping on pins and needles. She hissed silently and kept walking. The thought of getting her baby to safety motivated her.

She heard a twig snap and she instantly took off at a sprint. She knew she had to follow the dirt road from the house. It had to lead to civilization. She could still see the lights of the old abandoned looking home from where she stood. She just had to stick to the shadows. "LIAM DO YOU SEE ANYTHING?!" She heard him shout. She quickly ducked behind a tree and stood still as she heard footsteps approach.

"NO!" A second voice sounded. She saw a beam of light shine in her direction and she eased away from it a bit as she heard the footsteps draw closer and she felt her heart hammer in her chest. "THEN KEEP LOOKING!" She heard Caractacus shout.
"I don't know why you have me out here helping anyways. Got me out here aiding and abetting. I hope she got away." The man muttered to himself as he stood on the otherside of the tree looking around.

Iliana held her breath but she couldn't help but sense a feeling of familiarity about his voice and she was tempted to peek around the tree at him, but she didn't want to risk her hiding spot.

The male took a step, edging around the tree as Iliana did so to avoid his gaze, but she made a mistake of slipping on a rock and she slid down the tree and onto the ground, landing on her behind. The flashlight's glare found its way onto her face and she held her hand up to shield her eyes from the harsh light.

The man stared at her and she pushed herself to her feet while keeping a hold of her baby and looked for a way out. She looked at him and the grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it at his face which caused him to hiss out of pain and rub his eyes. She took this as her chance to dart past him and away from the direction of the older male, but her managed to grab her upper arm and hold her in place.

"Calm the fuck down why don't you-" He muttered with mild aggravation as he rubbed at his eyes and blinked rapidly and squinted his eyes at her. She tried to yank her arm free, but he held a firm grip.

"Listen to me and listen to me closely. Head straight through those trees and you should reach a neighborhood. Do you hear me?" He asked as he looked at her directly, his eyes were watery and red with irritation. She relaxed once she recognized who it was. It was the same man who she had an encounter with at the clothing store.

"Liam?" She whispered and he nodded. "Yea, it's me. Lia... Now hurry up and go!" He urged her. They both could hear the man's hurried footsteps in their direction. "But first, throw some more dirt in my eyes." He said and she looked at him with slight confusion. "Just do it, dammit!" He made rapid motions with his hands. She leaned down and grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it in his face and took off running.

The man hurried over to Liam and pushed him back. "What happened?"
"Bitch threw dirt in my eyes." Liam rubbed his face as he leaned against the tree. The man raised his flashlight in every direction, scanning the woods for any sign of the female, he caught a glimpse of her fleeting figure in the distance.

"ILIlANA!" He shouted as he took off at a sprint after her. Her name being shouted sent a chill down her spine. He had his eyes set on her and she could feel it. The wind whipped at her hair and her heart hammered in her ears. The leaves and twigs were snapping under her feet. She covered her baby's head once again to protect it from the onslaught of low branches as she ran through the brush. She felt her lungs ache from running. The cold air whipped at her nose, but her main goal was to get her baby to safety.

She lowered her head as she ran through a thicket and she felt the twigs scratch at her face and her skin began to sting. She looked ahead to see a wooden fence and her heart dropped and she began to scream. "HELP ME! HELP ME!" She screamed as she banged her hand on the fence.

She looked back and saw the man stalking towards her. She didn't stop screaming for help, causing the baby to wake up with a cry. He was terrified now.

"Iliana stop now." He said in a low tone as he stepped closer. She was out of breath and Liam was right behind him with a worried expression. He didn't want the man to do anything to her or the baby.

On the other side of the fence, people were starting to wake up. Lights in various rooms of each house started to illuminate the dark street. "HELP ME PLEASE!" She screamed. The man had enough and hurried over and tried to wrestle her to the ground but she fought back with the baby in her arms. Liam hurried over and freed the baby from the tussle.

"Stop fighting back!" He shouted. "LET GO OF ME!" She screamed, half out of breath, losing her energy with each movement. He pinned her to the ground and covered her mouth. "Stop fighting back-" He hissed.

She still screamed against his hand. "Hello? What's going on over there?" A woman asked as she stood on the other side of the fence. The man glared down at Iliana and looked over at Liam who was already walking away towards the house with the baby. She started to weep. She just wanted to get him out of there, but he pressed down on her and she shook her head and she felt her tears run down her cheek. She felt so defeated.

"Hello? Do I need to call the police?" She asked. Iliana wanted to speak up but the man was pressing down on her air passages and she started to feel lightheaded. Her vision became spotty and she tried to raise her hands to fend him off with the last bit of energy she had before she passed out.