Chapter 87 The First Escape Attempt

• ELARA
• I had spent days studying every corner of the mansion. I memorized the guard rotations, the times when the hallways were quietest, and the small weaknesses in the security. Victor thought he had broken me by keeping me locked in this beautiful room but he was wrong. I was waiting for the right moment. And finally it came. One evening when the guards changed shifts I heard them talking outside my door. They were distracted and laughing about something. I moved quickly. I had hidden a small metal pin from one of the dresses under my mattress. I used it to pick the simple lock on my door. My hands shook a little but I stayed calm. The click when it opened was the sweetest sound I had heard in days. I slipped out into the hallway and closed the door quietly behind me. My heart was pounding but I kept moving.
• The mansion was bigger than I had realized. I moved through the shadows staying close to the walls. I had memorized the layout from the small things I had seen through cracks in doors and from conversations I had overheard. I reached a side staircase and went down carefully. My bare feet made almost no sound on the cold marble. Every step felt like it took forever. I kept expecting to hear alarms or footsteps behind me but the house stayed quiet. I reached another part of the estate with large windows that looked out into the garden. The outer gates were not far now. I could see them in the distance. Freedom felt so close. My hands were sweating and my breathing was fast. I was almost there. Just a little further.