Chapter 344
“You can go to your room and rest for the time while Xander and I take care of the matter outside. Once we return, I’ll send one of the henchmen to come get you. And don’t even think of getting any ideas,” she warned, her tone casual yet firm with an underlying meaning.
Anastasia nodded in response as she watched Samantha and Xander leave the room. Then she followed suit.
It was already late in the night as Anastasia pretended to head to her room.
She watched her back, her grip tight on her clothes as her heart thumped in her chest, threatening to jump out. She clenched her fist on her chest as if that was going to help matters.
Today was the day she was finally going to escape.
What Julian had asked her to do was simple yet difficult. All she needed to do was locate the back gate of the mansion she was in and wait there for his men to locate her.
He couldn’t come with her because he needed to stay behind to avoid suspicion. If she escaped and he wasn’t around, Xander and Samantha would immediately suspect him as the one who helped her.
Her legs shook with fright as she dragged them off the ground.
Although Julian had assured her that no guards were stationed near the back gate—since none of the girls had ever attempted to escape during the factory’s history of illegal surrogacy—Anastasia couldn’t shake the fear of being spotted by Xander’s men.
She had no weapon on her except for the burner phone that was stuffed between her bras. And even if she was attacked, the burner phone wasn’t going to come in handy at all.
For the past few days, Anastasia had tried to familiarize herself with all the cameras in the mansion. She hadn’t entered the other mansions to learn more about their CCTV cameras because that would come out as suspicious to the surrogate women even if she tried to be as low-key as possible.
Anastasia quickly went to the back while being as light on her feet as she could. Because it was night, no woman was outside as it had already passed their curfew.
She also didn’t spot as many henchmen as she thought she would.
“Seems like they’d gone with Samantha and Xander to the front gate to investigate the suspicious vehicle,” she mumbled under her breath.
Luckily for her, she spotted the henchmen before they spotted her. She waited for the one who was smoking to throw away his cigarette and disappear before she ran away from there.
Anastasia gasped for breath, her chest rising and falling rapidly as the back gate finally came into view.
She’d been running and hiding for twenty whole minutes and could only hope that Samantha and Xander hadn’t arrived yet. But if they had, Samantha would have asked for Anastasia to return to the implantation chamber.
Fortunately, the lights near the back gate were dimly lit so she could hide there for a while until Julian’s men came for her. She quickly sent him a text to inform him she’d already arrived.
It was still too soon to be rejoicing since she wasn’t yet out of the premises of the factory. If someone caught her hiding there and waiting for someone to pick her up, she would give her freedom goodbye before she was eliminated.
Anastasia jolted, snapping her neck behind her with such speed that it would have snapped like a twig.
She suddenly heard the sound of footsteps coming towards her. She feared it might be the henchmen who were the last people she wanted to catch when she was so close to her freedom.
Her heart raced as her mind flooded with different kinds of thoughts.
Just like at the crimson hunt, Avery had promised to help her escape but the latter had only tricked her. She feared she’d been tricked by Julian also.
“Hi Anastasia, what are you doing here?” She suddenly heard that familiar voice that haunted her nightmares.
The hair on her neck stood on their ends as if she’d just been electrocuted.
Anastasia scanned around, but couldn’t see the person that had just spoken.
Her fists turned into clenched ones with her teeth gnashing in rage and irritation.
“Where are you, Avery?” She demanded, remembering to keep her voice low else she wanted to gain the attention of the henchmen that still lurked behind some corners.
Avery laughed like the maniac she was, the cacophony hitting Anastasia’s every single nerve that tempted her to fish Avery out from the shadows she was hiding in and teach her a lesson for all the crimes she’d committed.
Anastasia froze as Avery stepped out of the shadows, her grin sharp and mocking. Arms crossed, she tilted her head and clicked her tongue.
“What are you up to now, Anastasia? Trying to escape again?” Avery asked her tone light but laced with malice. “Tsk tsk. You never learn, do you? You can’t escape. You’ll never escape p>
Avery’s grin widened as she stepped closer, her voice suddenly soft and sweet. “Forget Samantha. If you try, I’ll find you first. And when I do Her smile darkened. I’ll play with you p>
Anastasia clenched her fists, refusing to let her fear show, but her heart pounded in her chest.
She began to wonder how Avery had found out about her plans and how she’d known that she was going to come out to the back gate. But there was no time for that.
Avery was in her way of getting her freedom and she needed to get rid of her as soon as possible before the latter opened her mouth and screamed, alerting the others that she was trying to escape.
Anastasia glanced around, searching for any kind of weapon she could use when she suddenly heard the dragging sound of some metal.
It was Avery of course, and she was dragging some kind of a crowbar on the ground.
Before Anastasia could react, Avery had already hit her in the face with the object.