Chapter 66 The Great Escape
Edward glanced over at the neighbor and answered readily, “We’re here to see Miss Tessa Reinhart.”
“Oh, you’re here to see Tessie!” The neighbor’s eyes widened in understanding and she asked affably, “Well, why don’t you knock on the door? I’m sure I saw her coming home not too long ago.”
“We did knock,” Edward said. “No one’s home, though.”
The next-door lady nodded, and suddenly, she let out a sentimental sigh. “She must have gone back to work again. Tessie has it tough; she needs to take care of her brother while balancing her job, but she’s always been so kind to her neighbors. She’s such a compassionate young lady, and it breaks my heart to see her shouldering all that burden.
There was a time when I accidentally fell and hurt my leg, and I couldn’t get home on my own. It was Tessie who helped carry my heavy load of groceries up the stairs, and it was no easy feat! However, that young lady said not a word of complaint, and she even helps me to buy groceries every now and then. If she sees any discounts in the supermarket, she’ll get my share, too.
She’s a darling girl, and Timothy is an absolute angel as well. He helps his sister with the chores because he knows how busy she is, and he would even pop into my place every so often just to learn a cooking skill or two, hoping that he could whip up a feast for his hard-working sister. Oh, these two siblings just break my heart, I’m telling you…”
The neighbor was an elderly woman, and perhaps it was her old age that prompted all her sentiments. She didn’t sound like she would stop talking about Tessa and Timothy any time soon, and one story only led to another.
When she was finally done, she flashed the gentlemen an embarrassed smile and said, “I’m sorry for droning on like this. Age is catching up with me, and I can’t help being long-winded sometimes. If the three of you don’t mind, you can always come in and have a cup of tea while you wait for Tessie to come home. I’m sure it won’t make a difference.”
She sounded warm and enthusiastic while her smile belied her kind intentions.
Nicholas parted his lips and said courteously, “Thank you for the invitation, ma’am, but we don’t want to impose. We’ll just wait here; maybe she’ll be home before we know it.”
The old lady had met enough people in her lifetime to know that he was the prim and proper sort, the kind of man who wouldn’t want to trouble others. As such, she nodded and left, but not before taking out a piece of candy and giving it to Gregory, crooning, “Well, aren’t you just an adorable little fella? You’ll grow up to be a handsome man, mark my words. Actually, you look a little bit like Tessie. Here, have some candy, little one. It’s Tessie’s favorite!”
“Thank you, ma’am!” Gregory took the candy and stared at it in awe.
Soon, the old lady disappeared into her own apartment, leading to the hallway being quiet once more.
Then, Edward leaned closer to Nicholas and asked, “Do we keep waiting, President Sawyer?”
Nicholas checked the time again and his dark orbs were clear and devoid of emotion as he answered, “Just for another half an hour.”
Edward nodded. “Very well, sir.”
…
At that exact moment, Tessa had finished cutting through the bedsheets and tied the pieces together to form a long rope.
She tied one end of the makeshift rope to railing on the window ledge, and the other end around her waist. Hoisting herself up onto the ledge, she took a deep breath and summoned every bit of courage she had, ready to take the leap.
However, by some twist of fate, the doorknob turned just as Tessa was about to jump into what would have been a glorious escape, and in strolled a haughty Sophia.
The day had finally come for Tessa to be taught a hard lesson and Sophia didn’t want to miss out on sweet revenge, so she decided to come in and rub salt into Tessa’s wound.
However, when she pushed the door open, she could hardly believe that she was seeing the moment that Tessa was about to escape!
Shock and anger colored Sophia’s features as she screamed, “Hey! She’s running away! Tessa is running away! Somebody catch her!”
Panic rushed through Tessa when she heard this, and knowing that she had not another minute to spare, she leapt down from the ledge hastily.
However, she did not grab hold of the rope in time to hamper her momentum and she found herself free-falling through thin air.
She landed on the ground with a thump, twisting her ankle as she slipped and scraping her arm badly. She turned pale, but she knew this was not the time for her to cry out in pain.
Gritting her teeth, she scrambled onto her feet and suppressed the pain as she ran maniacally for the gates.
While she was making her escape, the bodyguards rushed out of the house and chased after her. She frantically ran to the middle of the road, only to be nearly run down by an approaching vehicle whose headlights momentarily blinded her.
Thankfully, the driver had slammed on the brakes in time for the car to screech to a halt inches away from Tessa.
She had barely recovered from the shock of the almost-collision when she heard a harsh voice shout, “You there! Stop!” She turned around, and her eyes widened when she saw that the bodyguards were fast closing in on her like hungry wolves locking down on their prey.
