“Mom, someone must have followed the car that has just left. With Lucian’s influence in Horington, I’m afraid we’ll have a hard time leaving the mansion.” Yuliana stood by the window and gently drew the curtain open with her fingers to observe the neighborhood.
The surrounding was exceptionally quiet. Yuliana was certain that they were being watched closely from the rooftops of the neighboring mansions.
She had dispatched two private investigators in a car, not to search for the heirloom, but to distract Lucian from his plan. She picked up her phone and made a call. “It’s time for you guys to depart!”
In the courtyard, the headlights of another vehicle, which belonged to Yosef, were turned on, and the other two investigators were seated inside. They were about to make a trip to the airport.
Yuliana believed the two cars were heading to the exact locations that Lucian had anticipated and that those two locations must be the primary focus of their pursuit. Sure enough, not long after they set off, the private investigator reported, “Ms. Yuliana, someone is following us.”
“Ignore them. Try to take a longer route around the city and keep an eye out for the flight departing at ten tonight,” Yuliana ordered.
In the common area upstairs, she turned to Yosef and nodded. Yosef had shed his lazy demeanor after being warned that if they failed to escape, he might lose not only his arm but turn into a cripple.
The thought of this frightened him deeply. How am I supposed to play poker if I’m paralyzed? However, he still had no idea why his mother said he was involved in poisoning Roxanne’s mother. I was only five at that time. What could I have done?
Despite his doubts, Yosef decided to act according to Yuliana’s plan. He turned off all the lights upstairs, causing the entire common area to plunge into darkness.
In total darkness, the three of them then quietly made their way down, carrying only their identity cards and wrapping themselves tightly in their clothes.
As it was the middle of winter with bitterly cold weather, dressing in thick layers was not an uncommon sight. As they got downstairs, the trio continued their walk to the underground parking lot.
The parking lots in the residential area here were not separated but connected to each other. Yuliana was betting that Lucian’s men might not be aware of this. Hence, they had prepared another car in advance.
In fact, when Yuliana returned in the afternoon, she had already had an escape plan in mind. That was why she had entered the building with a taxi. She had intentionally rented a luxury taxi at a high price to avoid arousing any suspicion.
Everything went smoothly as they got into the vehicle. Yuliana, who was driving the taxi, closed all the windows tightly before heading to the southern exit, which was the farthest away from the mansion.
As expected, only an elderly security guard was present at the gate. The parking lot system recognized that the taxi had been parking in the residential area for more than five hours, so the guard demanded payment.
Yuliana tossed out two banknotes and muttered, “Keep the change. We have an urgent matter to attend to. Let us through quickly!”
The security guard’s eyes lit up. He nodded before pressing the button on the remote to lift the boom gate. At that moment, their hearts were racing. Yuliana instructed her mother and Yosef to keep a watchful eye on their surroundings while she stepped on the accelerator and quickly merged the taxi into the traffic.
“No one noticed us!” Yosef scanned around but did not come across any suspicious figures. Winnie, too, glanced around anxiously. “I don’t see anyone spying on us. Yuliana, where should we go now?”
Yuliana felt her heart about to jump out of her chest. After taking in a deep breath, she replied, “Let’s go to that small pier. We’ll leave Horington and head to Gishwick. It’s closer to Gerton.”
The trio thought they had a chance. Little did they know that the elderly security guard had picked up the phone and immediately reported the car registration number.
