Adam and Anna slept in each other's arms, and that's how daylight found them the next day.
Anna woke up first, and found it difficult to leave that warmth, that scent, which intoxicated her soul, and it was with effort that she got up and watched him sleep. She couldn't shake the feeling of guilt. She closed her eyes and went back to the bathroom to shower.
Then, with Adam still asleep, she changed and went to Ian's room.
He, too, was still asleep. She took a deep breath, after kissing his forehead and realizing she needed some coffee, and went into the kitchen. It was also empty. She put water in the kettle and waited for the coffee to brew, pensive. It was time to leave that place. She wanted to stay there just to get back at Sarah, and she had already done that. Had Sarah breathed her last? It didn't matter. Something told her, a voice in the back of her mind, that she should go there, where she had left her. And that thought kept hammering at the back of her mind until the coffee was ready. She poured herself a cup and sat down at the table. She wasn't going to ignore her instinct. She would go back there later that morning. Anna felt she needed to occupy her mind. Another voice, but one that spoke to her heart and not in her mind, told her that Sarah was not the main reason she had come back. Adam was her main reason.
Anna sipped her coffee without tasting it. After she had managed to calm the voices inside her, she looked forward to her father's visit. She needed to arrange with him what the escape would be like. Of course, she would have to wait for the month to end because of Ian, but she wouldn't stay there another day after that. If she stayed, there was a risk that she wouldn't want to leave. She loved Adam. Not like he loved Max, but with the same intensity. She had to get away from him while there was still time. She knew she wouldn't be able to resist him when he took her to bed, and she knew that wasn't the least bit decent. She needed to get away from him for a while. She would arrange for Ian to visit her on vacation, and she also wanted to see him sometimes. So she would try to show him, when she had a video call with Ian, that she could be a good friend.
The cooks entered the kitchen and greeted her. Anna chatted with them for a while, but fell silent when Adonis entered the kitchen and sat down at the table, remaining silent until he was served. He wasn't in the habit of entering the house, but Anna didn't remember that at the moment.
"So... How are the wedding preparations going?" Anna asked to start a conversation with him.
He stared at her mysteriously, and Anna saw his eyes turn yellow, and knew that Adam had woken up and was looking for her, but pretended not to notice.
"That's according to plan." He replied, picking up his coffee cup. "Do you want to go somewhere today?"
"I didn't know I could..."
"Adam told me he could take you wherever you wanted to go."
"That's news."
"Except to the mansion where your husband is."
"That's not news."
They both laughed.
"Maybe you'd like to go shopping with Ian. You don't have to lock yourself in the house all day, Anna. Adam doesn't want you to feel like a prisoner in your own home."
"No. Actually, I want to go back to where Sarah lies."
"Why do you want to go there?" Adonis asked in surprise.
"There's something inside me telling me that I need to go there."
"Ignore it, Anna. That's the voice of guilt."
Anna glared at him.
"I can't ignore it. And I don't think it's guilt."
He took a deep breath.
"All right. I'll just finish my coffee and tell the men who are going out with us to get ready."
"I'll get changed and meet you at the gate." Anna said, and went to her room. She put on jeans and an old T-shirt and went out to the gate. Adonis wasn't there yet. So she waited, sitting with her back against the gate.
Adonis didn't take long, and together with the usual caravan, they headed down that bad road. Anna didn't disguise her surprise when she realized that there were three cars, which she was sure didn't belong to Adam, parked in front of the house. Adonis was also surprised and was talking on the radio to his companions who were following behind them. They all got out of their cars, wielding their rifles, ready for any surprise attack. Anna took a revolver from the glove compartment and also got out with it, ready to shoot. Together with Adonis and the other men, she entered the house. There was no one there and everyone was treading carefully so as not to make a sound. She opened the door that led to the basement and went downstairs accompanied by Adonis, who followed in front of her. She heard the door she had come through slam loudly and turned to look up the stairs. There was only her and Adonis there. She climbed the stairs again and found that the door was locked. Then she heard gunshots and the sound of things being broken, and she stared at Adonis, her eyes wide.
"Come on, Anna!" Adonis called out quietly but firmly.
Anna went down to him. Adonis pointed down into the basement, and Anna followed the direction of his finger. The place where she had walled Sarah up was collapsed on the floor.
"She escaped! How did she escape?" Anna asked Adonis suspiciously.
"That's not a good sign." Adonis said, and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. But he only typed a few words and put it back in his pocket.
"Why don't you call Adam?"
"I sent a message."
"Message? He might take a while to see it. What if he's being attacked there, too? Call him now!"
"Don't be an idiot, Anna. Whoever let Sarah go doesn't like you. I can't risk his cell phone ringing and him answering it near someone who shouldn't be listening to this conversation."
"What do you mean?"
Adonis stared at the patient.
"Haven't you realized it yet? We've been betrayed! And by judging that door, which hasn't opened yet, we're at a disadvantage."