Chapter 270
Chapter 270
Two hours earlier, as Winter held General in her arms, she caught the reflection in his eyes, and an escape plan flashed into her mind.
The two computers in the study had been cut off from the internet. Chris was never going to give her a chance to use them to call for help.
She knew that once William woke up and realized she was missing, he would call her. When she didn’t answer, he would start looking for her.
But instead of waiting for someone else to save her, she would find her own way out.
She didn’t want to stay here one more day.
The only problem was that the plan would be difficult to pull off. One wrong move, and she would be caught. Then everything would be over.
Blackwood Manor was too large. She needed a car if she wanted any real chance of escaping. Otherwise, she would be dragged back before she even made it past the gate.
But Gavin had already collected all the car keys at Blackwood Manor. No one was getting them from him.
Still, one thing worked in her favor. Chris had gone out. Three cars had left with him. She didn’t know whether he would be back that night, or when.
But first, she had to get everything else ready.
She got up and went to the spot where Chris usually kept his lighters. She pulled open the drawer and grabbed one at random.
Because the lights were off, she didn’t notice the familiar lighter lying beside it.
It was the black one from New Year’s Eve, the one she had accidentally scratched with a piece of wire when they released those floating lanterns.
Winter held the lighter in her hand and thought everything through.
She couldn’t start the fire too early. If she did, Chris would still be away, and the bodyguards would put it out too fast.
She couldn’t start it too late either. If she waited too long, the fire wouldn’t have enough time to spread before Chris realized she had gotten out of the house.
And she couldn’t just set fire to anything at random. She wanted to escape, not hurt anyone. So she had to control exactly where the fire started and make sure no one would get caught in it.
Once everything was in place, all she could do was wait for Chris to come back.
She took General up to the top floor. Earlier, she had already worked out the timing. The moment Chris’s car reached the tree-lined drive, it would be the perfect time to start the fire, and she would still have enough time to climb out through the window.
From up there, she could see beyond the drive.
Over the past two years, she had rarely come up to the attic in the main house at Blackwood Manor.
Everything there had been neatly packed away in boxes.
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She had no desire to look through any of it. Instead, she sat cross-legged by the window with General in her arms and waited for headlights to appear down the drive.
Back when they had first gotten married, whenever she didn’t see Chris after coming home at night, she would sit in that exact spot. The moment she saw headlights appear down the drive, she knew he was back.
Sometimes she waited so late that she was too sleepy to think straight. She would not even know when she had made it back to her room. After it happened a few times, she started secretly wondering if Chris had carried her downstairs himself, and the thought made her quietly happy. Only later did she learn he had never come back to Blackwood Manor at all.
After that, she came up to the attic less and less.
Later, after the forced termination, she stayed home to recover. The truth was, her memories from that period were blurred. She drifted through those days in a daze, numb and hollow, without much real grief.
After not seeing Chris for several days, she came up to the attic again and sat by the window waiting for him.
The next morning, she woke up on the floor.
After that, she never came back.
She had not expected that a year later, she would be sitting at this same window again, waiting for Chris to come
home.
Only this time, she was waiting for him so she could leave Blackwood Manor.
Fog rolled in thick around the estate. At last, a few beams of headlights cut through the mist.
Winter came back to herself. She gently rubbed General’s head and took a deep breath.
“Come on, General. Let’s go.
Everything went according to plan.
Afraid the flames might burn his fur, Winter quickly soaked General’s coat with water after setting the fire. By the time he ran down to the first floor, his fur would already be dry, and no one would suspect a thing.
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Florence
A passionate storyteller who brings emotions to life through her words. When she’s not writing, she finds peace nurturing her garden.