Chapter 128
Julie’s Point of View
My ribs trembled violently, and I felt my breath rising in my chest like a fire burning me, while my heart pounded so hard that I thought it would stop.
I was terrified; was this madwoman really going to gouge out my eyes? I pressed my back against the bed, my body stiffening as I said in a voice trying to gather its courage: "Listen, you lunatic, you don’t know who I am."
She tilted her head toward me, and I felt her shadow fall over my covered face as she asked coldly: "Who are you?"
I said, the veins in my neck bulging from the intensity of the tension: "There is a very powerful person with great influence, and he is looking for me right now; he will find me and kill you."
I never thought I would one day use Robert’s name to protect myself; Robert, who imprisoned me and from whom I fled, I am now making him my protective shield!
She burst into a provocative laugh that echoed in the room and said: "You made me laugh, Julie."
I said sharply, tightening my grip on the restraints until they almost cut my wrists: "What’s funny, you psycho? He will come and you’ll see how you will regret it." I was praying in my heart that he would appear, find me, and save me. Suddenly... the air shook with the sound of the door being kicked open, and a hoarse voice I knew well rang out: "Get away from her!"
My God, it’s Robert! Yes, he came! I screamed eagerly, tears hardening behind the blindfold: "Robert! Save me please, she’s trying to kill me!" But strangely, the woman began to laugh hysterically; the sound of her laughter was driving me insane.
I shouted: "Robert, can you hear me? Untie me!"
I felt the touch of his rough hand on my feet to loosen the restraint, then I felt the cold metal of the handcuffs as they were opened from my wrists. I said, panting: "She tried to gouge out my eyes, can you believe this?" As soon as my hands were free, I tore the blindfold off my eyes quickly, but the shock froze the blood in my veins.
I was not in that woman’s house, nor was I in a dark basement... I was in my room! The very same room I was in at the club!
I stood up startled, retreating until my back hit the headboard, and said in bewilderment as I examined the familiar walls: "What happened? How did I get here?" Robert was standing like a steadfast mountain before me, his features frozen and unreadable, and that woman... "Samantha"... was standing next to him, looking at me with a smile of victory.
Robert said in a deep, calm tone: "Did you think you could escape me, Julie?"
I looked at him in surprise, feeling my head spin: "I did... I went outside! I was running in the street and I talked to a policeman... I actually escaped! But how did you find me?" I caught a mocking laugh on Samantha’s face, so I said angrily, my chest heaving: "Why are you laughing, you psycho? Because of you, I’m back here!"
Samantha replied, adjusting her clothes coldly: "I’ll admit... I didn’t expect you to scream the name of the man you tried to escape from to save you."
The sentence was enough to make me recoil at myself, at my naivety and weakness that made me seek help from my executioner. Before I could utter a word, Robert spoke firmly: "Samantha, get out."
She nodded and slipped out lightly. I turned to him, trembling all over: "Tell me, how did you find me? Does this woman work for you, and is she the one who brought me back here?"
Robert smiled a broken and mysterious smile, taking a step toward me that made me shrink into myself, then said: "You really don’t understand, Julie... you don’t understand that you didn’t escape; rather, I am the one who allowed you to."
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Robert’s Point of View
I watched her features crumble before the truth; her body was recoiling as if I were slapping her with every word. She raised her hand in the air, her fingers trembling as she tried to weave the threads of the game in her head to comprehend: "What do you mean... you helped me...?"
The shock did not leave her room to finish, so I interrupted coldly: "Sarah helped you escape."
She suddenly sat up, starting to deny eagerly as if trying to protect that girl: "No... it wasn’t her, she had nothing to do with it!" It piqued my irritation how she fought to defend someone in whose eyes I saw hatred toward her. I said stolidly: "I am the one who asked Sarah to come to your room and push you to escape... Aren’t you the one who asked her for that, Julie?"
I saw disappointment mask her eyes; the glimmer of hope in them went out as she whispered: "Did Sarah tell you that?... Were you the one who made my escape easy?"
I nodded: "Exactly."
Her temper flared suddenly, and she began to speak rapidly, waving her hands: "Yes... how did Sarah know the password? And how did I find no guards at all? And how was the restaurant empty? I felt that this was strange, but I went out the door... I escaped, how do you explain this?"
I answered as I put my hands in my pockets, watching the tension in her shoulders: "Because you were under surveillance every step of the way."
She said loudly, taking a step closer: "Did it not occur to you that I might go to the police? There was even a policeman who came and asked me... Did you not think of that?"
I smiled mockingly, a smile that didn’t reach my eyes: "You mean the guard who works for me and was disguised in a police uniform?"
Her mouth fell open, her features frozen in astonishment, then she whispered in horror: "I can’t believe you did this to me... What if I had gone to the police station?"


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