"Paige did not kill her father." Karen broke the twenty-four-hour silence we had since our last chat in the taxi. We just arrived at a hotel room in Yangshuo village. Karen dropped onto the bed like a wounded soldier while I handled the room service.
"What did you say?" Damien replied to her after gulping in a reasonable amount of water.
"I get it. Her hearing is today, and she would probably be sentenced to death by execution or hanging, and y'all are so depressed about it, but I know she didn't kill him. So you can as well ease up now and breathe, okay?"
I almost dropped the phone in my hand. "What? What do you mean?"
Damien dropped onto the chair beside her while I finalised our order at the hotel landline.
"Maybe we should eat first."
"No, Karen, start talking, please," Damien said.
She smiled, no, she blushed. What's up with this Karen girl and Damien? She likes him. It's obvious. But I will keep my mouth shut.
"You called my name for the first time, Damien. DO you know how that sounds? Do you know what that means to me?" Damien winced. I had to come in.
"Karen, we want to hear from you." I wish I had a recording device or my phone with me at the moment, but no, nothing. I sat on the bed, hoping to hear that something, somehow, went wrong and Paige was vindicated.
"Okay, Brianne asked that Jude be killed in the hospital." She paused to check our faces, "Like, He had a surgery. When the poor girl called the police on herself, they rushed him to the hospital. He was still breathing. He went through a successful surgery, but Brianne's men were faster; they ended his life there."
"What proof do we have?"
"I have a recorded phone conversation saved on my drive. The hospital, don't go there. They've been settled. But his voice would betray him anywhere in court."
"Oh my God, Karen." Damien hugged. "You are the smartest woman I have ever met." He said.
"Smarter than Paige, right?" She chuckled. He was silent.
"Then I need to get back to Albany as soon as possible."
"You'd die." Karen spat,
"Oh, Brianne..." I realized. "I could use my husband..."
"We need to leave this country in the next twenty-four hours. What I'm scared of now is how to book a flight without getting caught by Brianne. I know he would be monitoring that currently."
"Fake IDs," Damien suggested.
"Yeah, I thought that too. We'd better do that fast." She paused. "Damien, where are you going from here?"
He ran his hands through his hair. "I don't know."
She thought for a while. "I'll go wherever you go, okay?"
Then silence. It seemed like I was the only one thinking.
"After the meal, what if I try to reach my husband and ask him to send us escorts or a police jet..."
"Your husband's a corp?"
"Yes, he is. What do you think? It is better than a fake ID..."
"yeah..." Damien responded.
"I would not release Paige's evidence unless I get what I want. I can't lose on both sides..." Karen ranted as if descending from another world.
"I don't understand. What are you losing?"
"Like what happens when Paige gets freed. Our handsome Damien goes away with her and lives happily ever after. The man I saved for myself." I saw Damien shift in his chair, casting a glance at her.
"Yes, I could have escaped all alone. I took y'all along because I needed a good life, and I liked the man in those chains."
I told myself to be quiet. Damien was quiet too.
"Damien, are you not going to say anything?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"I will only send the voice note that would save your Paige if you settle down with me first. Meaning you will never go back to her."
"Are you crazy?" Damien hissed. "What the hell are you saying?"
Just then, the hotel room service brought our meal. He was a young lad, probably in his late teens. And like my prayers were being answered, he was on his phone. I begged him to use it, and he gave it to me immediately. I went into the bathroom to phone Kyle. He picked the first ring.
"Kyle!" I called out, knowing he would recognise my voice.
"Oh my God," I heard him exclaim on the other end as he shuffled his way out of the noisy area he was in. I could see him in my mind's eye.
"Kyle, I'm in China. I need escorts. We escaped, and he is still chasing us. We are three. Please be as discreet as possible. We need a private escort to Albany. Paige is innocent. There's a lot. But please be quick, today."
"Kamila, are you okay?
"Track this call. We are in a hotel. I don't know where exactly. Please start coming. There's a lot," I said.
"Give me two minutes, don't hang up yet."
I wanted to argue that it is a borrowed phone, but I cautioned myself.
"Okay, got it. I'll see ya. Love you, Kamila. We're coming."