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Alexander's day had started like any other—neatly ironed suit, a desk stacked with paperwork, and the steady hum of his office air conditioner. He was buried in a contract review when his phone rang. The voice on the other end was trembling.
"Sir… the girl—she's gone."
For a heartbeat, Alexander didn't move. Then his chair screeched back against the floor.
"What do you mean she's gone?!" His voice was ice over fire.
"She escaped the quarters… we think she ran into the maze."
The maze.
That twisting, sprawling green labyrinth behind his estate—half garden, half trap.
Alexander's knuckles whitened around his phone. "Lock every exit. Send the guards. No one rests until she's found."
From that moment, the peaceful grounds erupted into a manhunt. Guards sprinted through the hedges, radios crackling. Birds scattered from the treetops at the sound of boots pounding the earth. The maze's towering hedges turned the chase into a nightmare—sharp branches snagged at clothes, secret turns led to dead ends, and hidden thorns left their mark.
Jane ran until her lungs burned, until her bare feet were scratched and bleeding. Every corner she turned felt like a step deeper into a green prison. The sun climbed higher, then dipped lower, shadows shifting with the hours.
One hour passed.
Then two.
Then three.
By the fifth hour, exhaustion claimed her. Her steps faltered, knees scraped raw, hair tangled and wild. The guards closed in, forming a wall of bodies around her. She had nowhere left to run.
When Alexander arrived, his car door slammed so hard the sound echoed through the courtyard. His jaw was clenched, his eyes dark with rage. The guards dragged Jane forward, her body limp but trembling.
"Lay her down," he ordered, his voice so cold it silenced everyone. "Wipe her. Sixty days. Every. Single. Night."
A murmur rippled through the guards—sixty days was unheard of. But no one dared question him.
Jane's voice broke into sobs. "Please… please, no—"
Her pleas were swallowed by the evening air. Alexander didn't look at her again.
That night, Jane lay curled on her bed, her body aching from more than just the chase. The punishment loomed like a shadow in her mind. She stared at the ceiling, tears streaming silently, the sound of her own heartbeat too loud in the stillness.
Sleep never came.
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