Jade had already entered the elevator when Van stepped out of the conference room, luckily, she noticed him in time and stopped the elevator. As he rushed forward without a word, Jade wondered if he knew anything about her plans to escape, or if he was upset with how she had replied to the President and was coming to reprimand her for it.
He did not enter the elevator. Rather, he signaled for her to come out. "I need a word." Jade, feeling like she had done something wrong, began to apologize as she stepped out of the elevator.
"I am sorry," she said. "I know I should not have spoken to him, but I didn't know what you wanted me to do. You said I will cook and serve only you so I was confused. I am really…"
"Just stop." He cut her off, his voice dripping with disdain. "Do I look upset?" Jade did not waste a second. She looked him in the eyes and nodded, and Van's eyes widened in shock.
"Well I am not," he uttered. "I knew you were afraid, that's why you didn't want to stay and have dinner with us. You have never met the president, so I get it. But you are welcome to join us. Your choice."
"Oh." Jade felt a little relieved, but then his statement raised another question. Why would he want her to join them? Just to fool the president into believing that she was truly his wife? To Jade this was not a kind gesture even though his invitation seemed polite. She believed it to be more like an order to play along with whatever game he was playing, and Jade was not having it. She wanted to escape, that's all.
"Thank you, sir." She faked a smile. "But if you don't mind, I'd rather go back to the kitchen and…"
"No, no, it's fine," Van interjected. "It's an invitation, not an order." With that he turned around, while Jade simply watched until he vanished into the conference room. She sighed heavily, unsure why her breath became so heavy. Was she still afraid of him or was it something else?
"He really doesn't have many people to talk to, huh." The thought flashed through her mind again, and this time she let it sit. It was too early to judge since she had only been here two days. "Meh." She shrugged. "He has other things to keep him busy."
The second she stepped into the elevator, the first stage of her exit was initiated. Van was in the conference room and distracted. There was no screen in front of him with which he could monitor any movements within the mansion, at least she thought so.
Ground floor. The elevator opened silently and she stepped out. Funny, she wondered where John had gone to, probably hiding in shame. Anyway, phase two. Jade walked back to the kitchen and observed for a while. She saw them still trooping in and out with trays, so she assumed more guests had arrived, maybe more than expected.
"Well done, guys." She complimented them, but no one even acknowledged her presence. It was a good thing. She walked up to the counter and picked up a tray that had already been served. The menu was on it and it also indicated the person's sitting position. She had to admit, the dinner was so organized.
Jade stepped out of the kitchen toward the dining hall. Unlike the first time she had been there, soft music was playing and guests around the tables were simply conversing like civilized men, yet the bottles of alcohol in front of them were empty. She was headed for the table and then out of the blue,
"I will take that."
This was John. He did not wait for her to refuse. He took the tray from her and carried it right to the table where it was requested.
Jade had to pause and think. "He is still keeping an eye on me." She did not wait for him. Rather, she left immediately, not back to the kitchen but down the hallway that led toward the back door. Cameras were in sight and they moved with each step she took, but Jade did not stop. Neither did she look forward. With the dinner going on, whoever was in the camera control room would be more focused on that.
At the end of the hall was the door. She swiped the card and it worked. "Perfect," she muttered. Now to phase three.
It was too easy and even she noticed it, but shrugged it off. If it worked then she didn't care. Once outside, Jade had just one more obstacle left, the gate, which was far from the mansion itself.
Again she acted casual, unaware that someone had seen her from the window. John simply smiled, tapped his earpiece and whispered something into it before leaving the side of the window. There was no rush, no sense of urgency and most definitely no "Hey Jade is escaping, get her!" no, none of that was necessary.
Back to Jade. She was halfway through, from where she could see the parking lot clearly, and it appeared that someone else had just arrived. The headlights of the red car went out and the driver stepped out. Quickly, Jade hid behind one of the tall trimmed flowers and peeped just enough so she could monitor his movement until he was out of sight. But that was when she realized who it was, a face she never thought she would see again.
"What the hell," Jade whispered.
The man before her was none other than the green bearded man from the night her father was shot. The same man who shot her father was right there and he was not alone. Two others stepped out of the car and she recognized them both. Jade could never forget the faces of the men who killed her father, so what relationship did they have with Van?
Jade tried to ignore it, but she was carried away. Emotionally, everything she had planned so far came to a halt. The world seemed to blur around her as numerous thoughts invaded her mind all at once. The question, "Does Van have anything to do with the death of her father?" stood out even more. "Was that why he didn't care as I narrated the story to him? Is that why he bought me a dress the next day to apologize? No, that makes no sense."
Then it occurred to her, one statement he had made. He said she might see familiar faces and that whatever she saw, she must remain in character. These were the only familiar faces she was seeing tonight, and that could only mean one thing. He knew something about the death of her father and maybe her mother too and worse, he could have been involved in both.
What about the president? Isn't he a familiar face as well? Good question, but let us just say that Jade did not think in that direction, nobody would.