Her eyes were sunken, and she looked drained. Sapped of all energy, and it looked like life itself was slowly but surely deserting her, leaving behind a shell. The shell, which was framed by a skeletal figure, looked pathetic, if not scary. Her cheekbones protruded, and her collarbones also stuck out.
Her breathing was with much effort, and her lips were parched. The beauty which once graced her face had left her, leaving a frail, miserable looking image of a woman who looked at least ten times older than her age. The Pinkertons had done that to her.
"Tessa!" Kiara cried.
"Ma'am Kiara," the girl looked down, and tears fell from her eyes.
"Tessa," Kiara repeated, failing to believe that the person who sat helplessly on the floor in front of her was the same jovial girl who she used to chat and laugh with.
"He...he wants me dead," she stammered.
"Who wants you dead? Is it Gareth? Is it Vine?" Kiara's whisper was rather too loud.
Tessa looked down and as the tears continued to well up in her eyes, she spoke softly: "both of them."
"What!" Kiara gasped. "Does lady Pinkerton know about this?"
Tessa raised her eyes to look at Kiara, but did not respond in any way.
"Why would Gareth do this to you? Is it all because you helped me to sneak out? My dear, Tessa I am terribly sorry. I was never aware that Gareth was going to go to this extent."
"Gareth…Gareth would have let me go with…with a light punishment," she struggled to talk.
"And then? What happened?" Kiara's forehead creased into a maze of confusion, as she tried to join the dots and make sense out of it all.
"The young…young…." Tessa began to talk.
"Vine! Just call him Vine, you don't have to do that 'young master Vine' mantra. What did Vine do?"
Tessa looked up at Kiara, and huge teardrops fell from her eyes.
"What did Vine do to you?" Kiara could not help but cry as well.
"Vine…he said I must starve to death. I have not eaten in I don't know how many days. I survive by drinking water from the toilet cistern."
"You were vomiting! I saw you vomiting!" Kiara said.
"Vomiting only water. I do it myself. I…I poke a finger in…in my throat." She confessed.
"Why on earth would you do that, Tessa?" Kiara was more than shocked and hurt to hear what Tessa was saying.
"To…to speed up my death. I am tired, ma'am Kiara. I….I am tired, and I want to die."
Kiara hugged her tight and cried with her.
"You cannot die, Tessa! You cannot die because if you die, your blood shall forever be upon my hands. I will not allow that. I will have to help you."
"And you…you too will die." Tessa spoke with great difficulty.
"No! Gareth would never have the guts to kill me," Kiara spoke confidently.
"He…He won't have to. The young master will do it himself." Tessa whispered.
"What! Vine? Vine would never kill me. I am the mother of his child."
"Then you don't know him, ma'am Kiara. The only…only reason you are still here is….is because of lady Pinkerton, and maybe Gareth. If…if he was on his own….if the young…young master was on his own….ma'am Kiara, by now you would be dead."
Hearing those words, Kiara's mouth dropped open, and she shivered at the thought. Was Vine that ruthless?
***
It was around 4AM when Kiara delivered food to Tessa. Wrapped up in a pillowcase, there were bananas, bread with peanut butter, an orange and some fruit juice. Tessa galloped the food and when she was done, after making sure that there was no trace of food whatsoever left on the floor, Kiara sat next to Tessa.
"Do you feel better?" her voice was full of concern; like the voice of a mother talking to her child.
"I do," she said, her voice still weak. "Actually I feel pain. It think I ate too much. I should have taken it easy."
"You will be fine," Kiara assured her. "We don't have time, Tessa. Tell me, is there any way to get out of this place?"
"This place? This mansion?" Tessa asked, seemingly confused.
"This place where they are keeping you."
Tessa shook her head and stated that she was not sure.
"Now, we will have to think of a plan, and we will have to do so very fast."
"It's too risky," Tessa's was a voice of defeat.
"Don't give up so fast!" Kiara tried to encourage her. "We have to get through this. I will do anything and everything to help you. If you die, I will never be able to forgive myself, Tessa. For my sake, you have to live!?"
"No Kiara, it is too risky. Just go. You…you have a son to care for. Go…go and be…be a mo…mother to him. I am as…as good as dead."
"Nonsense!" Kiara cried. "You can't give in just like that. Tessa, I don't know how bad Vine can be, but I believe that he won't kill me. Because of Vincent, I will live. And no matter what he shall do me, I am willing to face it all, as long as you live."
"Do not cry," Tessa consoled her former boss.
Kiara felt a stab in her heart. How heartless could the Pinkertons be? Was it really necessary for them to treat Tessa in such a way; simply because she helped her to sneak out. What did it matter to Vine anyway, since he did not even love Kiara? The two of them were not married, and here he was, claiming Kiara and treating her like a personal possession. Why? Why did he have to act as if he was dealing with a cheating wife, when all they shared was their son Vincent Lisandro?
Kiara knew that the road ahead was going to be extremely tough, but she told herself that for Tessa's life, it was worth taking the risk. There was no way under the sun Kiara was going to walk away and leave Tessa to die. She; Kiara, forced Tessa to be part of her scheming, and now the poor girl was wailing in unexplainable misery. No. It was impossible for Kiara to turn a blind eye. It was impossible for her to leave her like that.
Two people were already in hot soup because of her. Thus gathering all her strength and courage, and also aware that she was supposed to be fast and leave the place as soon as possible, Kiara stated her condition. Her voice was firm, leaving no room for negotiations or questions. She just stated it as it was:
"Tessa, here is the deal. I will give you a lot of pure gold, diamond and sapphire jewellery. With my help, you shall leave this place. Once you are out, you will find Jeremy. Sell the jewellery and go out of the country. You can start your new life there. But as for Jeremy, please go and tell him that, for the sake of his life, may he leave the capital city for now. Please tell him to wait for me, I will find my way out of here; and once I am out, I will find him."
Tessa looked at Kiara, and she let out a small laugh.
"Don't laugh, Tessa. This is the deal of a lifetime, which we cannot miss. I feel burdened to have you and Jeremy suffering because of me. Go, Tessa; go and do as I have said."
"Do you still have the jewellery?" Tessa asked in a mocking tone.
"When they locked me up, they moved me with my drawers, and in those drawers, I think someone forgot to take out the jewellery. There are brand new, boxed precious stones that you can sell and have more money than you can make in decades. That is our only way out, Tessa."
Tessa laughed.
"Make your decision fast. Are you in, or you're out?"
"I am a dying woman," Tessa said resignedly.
"Not while I still live. Tessa, since you're taking so much time, I am forced to make demands. Tomorrow as soon as it is night, around 11PM, guessing time, I shall bring you more food. Eat and get strength for the journey ahead. And when it is towards morning, I will come and take you with me."
"No, I will do no such thing," Tessa flatly refused.
"Yes you will."
"Trust me I will not," the young maid was adamant.
"Tessa, I said you will. This is not about you. This is about me, Jeremy and you too. I created this mess, and it is my duty to clean it up. I will have to find a way to get you out of here."
"I hear you ma'am, but I am as good as dead."
"What's the point of dying without trying, Tessa? As long as you stay in here, you shall die. So why not give it a try? If you try to escape and they catch you, they will still kill you. But if you manage to escape, you will live your life. So why don't you just try, with the hope that you will make it?"
Tessa looked at Kiara. She could fathom the seriousness of her boss, and it touched her. She would not have thought that Kiara was going to be responsible enough to try and stand up to correct her wrongs. Tessa thought that Kiara was a very humble person, and she decided to give it a try.
Staying in the mansion cells was a sure way of death. Kiara did bring her food, yes, but for how long was she going to do so? For how many more days was Tessa going to be still alive without Gareth and Vine becoming suspicious? Going out was a worthwhile risk. She needed to go out and try to live her life dodging the Pinkerton bullets. She had to try. Even if she died, in the face of death she would tell herself, at least I tried.
"What will it be?" Kiara asked before sniffing in pain.
"I…I will. Please bring me the jewellery." She said in a low but confident voice.