The fire fighters had arrived, but as soon as they got to the mansion, they realised that they had greatly underestimated the fire. The place was burning as if someone was fueling it.
"Find my grandson!" lady Pinkerton cried.
Gareth was on it. He was in the mansion calling for Vine, and at that time he was no longer addressing him as young master, but just as Vine. It seemed like there was no more time to be using that long winding name, but just to get to the point and save the lives of the people.
Vine did not hear the calls, he was deeply concentrating on saving himself and his family.
"Go out through that window." He instructed the bodyguard.
"I cannot! There are burglar bars here," the bodyguard said.
"No; that smaller window there." Vine pointed.
"Will I fit? Hold the child, I will try!"
Vine placed Kiara down and took Vincent Lisandro. The bodyguard swiftly climbed and squeezed himself to fit through. Soon enough, he had landed on the ground.
"Give me the child!" he called, and Vine handed the baby to the bodyguard.
"Get help!" Vine called.
Since the window was far from the front of the mansion, where the fire assembly point was, the bodyguard started running.
"Help! The young master is still inside!" he ran very fast.
One maid saw him and said, "Look! Someone is coming with the junior master!"
All eyes turned to the bodyguard, and lady Pinkerton, despite her old age, ran to meet the man. She cried emotionally as she took the little boy in her hands, and the man narrated that Vine and Kiara needed urgent help.
The fire fighters ran along, and one peeped through the said window.
"Vine!" he screamed.
Vine had already left that spot. After the bodyguard left, he tried to help Kiara out through the window, but it was too difficult. Since the window was a bit high, and Kiara was in execrable pain, it meant that Vine had to carry most of her weight. She also was not helping much, for she had already given up on exiting through the window. After all her efforts, she did not manage to go out. Thus Vine told her that they needed to run and try another exit route.
"My head! My head!" Kiara cried as they ran. Her knee was still painful, and the smoke was seriously causing her pain in the chest. Her eyes were itchy and watery, she coughed non-stop and in addition to the painful knee, her sight had become seriously blurred.
"I…I need a doctor. Get...get me a doctor." She cried in desperation.
"We have to run, Kiara!" Vine continued to run.
"I cannot," Kiara said, and she meant it. Dizziness gripped her, and she saw a thick blanket of darkness covering her face. Before she knew it, she was on her knees; and she passed out.
Wasting no time, Vine carried her and continued to run. It shocked him how fast the fire was spreading.
"Vine!" he heard someone calling his name.
"Help!" Vine responded.
In the darkness, he saw the silhouette of a man emerging through the thick cloud of smoke, and the man ran towards him.
"You have to come back this side, we will use the window exit!" the fire fighter said.
"I failed to help her out through that window!" he said.
"Let's go! I'll help you!" the fire fighter led them back and he went out first. The two men managed to get Kiara out, and Vine was the last one to leave.
Lady Pinkerton and her husband were waiting outside, and they instantly hugged Vine, but he slightly shook them off with,
"We need an ambulance! Kiara needs an ambulance!"
The helicopter was already there, thus their pilot hurriedly took Kiara. Vine also went along with them, together with lady Pinkerton and the child.
At the hospital, Kiara was rushed inside and immediately attended to.
Vine was standing nearby, holding Kiara's hand.
"Is she going to be fine?" he asked.
"She will be OK."
He watched as a lot of hospital staff ran around to make sure that Kiara was well, and he never left her side.
After about three hours, and when they were sure that Kiara was stable, the master and lady Pinkerton left the hospital, together with Vincent Lisandro. Vine stayed behind, sitting on a chair next to the bed.
As soon as she got home, lady Pinkerton called to inform Travis and Aletha that Kiara was not well, and she was admitted in the VIP ward of the city hospital. Travis and Kiara hurried to see their daughter.
When Aletha entered and saw Vine holding Kiara's hand, she was rather shocked. She stopped for two or so seconds, and then proceeded again to hug her child.
"My daughter! What happened? What caused the fire?" she asked a million questions.
Vine explained everything, informing them that no one was yet aware of how the fire started. The mansion, according to the news received from Gareth, was not too badly damaged. The ground floor suffered the most, while the other floors remained intact.
Travis and Aletha stayed for a long time, hoping to see Kiara waking up, but the young lady remained motionless while she lay on the hospital bed. They also thought Vine was going to excuse them, just so that they may have some time alone with their daughter, but the young master did not move an inch.
The couple later on excused themselves, promising to visit again after about four or five hours.
Gareth came to the hospital, and advised that Vine was being called by his grandmother to go and eat something.
"I'm good," Vine rejected.
Seeing the mood that Vine was in, Gareth dared not put more pressure.
"What caused the fire?" the young master asked.
"Apparently Rosaline went down to prepare some soup for ma'am Kiara. And she must have left the oil unattended, then it burnt into flames."
"Oh oh," Vine said. "Rosaline should have informed the chefs to cook."
"And there's more news, my young master."
"What happened? Good or bad?" Vine looked up at Gareth.
"From what we have seen, guard 745; the one who was guarding the mansion cell, must have something to do with the fire. Can you believe that he took Tessa away?"
"He did what?" Vine was shocked.
"He took Tessa with him. He is missing, and so is Tessa. They used the tunnel. Come to think of it, young master, I had long forgotten that there is that tunnel which links the mansion cell to ma'am Kiara's bathroom."
"Oh, that one!" Vine said. "We had not used it in years. So why would they need to use that tunnel?"
Gareth shook his head, "I think it was too dangerous to exit using the doors on the ground floor, because the fire was highly concentrated on that side. So I am assuming they went up to ma'am Kiara's room, and from there they exited using the stairs."
Vine froze on hearing that. He brought his hand to his mouth, and later on spoke, "Kiara mentioned it. She said she saw someone exiting from her bathroom, and I just dismissed it…but then, how is guard 745 linked to the fire? You said Rosaline was the one cooking in the kitchen? She too is part of the plan?"
"It's still very unclear. But from looking at Rosaline, she made a genuine mistake. She's visibly shaken."
"Does it mean guard 745 and Tessa just used the fire as a chance to escape?" Vine thought about it for a while.
"I don't know. How many people did ma'am Kiara see exiting her bathroom?"
"She said one person," Vine responded.
"My young master, do you think the two of the might have fallen in love and decided to elope?"
"Who knows? Find them. I'm not too worried about the girl, but 745 must be brought back here." Vine gave his orders, while Gareth nodded and affirmed it all.
When Gareth left the hospital, he was hoping that Vine was going to come with him, just to take a break, but the young man refused. He stayed until Travis and Aletha came back, and Vine was still there. People came in and out, but he still remained.
At night, he was visibly worn out, and he was still sitting there, beside Kiara's hospital bed.
"Kiara," he began to talk to the woman. "You have to fight for your life. I'm sorry for all the bad that I did and said to you; but I honestly don't think I can take care of Vincent Lisandro without you. I need you. We need each other to raise our son. Please fight harder, Kiara, and get well."
Kiara remained motionless, making the man wonder whether or not she had heard his words. He continued:
"If you make it out of this, I will be nicer to you. I know I can be very tough, but you're still Vincent Lisandro's mother. That means a lot to me. For his sake; if not for me, you have to wake up. Please do not leave us. Vincent Lisandro and I need you. Kiara, please don't leave us."
Vine took Kiara's hand in his, and he rested his head on the corner of her pillow. Before he knew it, he was asleep. He slept like that for almost half an hour before a nurse walked in and gently woke him up.
"We can provide a bed for you to sleep in, sir." The nurse advised.
"I will be OK right here. I need to hold her hand and assure her. She is the mother of my child." He said.