The occasional barking of faraway dogs broke the silence of the night. Adrian and Aurelia had carried out a successful operation, but their mission wasn't fully accomplished.
There was one more step to go and it wasn't as easy as they thought.
Aurelia sighed in relief when they arrived at a safe zone. "Annabel, we're glad we got you out of there."
The girl looked up at them with cautious evaluation, eyes cold as steel. "I don't even know you guys! What do you both want from me?"
"Listen. We are not strangers as it seems, but family. I'm Aurelia; Aurora's best friend. And he's Adrian; her husband."
Aurelia knew that was hard to believe, but it was something- A formal introduction.
"We are not here to harm you, girl. But we want you to leave with us," Adrian explained.
"Be precise. Where?" Annabel asked, glaring at them.
"This place is dangerous, so we want to take you home. I beg, come with us," Adrian pleaded, reaching out for her hand.
She pushed him away, tracing her steps backward.
"No, I can't! You both should get out of my way. Stay away from me! That man- H-he… He's going to torture the hell out of me– He will kill my sister if he finds out I escaped. I- I need to run back to him," Annabel whimpered.
She turned to run in the opposite direction, but they caught her on time, despite the struggles.
"There's no way we'd let that happen," Adrian said, trying to calm her nerves.
"You want to protect my sister's life, right? Then let me go. I swear on my life, if anything happens to her, I will kill all of you involved in this and myself," Annabel swore, her eyes holding a dangerous glint.
"Don't you care about her happiness? She's your only family, separated for nine fucking years. She's hurt– I feel the pain in her voice whenever she talks about you. Trust me, I won't let anyone hurt my family and you're a part of it now. You're also my responsibility. I will protect you at all costs. So, come home tonight, please," Adrian pleaded.
"Anna, please." Aurelia begged, pulling out cute puppy eyes.
Annabel shut her eyes, debating on the situation. Hot tears trickled down her cheeks. It had been years and she had forgotten how it felt to have a nice and supportive family.
She was separated from her family and deprived of her freedom at a tender age.
She missed Aurora a lot and this could be her only chance to reunite. Aurora meant the world to her. She could imagine the reaction on her big sister's face if she saw her– a big smile midst her tears of joy. It would be so emotional.
"I… I will," she said, at last, wiping her tears.
Aurelia jumped, squealing. "Yuppieeeeee!"
"It's going to be okay, Anna. Thank you so much," Adrian smiled, his heart rejoicing. "So, listen. Here's the plan…"