Chapter 13: Chapter 13

An escape room.

The words echoed through my mind as I joined the other women inside the large warehouse. The first game was finally commencing, and my nerves were biting me in the ass.

I gave Gabriella a little wave of greeting. She waved back.

Stefano bent to whisper in my ear. “Word of advice. Don’t hesitate to step forward. It shows your strength. Good luck. Make me proud.”

“No pressure?”

He chuckled. “Lots.”

I took a deep breath and watched him leave the room with the other men.

The room was eerily quiet as we waited with bated breath, anxiety showing on many faces.

A few moments later, a man with a nasty scar walked in.

“Welcome, ladies, to the first game of the year. I am Simon, the game master.” His voice was deep, and it boomed powerfully throughout the room.

“The theme of today’s game is life. Each of you will be assigned three partners to conquer an escape room: an elder, a teen, and a child.”

~A child?~ Why would they have children participating in these games?

“You have three hours to complete the game. If you fail to finish within the allotted time, you will be eliminated from the games, and each member of your team will be banished from Roscotto territory.”

Murmurs broke out among the women, many sighing in relief. This game didn’t sound dangerous or difficult to accomplish. Yet, I frowned. If my team lost, then my teammates would get banished from Roscotto territory. Would that mean they’d lose their homes?

Even the child?

Simon raised a hand and spoke over the chatter. “There are three rooms to escape from. Each room contains a key. You will need to find the key to escape to the next room. Find all three keys, and you’ll be free.”

It sounded too simple. Would the keys be hard to find? What was the catch? There had to be one.

“If you want to forfeit from the games entirely, please step to the side.”

No one moved.

We all wanted to participate.

Simon nodded his approval.

“There are a total of fifty-eight women participating in these games. Half will compete today, the other half tomorrow. Those who wish to compete today, please step forward and form three lines.”

I followed Stefano’s advice and stepped forward. There was no way my nerves would handle a day of waiting for my turn to complete the escape room.

I shuffled into a random line next to Gabriella.

“Did you hear about Stacy?” she whispered.

Stacy’s dead body instantly came to mind, and I grimaced. “Unfortunately.”

Gabriella grumbled and rubbed her stomach. “When I saw those pictures, I instantly threw up. I couldn’t eat for days.”

“It was a close call for me, but I’m glad I didn’t throw up.”

“You must have a strong stomach. I can’t believe they showed that to us.”

“Our reward for catching them, I guess,” I replied sarcastically.

She chuckled.

Our line was directed to the second floor of the warehouse where we entered what looked to be a cafeteria. A long table with snacks and beverages lined one wall, and the room was packed with people ranging from young to elderly. These were the people we’d be tackling this game with.

A guard called everyone to attention. “Listen up, everyone. These are the women who will be leading you through this game. Choose one, and remember, only one age group per woman. You have twenty minutes to get acquainted, then we’ll start.”

The room instantly bustled with chatter as everyone started looking for a group to join. Gabriella and I parted ways to give ourselves a better chance of being chosen.

I stood on the side awkwardly and surveyed the room, taking in the faces of the groups forming. A little girl, about five or six years old, walked up to me.

I smiled and crouched down so I could look her in the eye. “Hi. I’m Catalina. What’s your name?”

A smile lit up her face, showing her pearly whites with a missing tooth right at the top left. She was adorable.

“I’m Renae!”

“Hi, Renae. Do you want to play this game with me?” I offered her my hand and tried to look as welcoming as possible.

She took my hand and nodded.

With one member chosen, I took us to sit at an empty table.

“Mommy told me that playing the game with the adults would save our family,” she chirped.

I glanced at her in surprise. “What? Your mom sent you here?”

She nodded proudly and patted her chest. “I’ll be the hero who saves Mommy from her dep.”

“Her dep?”

“Yeah. She owes the big men this much!” She showed me five fingers, and my heart instantly melted.

I’d wondered what the Roscottos were offering these people to participate in the game. Turns out, it was wiping out their debt.

A teenage boy approached us, a light smirk on his face. “You’re pretty.” He eyed me and whistled as he slid into the seat facing me.

I frowned and eyed his scrawny figure. “You’re disrespectful. Greet me properly or go find someone else to play with.”

His smile instantly dimmed, and he straightened up. “Oh, c’mon. You don’t look that much older than me. I’ll be eighteen in a few months. I can keep you company.” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

I snorted. “You’re still a kid. Go find another table.”

He leaned forward and quirked an eyebrow. “Don’t you need me to pick you so you can play the game?”

I gestured to the bustling room. “You’re not the only teen here.”

“I’m the only one worth mentioning…and I have a handsome face.”

I gave him a once-over. “Did your mom tell you that?”

He scoffed a laugh. “Wow. You’re a bitch. I like it, so I’m choosing you.”

“I don’t want you,” I refuted. The last thing I needed was a chatty teen trying to hit on me.

He rolled his eyes. “You’re not the one doing the choosing.”

Unfortunately, he was right. All of the women were to wait for the crowd to choose them. Even if I ended up with a cripple, there was nothing I could do about it.

“What’s your name, kid?”

“Not a kid, and it’s Neo. Yours?”

“Catalina. When this game starts, I’m the leader. You follow my directions, and we won’t have any problems.”

“I’ll think about it.”

I shot him a warning glare, then turned my head away just as an elderly woman came to sit at our table. Her lips were in a straight line, and her eyes screamed exhaustion.

“Are you okay?” I asked worriedly.

“You’re Stefano’s girl?” she asked, ignoring my question.

I furrowed my brow in confusion. “Yes? How did you know?”

Her shoulders relaxed. “I’ll be in your care today.”

She then turned her attention elsewhere, blatantly showing that she didn’t want to engage in conversation. I bit back my questions and spoke to Neo instead.

“Why are you here, kid?”

He raised an eyebrow as if it was obvious. “Why else would I be here except for money? We’re on contract.”

“Contract?” I frowned.

He nodded. “Yeah. For participating in these games, we promise to never disclose any information about what happened, and we will be given ten thousand dollars as a reward. On top of that, if we win, our family’s debt will be cleared.”

I felt rattled. If this were true, then failing this would mean that everyone at this table could lose their homes. However, if they were desperate enough to participate, they’d probably lose their homes anyway.

The security guard clapped his hands to gain our attention.

“Time is up! Are there any volunteers for the first three groups?”

I didn’t volunteer for the first batch of women, choosing instead to let other, braver, women go first.

Instead, I sat and engaged in conversation with Renae and Neo.

“I’m bored,” Neo complained. “Why didn’t you volunteer to go first? Are you scared?”

I pursed my lips and looked at the clock on the wall. “We’re going in the next batch. I was told to wait until a specific time.”

“Who told you that?”

I shrugged. “My boy—fiancé. My fiancé.”

“Oh, damn. You’re taken?” He sounded disappointed.

I glanced at him in amusement. “You know all the women here are taken, right?”

His eyes widened in surprise. “For real? No way.”

“Yup.” I popped the ~p~ and threw a grape into my mouth. I had asked Neo to get me a fruit bowl from the buffet table a while ago. Renae was curled up on my lap, sleeping soundly.

Another ten minutes passed before the guard spoke again. “It’s time for the second three groups. Any volunteers?”

I tapped Renae’s shoulder, lifting her in my arms as I stood and gestured toward the other two. “That’s our cue. It’s time to play.”

Renae stirred awake on my shoulder as we walked toward the door on our left. I tried my best to maintain my calm as we stood and waited for instructions.

“Is it time to play?” Renae asked groggily.

I patted her back gently. “Yeah, you’ve got to wake up now.”

“Mmm,” she mumbled and rubbed her eyes.

“You guys ready?” I asked the other two.

They nodded.

The man turned to address us. “You have three hours to escape the rooms. The clock starts as soon as you step inside. Begin.”

I took a deep breath and opened the door, the others following behind me.

I had to duck to avoid a cobweb that hung in the doorway. The floor was made of wood and covered in grime, not at all like the clean, almost sterile tile we’d just left.

Boxes were scattered throughout the room, and cobwebs and dust covered the walls. An old oak desk sat in the corner, an antique painting on the wall above it.

Was this man-made, or was this room left to rot for years?

I looked up and almost gasped. Despite being on the second of three floors, the roof was bent in a triangular shape.

“Is this an attic?” Neo asked as he started probing around. “How are we to find a key in this pigsty?”

Renae was fully awake now, so I placed her down. I glanced around curiously.

“It’s a decently sized room. I’m sure we can find the key with the four of us. Let’s ransack this place.”

Neo and the woman nodded and each chose a corner of the room to search. I kept a close eye on Renae as I looked for the key.

I riffled through an antique vanity table with a cracked mirror and found a folded note beside a worn-down lotion bottle. The note looked clean and out of place, as if it had just been placed there a few hours ago.

I unfolded it curiously. My eyebrows shot up in surprise as I read it.