Your Guise Is Slipping, Miss Pearl

"How dare you! Even at death's door, you're still acting tough. Let's see if you're lucky or just all talk." Winona was pissed, her chest heaving.

"You'll find out soon enough if I'm just all talk." Richard's eyes were filled with determination.

"Anyway, I've locked you guys in here. Let's see what you can do now," Winona sneered, standing with her arms crossed.

"Don't celebrate too soon," Richard shot back, his words momentarily affecting her before she shrugged them off.

"I used to have feelings for you, Richard, but not anymore. Since you chose to be with her, both of you have to deal with the pain and torment I've suffered." She laughed, her eyes filled with hostility.

Suddenly, thunder rumbled overhead, drawing Winona's attention to the cloudy sky.

"It looks like heavy rain is coming. I won't waste any more time here with you. Enjoy yourselves," she remarked before driving off in her sports car.

As Winona disappeared from view, Richard and Pearl exchanged a meaningful glance, silently communicating their plan.

Pearl tugged at Richard's sleeve. "What's the plan?"

"Don't worry. We've got this." Richard reassured her, about to explain when Pearl rolled her eyes.

"Who said I'm worried? I just want to know if you have a plan. And if it's too complicated, I'll do it my way," Pearl quipped.

"I've sent a signal to them. They'll be here soon." Richard was referring to his people.

Pearl clicked her tongue impatiently upon hearing it would take some time for help to arrive.

Seeing her sassy demeanor, Richard couldn't help but smile. "Alright, what's your plan then?" He couldn't help but wonder if Pearl planned to break down the door with her head, considering her feisty attitude. But he knew she must have something else in mind. Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

Seeing the amusement in Richard's eyes, Pearl knew he was thinking of something else. "Alright, step aside," she instructed, reaching for the lock and retrieving a thin iron wire from the floor.

It seemed she intended to pick the lock.

"Since when did you learn lock-picking?" Richard asked, surprised but mostly calm. After all, this woman had brought him quite a few surprises, so one more special skill didn't matter.

Pearl shot him a triumphant look as her nimble fingers worked their magic, the rusty lock clicking open. "I know more than you think. If this lock wasn't rusty, I might've cracked it open even faster," she replied confidently.

A hint of surprise flashed in Richard's eyes. "I didn't expect you to be this good."

"Of course. Well, it's about to rain. Let's hurry back."

But just as they were about to step out, a car sped toward them, as if aiming to crash into them.