Darkness enveloped the basement as Marlina lay still on the worn mattress. Thank goodness I didn’t act too soon, she whispered to herself. She shut her eyes tightly, pretending to be unconscious, while her ears listened intently to every step and conversation around her. Just a few minutes earlier, Marlina had been ready to leave the basement, but she heard noise coming from inside her house. She quickly ascended the stairs and pressed her ear to the door. She heard Merilton and Orena getting closer. Marlina quickly tossed her bag down the stairs and lay back on the mattress.
Her guess was correct. Merilton and Orena opened the door and descended into the basement.
"Did you break the light?"
"Yes, so Marlina can’t see anything down here."
"Right, that’s a clever idea."
"Now let’s carry all these boxes upstairs."
Merilton and Orena were busy lifting large boxes, which they assumed were filled with cash and gold bars.
"These boxes will change our lives," said Orena greedily. Her voice was filled with excitement, but Marlina merely smiled cynically inside. She knew the contents of those boxes had been swapped by herself two months ago. What was inside them was nothing but bricks and paper.
"Marlina will rot down here. I’m not opening this door again. She’s taking too long to die," said Merilton coldly. His words pierced Marlina’s heart, but she stifled the pain. She knew she had to endure until her plan was complete, before Merilton and Orena realised they had been tricked with the contents of the boxes.
Once the boxes were carried out, the basement door was slammed shut, leaving Marlina in silence. She slowly opened her eyes and took a deep breath. Her cat, Si Kelabu, who had been hiding in the corner of the room, immediately came over to her.
"We’ll get out soon, Kelabu," Marlina whispered as she stroked the cat’s head. She looked towards the secret door hidden in the wall of the room. That door would be their salvation.
Meanwhile, upstairs in the house, Tenuksia arrived, searching for Marlina. She knocked loudly on the door, calling Marlina’s name several times. Merilton opened the door with a face full of pretence.
"Marlina’s not here. She’s gone to her parents' house for a while," Merilton said confidently.
Tenuksia looked at him suspiciously. "Why did she suddenly leave without telling me?" Tenuksia asked, her tone wary.
"She needed some time to rest. Besides, Lysandra will stay here to take care of the house," Merilton replied with a fake smile.
Tenuksia fell silent for a moment, but she didn’t fully believe his answer. She glanced around the house, as if searching for signs of Marlina’s presence. However, she chose not to say anything and left with a sense of dissatisfaction.
In the basement, Marlina prepared to escape from her trap. She gathered the things she had hidden earlier, including food, a mobile phone, and important documents. Kelabu followed her loyally. Marlina opened the nearly invisible secret door in the corner of the room.
"We need to move now," Marlina said firmly.
They snuck into the secret tunnel.
Elsewhere, 300 kilometres from Merilton’s house, Orena and Merilton opened the boxes they had brought to their new home. The house, Merilton bought for Orena in an area surrounded by fruit orchards, was far from the hustle and bustle, with the nearest neighbour 2 kilometres away. It was the perfect place to hide treasures or secret affairs.
"What is this?" Orena screamed, lifting a brick out of the box.
Merilton quickly checked the other boxes, but they all contained worthless items. His face turned red with rage. "She’s tricked us!" he said, his voice full of anger.
Orena looked at Merilton, panic-stricken. "What do we do now? If she escapes from the basement, it’s all over!"
Merilton clenched his fists tightly. "She won’t escape. The door is locked, and no one knows she’s down there."
"It’s not Marlina who deceived us, because she can’t have gotten out of there to move the real items, let alone fake the contents of these boxes," Merilton said confidently.
"So..." Orena’s words trailed off. Her hand clenched into a fist.
"We’ve been deceived by that drug dealer. After all the trouble getting the supplies, he managed to fool us," Merilton said. He knew he had been tricked and was determined to find that drug dealer, even if it took him a lifetime, because no identities were involved in the transaction.
What they didn’t know was that the drug dealer had paid them with the exact amount of money and real gold bars, and Marlina had cleverly stolen it all.
Marlina continued walking through the long, dark tunnel, with the cat,  Kelabu by her side. She finally reached the cave at the end of the tunnel, which connected her house to the dense forest. Marlina stopped for a moment to rest, hugging Kelabu tightly while thinking about her next move. She set down her bag and leaned against the cave wall.
"I won’t let them win," Marlina whispered resolutely. She knew the fight was just beginning, but she was ready to face anything for her freedom and justice.
Out there, the darkness of night enveloped the residential area.
Suddenly, Marlina remembered something.
"Should I go back into the tunnel beneath Tenuksia’s house and steal before I leave for good?" Marlina thought about her plan. Ahhh... there’s already so much stolen treasure, don’t be greedy Marlina, you’ll fall into a trap, her heart whispered.
"How about I turn back and investigate the tunnel I haven’t explored yet, the one leading to house number 3?"