Just an FYI if you, or anyone else, is in a similar situation. You can use the on-screen virtual keyboard to press the escape key.
Open System Preferences > Keyboard. In the Keyboard tab, enable the “Show keyboard and emoji viewers in menu bar” checkbox. Up in the status/menu bar, there will be a new icon that looks like a square with the command clover inside. Click it and select Open Keyboard Viewer. The on-screen keyboard will appear. You can click on the virtual keys and it will be as if you press them on a real keyboard.
When finished, simply close the virtual keyboard. If you don’t want that menu icon anymore, hold the command key and click-drag the icon out of the menu bar.