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PHYSIENTS WILL ALWAYS OFFER BEST NOVELS || LATEST MOVIES || LIVE STREAMING ALL TIME
ALLURE OF THE NIGHT
Chapter 451 Mother’s Words
Eve was interested in seeing this mansion that Vincent thought would entice her. But before it, they had to see Marceline to the House of Purgatory.
"When you said coffin… do you mean your grandparents are not alive anymore?"
Vincent stared at Eve before he replied, "Something like that. You will know when we reach the place."
The carriage continued moving in the darkness, with lanterns hanging outside and inside the vehicle to keep the darkness away. In the next hour, even Eve had fallen asleep along with Marceline, leaving Vincent awake.
When he went to move his arm away from the window, his hand brushed his coat, and a slight crumpling was heard from the nearby pocket. He slipped his hand inside the coat pocket, feeling the coarse parchment in there, looking outside the window at the trees that passed them.
And though his eyes looked outside, the memory in front of his eyes was of the time when he and Marceline were young. When his mother was still alive. It was one of the incident when he had made his sister cry.
'He doesn't consider me his sister!' A young Marcelina wailed, before hugging her mother, who held a frown.
'I don't think it is true, Marcie,' Lady Katherina gently stroked her daughter's head. 'Tell me what happened so that I can help, hm?' Marceline continued to cry with tears streaming down her eyes.
The young girl then said, 'He always makes fun of me in front of everyone.'
A young Vincent, who was walking by with a blank expression, was stopped by his mother, 'Vincent.'
The boy stopped in his tracks and answered, 'Yes, mother?'
'What did you tell Marcie that has her in tears?'
Vincent stared at his mother before his eyes shifted to look at his spoiled sister and replied, 'She cries easily. It isn't my fault.'
Hearing her brother's words, Marceline cried and accused, 'You only care about other people, not me! I am your sister, but he doesn't wait for me. He just left me and came home by himself. And he tells the meanest things to me, mother!'
Lady Katherina said to her son, 'Why don't you offer your handkerchief to your sister so that she can wipe her tears, Vince.'
'She has one in her hand,' Vincent pointed, and this brought a chuckle out of the Viscountess, who smiled at her children, where one was crying, while the other stared blankly.
'It's all wet,' Marceline sobbed.
Vincent rolled his eyes and passed her the handkerchief.
'I don't think your brother meant to leave you, Marcie. He doesn't like being around people very much. Why don't you go in and clean yourself up. My pretty and good daughter shouldn't shed so many tears,' and she called a maid before the maid took Marceline to wash her face. She turned to her son 'And you…'
'She had a carriage to ride back home, and she was doing something stupid I didn't want to take part in. Low brain company,' the boy replied, and Lady Katherina pulled him to her side.
'Being her big brother, you should help her. When she cries or when something bad happens, I want you to be there for her. To help her,' Lady Katherina tried to convince her son. 'Your sister looks up to you, Vince, and I tell you that because I know she wants your approval. We are a family, and if we don't help each other, no one else will.'
Sitting inside the carriage now, Vincent took a deep breath before releasing a sigh. He had spared Marceline's foolish actions for his mother, and he doubted he could forgive his sibling anymore.
'Sometimes, people show they aren't worth saving,' Vincent thought to himself, but because Marceline was his sister, he couldn't help but put her in her place.
Before the wake of dawn, where the sky was still covered with clouds, the Moriarty carriage finally reached the intended first destination, where Marceline was going to stay.
Eve's eyes parted open, and her eyes fell on the large wall higher than a mansion's regular height. She noticed the number of guards, who guarded the walls even though there were no gates.
The gates to the place opened, and as the carriage continued to move, Marceline woke up from her rest as she had slept without a hint of worry, looking forward to living alone in the mansion as if she was the mistress of the place.
Marceline raised her hand to cover her mouth when she yawned and asked, "Did we finally reach?" There was a hint of excitement in her voice, which was soon going to replace in agony.
"We have," Vincent remarked, while Eve looked worried about what would happen once Marceline would find out where they were.
"Looks like I can have a good meal and then get some rest," Marceline softly harrumphed, already building the proud airs around her. She peeked outside the window and said, "It seems a little different than the last time we were here. Did father change some things here?"
"This is the back gate. The front gate is covered with snow, and they said it would take an hour before we can use that path," Vincent lied right through his teeth, and if Eve didn't know him better, she would have blindly believed him to be telling the truth.
Marceline, who was aware of how her brother was, didn't appear to be too convinced, and there was a tingling feeling in the back of her mind that gnawed at her, but she brushed it away as she was excited to start afresh. She said politely, "As much as I hate to admit it, I am glad that you accompanied me, Vince. For old times sake, as we might not see each other again."
Eve felt bad that the entire family was deceiving the vampiress, but Marceline had paved her path to this place.
The carriage stopped, and the coachman quickly jumped down and opened the door for the Moriarty family members to step outside. Vincent was the first one to step outside, followed by Marceline, who blocked Eve's way so the human wouldn't get down before her.
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ALLURE OF THE NIGHT
Chapter 452 House Of Purgatory
Music Recommendation: Two figures by a fountain- Dario Marianelli
--
When Eve finally did step down from the carriage, she noticed the vast building that did look like a mansion. No, not a mansion. This looked like a castle.
"Our ancestors did a good job in building this place," Marceline said in a proud voice as she looked around. To people, who didn't know, this looked like any other high-class mansion. "What I don't understand is why our grandfather decided to leave this place behind and move to Skellington."
"Because he was posted in Skellington and they needed a Viscount there for point of contacts," Vincent stated, and they made their way towards one of the entrances. "Adam and Briggs, you can take the luggage inside and have it placed in her room."
Marceline quickly turned with the help of her good foot and ordered them, "Pick the best and the biggest room. I already sent out the letter, to clean the rooms and the other things. To also stock up food and the servants."
"How thoughtful," Vincent murmured, his expression barely changing as they continued to walk.
Marceline stopped walking and said to him in a dismissive tone, "You and your new wife can leave. I don't need your help anymore."
"I think it would be better if we accompanied you. Spend some more time," Vincent suggested, his eyes meeting his sister's.
The vampiress smiled sweetly, "You have done enough for me. I think if you do more, I will be very worried." She then turned to look at Eve, "What you did to me, I will never forget in this lifetime. You will be repaid with the same pain that I feel, which you think you are familiar with."
Marceline's words were bitter and painful, and she looked at Eve with hate. Eve stared back at the woman and said,
"I wish I knew what was wrong, that you felt the need to take such actions that has led to your own downfall, Marceline. But I hope one day, you will gain the conscience that you lack."
Marceline's eyes narrowed at Eve's words, "Conscience is what you will have once you realise how you tore my family. But you won't know as you were an orphan, weren't you? Your parents must have known the ill fate you bring."
The vampiress's words pricked Eve's chest because it seemed to be true when she thought about it. She sadly smiled at the vampiress and said, "I keep hoping that you will turn for the better, but you are nothing but a poison that keeps spreading."
Vincent reminded his sister, "That's rich coming from you, Marcie. One who literally got the woman killed, who gave birth to you."
Marceline's face brightened and she immediately replied, "She's no mother of mine." She then said, "I don't want to waste my time talking here about useless things when I am tired from the long journey." She turned around and walked inside, leaving Vincent and Eve behind.
"Don't pay heed to her words," Vincent said to Eve, who stared at Marceline's back, which disappeared after two seconds.
Eve asked him, "How long until she realises where she is?" Her blue eyes threatened to break free the golden flecks into her eyes.
"Should be in a few seconds," Vincent responded, and his eyes followed the walls as if he could sense or see his sister walk. "Now," he whispered.
"AHHHH!" Marceline's scream echoed through the place that reached Eve and Vincent's ears.
Inside the House of Purgatory, Marceline screamed and thrashed, who was being held by four vampires who worked in the 'House of Purgatory', "What do you think you are doing?! Take your hands off me! This is a misunderstanding! I said let me go!"
Marceline kicked with her one leg, and when the men tried to hold the violently behaving vampiress, her false leg fell on the ground, making her scream even more. The workers there were used to even more violent people, and they dragged her to the room that was assigned to her.
The room was not even half the size of the rooms Marceline was used to. The room looked rundown, with a mattress that was torn and a blanket which was rugged out.
Once the room's grilled gate was locked, Marceline shouted, "Where are you going?! Get back here!! You don't know who I am! I am Marceline Moriarty. I am not supposed to be here!"
The guard, who stood outside the room slammed the baton on the grilled door, "Shut up or you will be put in the solitary room which you won't like."
"Don't be rude, Marcellus. That's no way to talk to a lady," Vincent came into Marceline's view, with Eve walking beside him.
Marceline's eyes widened in relief before they narrowed, as she put two and two together in her head. She demanded, "Vincent, get me out of this place."
A wide smile spread on Vincent's lips, "Are you happy to see me, Marcie? I was actually going to leave, when I realised you dropped this handkerchief you might need."
"This is not the time to make jokes. We were supposed to go be in the mansion that is in Holy Oak, and not wherever this place is. If father or mother gets to know, they won't be happy about it," Marceline curled her hands around the bars to pull it wide open, but it was too strong for her.
"Mm, it is good that you told them that you won't be writing back to their letters. They will have less to worry about. You got yourself covered there," Vincent remarked, and he turned to guard, waving his hand to dismiss the person from there. "You wanted alone time, and I thought what more perfect place I could offer you, than this? You will spend the rest of your years here. Don't worry, I have spoken to the head here and made all the necessary arrangements so that you can turn into a better person."
As Vincent's words sank into Marceline's mind, she gritted her teeth, "Did you just bring me to Sabbit? What did I even do that you decided to lock me up here? I am your freaking sister, Vincent!"
Vincent stared at Marceline, who stood before him with the grilled gate door between them. He said,
"You have lost your way, Marceline, and the truth is you don't see or refuse to see it."
"What are you talking about?" Marceline cried in despair. She said, "I have been so good to you, you are my brother and I love you. I even supported you yesterday when the marchioness asked me in front of the council members and the other guests. How can you tell that I lost my way?"
"You hurt Eve more than once," Vincent let her know, and Marceline's eyes furrowed.
Marceline turned to look at Eve and angrily said, "I have apologised for what I did, and have suffered way more than you have. Did you put him up to this?" She said, "I made a stupid mistake before, but I didn't hurt her after that town's incident. I have learned--"
"You have learned nothing. And I cannot take the chance, waiting for when you will kill her," Vincent said in a cold voice.
"W--what do you mean? I didn't hurt her!" Marceline then turned to look at Eve, who stared right back at her.
"You stabbed Eugene," Eve reminded Marceline, and the vampiress's eyes widened in shock.
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ALLURE OF THE NIGHT
Chapter 453 Truth Comes Out
Marceline's lips moved, but for the first five seconds no words came out, as she tried to understand how Eve could even know about it. She was alone, and the servant had not seen her. The vampiress shook her head, denying, "Your servant? He's perfectly healthy and is married to Rosetta. What are you talking about?"
"I know what you did, Marceline. Vincent and I both know, so tell me why you tried to kill Eugene. Was it because you knew his death would cause me pain as he is dear to me?" Eve asked the vampiress, who now held a frozen expression on her face.
Marceline shook her head, "I really don't know what you are talking about. These are nothing but some wild accusations, why would I even bother to go near him? My parents have brought me up with good virtue and you are only smearing mud just to widen the distance between me and my family, isn't that right?" She turned to Vincent and quickly said, "Vince, I have been in severe pain with my limb, why would I even do something like that? She is lying!"
"There's no shame in accepting what you did, dear sister," Vincent tried to get Marceline to confess, but the vampiress stubbornly shook her head and looked appalled as if she was being wrongly accused.
"Believe me, brother, I have done nothing as such. Why would I do it, when you already told me not to hurt her. I know that the servant was close to her, so why would I think of even stabbing him? This is some clear misunderstanding," Marceline softly laughed, while the look in her eyes held nervousness.
Eve then uttered with a serious expression, "I saw you stab him."
"W--what, when? Eve, Eugene is in a very healthy condition. You, Vincent and everyone else saw him today, standing in good health. I think you need hel--"
"I saw you stab him in the forest which was near Meadow. With a dagger. You stabbed him, making sure he bled. Leaving him to bleed to his death. How can you be so cruel and heartless?" Eve questioned the vampiress, who stared back at her with red eyes that didn't hold guilt for what she did.
"I don't know what you are talking about. And if you are talking about cruelty, it is what you are doing to me now. Conspiring with brother and taking advantage of the situation. I know Vincent killed Lady Camille for you. I know it to the very bone, and I stayed quiet to protect our family. For you to stay safe after the mistake I made, but here you are, accusing me of something I didn't do!"
Vincent sighed in disappointment before a dry chuckle escaped from his lips, as if suddenly amused by something.
"Truth is you haven't changed much since you were little. Back then, you were selfish and cute, naive in my mind which I ignored. But I overlooked it and in the past, you were at least a little more sensible than now, Marcie," Vincent said as the smile on his lips disappeared.
"You are the one who changed, Vince... I am your sister, and you were supposed to protect me," Marceline clenched her hands around the iron grill.
"I am protecting you. The person you need to be protected from is no one but yourself," Vincent remarked, his eyes holding no emotions in them.
Marceline was losing her patience, and she said, "This is enough of a joke. Get me out of here and take me to the promised mansion."
"Can't do. Not until you accept what you did to Eugene," Vincent replied in a chirpy voice, and Marceline gritted her teeth. She knew this was just a trap and would never agree to it. If Vincent was playing around, it was time for him to get her out of this place. "We all have done terrible things."
"You tried to hurt me three times, Marceline," Eve let the vampiress know.
Marceline rolled her eyes, "You are being delusional now. I hurt you once, and you added your servant and then another one now. You are crazy. You want us to live in peace, don't you? Then get me out of here. Right. Now."
Eve didn't listen to Marceline, and recollected for the vampiress, "The first time you tried to take away my respect and dignity. You wanted to shame me, and chase me out of my town. Second time, you stabbed Eugene. Third time, you used Allie's fangs to curse me."
"Do you hear yourself speak? What is wrong with both of you?!" Marceline asked in frustration. "Why would the fangs even--"
Marceline stopped mid-sentence, when her own words sank deeper in her mind, and her eyebrows furrowed. As she stared at Eve, she noticed something strange in the human's eyes. The clear blue eyes started to change, and it turned yellow.
When Eve stepped closer to the room's gate, Marceline stumbled backwards in pure shock, "What... What did you do with your eyes? How did you do it?" The vampiress's head spun as she tried to grasp what was going around her.
No no, this was not possible, Marceline thought to herself. How could this person not be a human...! She was sure of it, because she had been keeping a close eye on her since she had entered the Moriarty mansion. How did she miss it?!
First, her brother had put her in an institution which was nothing less than a prison dungeon. Secondly, this woman... was not a human. Her lips trembled, and she uttered, "Y--you are the one--the kindness Allie spoke about... you..."
"Yes," Eve replied calmly, as she watched the vampiress spiral and fall backwards on the ground with a look of disbelief. "It was me who helped Allie with her fangs."
Vincent clicked his tongue, "Ironic, isn't it, Marcie? To be trying to cause harm to that one person, who would have helped you heal. But there's no point healing someone who has a destructive heart."
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ALLURE OF THE NIGHT
Chapter 454 Locked Up In New Home
--
Marceline sat on the floor with a dumbfounded expression and stared hard at Eve. The vampiress's perfectly shaped eyebrows deeply furrowed as she tried to make sense of what was going on in front of her.
"Wh--what are you?" Marceline questioned in shock after seeing Eve's eyes change from blue to yellow before they settled into a golden hue. She turned to Vincent and accused him, "You deceived me!"
"You should be the last one to talk about deception, dearest sister," Vincent replied, with his hands slipping into his trousers pockets. "Doesn't she have beautiful eyes?"
"What is she dammit!?!" Marceline demanded.
Vincent clicked his tongue and remarked, "You aren't in the position to demand for answers."
Marceline continued staring at Eve, and she slowly stood up, before coming to stand in front of the woman, whom until now she had believed to be was a lowly human from a disgusting town. She said, "Heal me. Help me bring my fangs and leg back to me the way you helped Allie! I have suffered enough."
Eve ignored the vampiress's words and questioned, "Why did you stab Eugene?"
"I did not stab him. I am telling you the truth, I--"
"If you tell me why, I will try to help you," Eve wanted Marceline to own up to her actions. The vampiress had done nothing but escape and blame others without taking any responsibility until now.
"Mm, the sound of having a full limb and the fangs does sound enticing, doesn't it?" Vincent chimed, while he watched the gears in Marceline's head move.
The vampiress looked back and forth between her brother and Eve. She didn't want to confess and accept, but knowing Eve could help put her misery to an end, she finally nodded.
Marceline closed her eyes and then said in a low voice, "I stabbed him... I needed a sacrifice and I know I shouldn't have, but he was right there. Good news is that you saved him in time, and he is alive." When she tried to smile, she said, "I was rude to you, Eve. I should have--"
"Your heart is darker than what I imagined it to be," Eve interrupted Marceline, and the vampiress's smile faltered. "You deserve the life you gave yourself. It wasn't I, or Vincent or anyone else, but you. You were the one who did it to yourself."
Marceline gritted her teeth, "I told you I am sorry and you said you would help me! I shouldn't have hurt you or your servant--"
"My family," Eve corrected the vampiress.
"Yes, your family. I am really sorry for what I did and I promise to never do anything like that!" There was desperation in Marceline's voice, but Eve wasn't fazed by it. Maybe if Eugene wasn't harmed, she would have thought to overlook the vampiress's actions, but she couldn't forgive the woman.
"When I first met you, I thought you were a kind woman," Eve said to Marceline, who had tears in her eyes. "I thought you were different compared to the other women of high society. You were poised, you cared and it appeared as if you wanted to be of help. But those were all a sham, and the real you is a narcissistic woman, who cannot see anyone happy but yourself. You prey on people's kindness and manipulate them, using it to benefit you. The only person you care and love is yourself, and no one else. You lost your mother, but you have a family who cares for you, but that was never enough for you. The more I think about it, the more I realise how unhappy you are, because of your own selfishness."
The tears in Marceline's eyes spilt out of her eyes, rolling down her cheeks before they fell on the dirty grey floor of the room. She said, "I made a mistake, and I accept it. Everyone makes a mistake, and they get a second chance. Don't I deserve to make amends for the errors of my ways?" She turned to look at Vincent and said, "I am your sister, Vince. Please don't do this to me. Please don't abandon me like how mother left us."
"She didn't abandon you. She died protecting one of the people, who never deserved it," Vincent's voice grew colder, and Marceline gripped the iron rods of the gate until her hands turned white.
"Are you saying that I don't deserve to live?" Marceline asked in a low voice. "I was always selfish and self centred from the beginning. But back then you loved and considered me your sister. When did you change, Vince?" More tears started to fill her eyes.
"One of us had to change, Marcie. Unfortunately, you didn't and I was forced to do it," Vincent remarked, where he held no sympathy for her. He said, "I still consider you my sister, which is why you are here."
"You are willing to leave me here in this morbid place and in my terrible condition?" Marceline's words sounded gentle and pathetic now. She turned to Eve and begged, "Please, Eve. Please, don't leave me here. You don't know about the sabbi--"
"We aren't at the Sabbit," Vincent watched a look of relief enter Marceline's features when she heard him utter those words.
Marceline laughed, and it got Eve to question the mental stability of the vampiress. She said, "That's enough humour for the day, brother. If not Sabbit, are we at the Southern mansion?"
"We are at the House of Purgatory," Vincent's eyes held mirth, his lips holding a sliver of amusement when he noticed the remaining blood drain from Marceline's face.
"No..." Marceline whispered with a look of pure horror. "You are joking... you are, right? TELL ME YOU ARE JOKING!!"
Eve watched Marceline shout and scream at Vincent, but he sighed and murmured, "So loud."
"Get me out of here! What is wrong with you!" Marceline screeched while her eyes looked livid.
"The more you scream, the more attention you bring yourself," Vincent told her, and Marceline clenched her jaw.
Marceline had never seen the House of Purgatory, but she had heard plenty of stories about it, enough that had her snicker when she heard during the soirees about people being held there. The place held the most notorious people across the land. The people were disciplined and schooled until they were passable. The funny stories now turned into an utter horror for the vampiress. She had never imagined to end up being one of the occupants here?!
Now that Marceline knew where she was, seeing how Vincent wasn't joking, she begged, "Please, please, please, please, Vincent! You cannot leave me here! I will go crazy without any of the family. I promise to be good! I don't want to go to Holy Oak, and will return with you and Eve to Skellington!"
But Vincent clicked his tongue and said, "I told you, didn't I? That you would change your mind and want to return home. But as your brother, I shall respect your decision."
Marceline shook her head, "No, Vince, you were right!" She said in haste. "I want to stay with our family. With father, mother, Allie and you, and Eve too! So please, don't do this to me!" Tears of desperation fell from her eyes. "You were supposed to... look out for me."
"I am," Vincent answered, his voice emotionless and his eyes soulless. "You were right. You need some time for yourself, so utilise it well to get better."
Eve watched Marceline sob, as reality finally started to sink into the vampiress's head. The vampiress was a crying mess and desperately wanted to get out of the place. She beseeched her brother, "I will never do anything bad. You can kill me next time if I do something, but don't do this to me. I will die here, Vince!" She then turned her tearful face to look at the mermaid and said, "I will stay away from you and your family. Please...!"
Marceline, who wasn't scared of Eve until now had turned wary of the woman, after seeing the colour of Eve's eyes change, not knowing what exactly she was. A werewolf? That explained why the Duke and Lady Anaya were close to her.
"No," Eve responded with a slight frown, remembering Eugene's dead body that Rosetta had brought in the carriage to Meadow. "I have no forgiveness to offer you."
Eve turned to look at Vincent and said, "I will be in the carriage."
"Where are you going?!" Marceline demanded, but Eve turned her back on the vampiress and she started to walk away. "Vincent, please, don't do this to me. I cannot survive here!"
"You will be fine," Vincent pulled his hands out of his trousers pockets. "You will be living with a similar company as you."
Marceline sobbed, shaking her head, and said, "Vince, what did I even do that you are putting me here?! I have already begged for forgiveness!"
"That's the part, isn't it? That you, my sweet and humble sister, don't know what you did. I think it is quite perfect and time to humble yourself." Vincent then pulled one side of his coat, took out an envelope from the inside pocket and stretched it towards Marceline. "This is yours."
Marceline hadn't bothered to wipe her cheeks as she only wanted to get out of there. Seeing the old envelope, she asked, "What is this...?" She took it from him through the gaps in the gate.
Vincent knew that Marceline had never bothered to read the letters written by their mother to her, which was why he had withheld one of the envelopes until now. He said, "I will miss you, Marcie."
"Vincent! Come back!" Marceline shouted as she tugged the iron bars, "Don't leave me, please!" While Vincent turned around, raising one hand to wave at her and left from there.
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ALLURE OF THE NIGHT
Chapter 455 Greed Behind Rusted Bars
In the Council's dungeon, which held the most notorious criminals inside each of its cell rooms, one of the cell rooms held the Marquee and Marchioness Hooke, who had been dragged by the council guards the previous afternoon.
Lady Aurora stood behind the rusted iron gate, trying not to touch it. When one of the guards walked past in front of the cell she was in, she quickly called the person, "You there! Go call Byron. We have important things to discuss with him. Where are you going? I am talking to you!" Her voice turned louder at the end of the sentence when she saw the guard disappear from her sight. Turning around, she addressed her husband, "Walter! Do something!"
Marquee Hooke was tired from having to stand all these hours since they had been here since yesterday and had finally sat down on the dusty ground with his back leaning against the wall. He turned his gaze to his wife.
"What is there to do? Somehow the plan we had backfired, and we ended up in the grave we thought we had dug for the Moriartys," Marquee Hooke said with a deep frown. "I still don't understand how that servant's name appeared in the Council's registry.
"Isn't it obvious that they tricked us and put us in the dungeon? We cannot let them take the upper hand, and we should do something," Lady Aurora's eyes widened in determination.
Neither of the Hooke couple knew what and how it happened with the Council's registry. But what they did know was that their daughter was married to a lowly servant.
"There's barely anything to do, Aurora…" Marquee Hooke held a defeated look and said, "Word must have already spread about the man we killed and we don't have any money to look for help. We are doomed."
Lady Aurora couldn't believe her husband was so quick to lose hope, while here she was, fighting to convince the Council of their innocence. She quietly glared at her husband, who looked defeated and couldn't believe the kind of man she had married. But then it was because of how he was that she had been able to get married to him and turn into a marchioness. If she didn't fight now, they would forever be pulled down by an anchor in the ocean.
The most shocking wasn't what Vincent had pulled against her family, but it was what her daughter had done. Her own daughter had betrayed the family, and she gritted her teeth. Her naive, foolish daughter had willingly married a servant!
When the sound of footsteps were heard in the corridor, Lady Aurora quickly brought her face closer to the gaps of the gate, trying to see who it was. The footsteps got louder, and soon the councilman named Byron, who had worked for them in the past, appeared in front of their cell.
"Finally, you are here. I hope you have brought us good news, councilman Byron," Lady Aurora gave a knowing look, and Marquee Hooke stood up from where he had been sitting until now.
Byron pursed his lips, and Marquee Hooke asked him, "What happened? Did you check if the blood belongs to Vincent or not?"
The councilman answered, "The blood pigments in the signature don't match Vincent's blood."
"I knew they changed the sheet! The Head Council is involved in this little charade, and we need to take this matter to the higher ups to get justice!" Lady Aurora spoke in excitement, while trying to form a plan.
Byron stopped her by saying, "The woman at the laboratory told me that sometimes in some rare cases the blood cells belonging to human blood lose their properties, and that could be the reason why there's no match. It is being finalised that the signature was done by the man named Eugene Weaver, and right now I cannot do anything about it," he shook his head. "I am sorry, but this is all I could help in this matter."
Lady Aurora's mouth hung open before she fixed her expression and said, "Don't tell me there's no way out of here?!"
"Whatever Vincent planned, it is too perfect to find any loopholes. Everyone believes it is you who orchestrated the death of Lady Camille Wright now. You might be pardoned, but there's no guarantee to it as some of the members of high society have made a petition to put you to a death row," Byron informed them, leaving the old couple in a state of shock. "I should get going now. It wouldn't go well if someone sees me talking to you. Maybe you shouldn't have gone against Vincent Moriarty. The man will put a death sentence on your head and I don't want to be the next possible victim of it. Pardon me, but I will be taking my leave now."
"Wait, there should be some other way to get us out of here!" Lady Aurora didn't know if she could live in this cell for another day.
"There will be a councilman who will be assigned to your case and see what can be done," Byron didn't stay by to chitchat, and he quickly scurried out of there.
"I told you that we are doomed," Marquee Hooke looked like he had given up on his life, but internally he was frustrated that their life had come to this. "We have no money to use, to pay the councilmen to speak in our favour."
Lady Aurora glowered. She turned around and snapped, "And whose damn fault is that?"
"Think about it, Aurora. We should have found another family for Rosetta to marry. I told you we should have chosen the Rivers, but you were too greedy and wanted to go for the Viscount's family. Not any Viscount, but the Moriarty family." Marquee Hooke shook his head, turning away from his wife, he said regretfully, "I had heard about the boy's terrible and cunning nature. But I didn't know I would be learning it first hand…"
"I was trying to improve our life, have it the way it was before. Yours, mine, and our daughter's," Lady Aurora glared at her husband. But deep down in her mind, she regretted going after the Moriartys. Maybe if she had found a lower wealthy family as her husband said, this wouldn't have happened.
Now not only did they have money, but they had lost all the respect they had gathered over the years—everything was down the drain. Few minutes later, after calming herself, she asked, "What are we going to do now? We cannot live like this, Walter. If we stay here, we are just criminals. And if we step out of the dungeon and get released, we won't be able to live the same life. We will be on the streets, begging!"
"We should have packed our things before and moved to another town," Marquee Hooke murmured. When they heard another pair of footsteps approaching near the cell, Lady Aurora quickly turned, hoping it was Byron, who changed his mind.
But it wasn't the councilman Byron, but two guards who appeared in front of the cell. One of the guards reached the front of their gate, unlocking it, and Marquee Hooke asked,
"Are we being let free?" A sense of relief started to fill the couple's minds.
"No. It is time for the punishment to commence for the criminal activities that have been insinuated and made by you," the guard replied, and the other guard stepped away from the other with a black whip in his hand.
"W—what do you mean punishment?!" Lady Aurora looked horror-stricken. She quickly stepped backwards and away from the gate. She said in an authoritative tone, "I am Marchioness Lady Aurora Hooke. Don't you dare take a step forward and even talk about punishments! I will report your ill doings at the higher court!" She threatened them.
But the guards were used to dealing with men and women of different status in the dungeon. They were experienced enough not to bother themselves with who the person was, and the guard with the whip pulled both ends and questioned,
"Who would like to go first?"
"Get out of here right now!" Lady Aurora removed her shoes and threw them at the guards, one after another, which they dodged.
The guards turned annoyed, and the guard holding the whip smacked it harshly against one of the walls. Soon, the whip bit into Lady Aurora's leg and even with many layers, she felt the burn on her skin that had her yelp.
Marquee Hooke quickly moved to the opposite side, his eyes widened, while Lady Aurora shouted in pain, feeling the whip on her back and her hands, leaving a burning sensation. She half shouted and half begged her husband, "Walter, do something!"
But when Marquee Hooke went to help his wife by going near the guard, he received the lash of the whip. He quickly scattered away, while he rubbed his arm.
Lady Aurora's shouts and screams echoed in the corridors of the dungeon, while the guards continued whipping her. Once the guards were done whipping both Lady Aurora and Marquee Hooke, neither could sit or stand, and they tried to lean against the walls with great difficulty.
Lady Aurora's cheeks had dried the tears that had earlier fallen on her cheeks after being continuously whipped until her body turned numb. How did her life turn out like this? Her entire body ached, and she couldn't move her limbs. She said,
"We… we need to prove Vincent Moriarty to be in the wrong—"
Marquee Hooke said, "Let us not fish for more trouble, Aurora… I cannot do this and I am too old for this thing. Ugh," he paused when he felt the shirt's fabric rub against the back of his skin that had peeled. He hissed and frowned before saying, "Let us surrender to whatever it is. We cannot keep on doing this and get into more trouble."
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