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Trigger warning for some vulgar information used in this chapter.

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Sebastian Keith emerged from the entrance of the corridor with loud and confident steps.

As he approached my sister unflinchingly.

Stunned, Scar barely had the time to lower her gun, as the guard voices were still echoing from the other corridor, signalling they were approaching as well.

And his lordship seemed to have noted that too.

As though having one thought in mind and no alternative plan, Sebastian Evan Keith closed the distance between him and Scarlett.

Pulling her close, he casually lowered her hand which held the gun, hiding it from whoever was behind his back.

As he used his other hand to cup my sister's face, lunging down as he...

Caught her lips with his.

I covered my lips with my hand to prevent any sound from escaping me, as two guards emerged from the corridor entrance at this.

Narrowing the door opening to its minimum, I kept a millimeter of space to be able to see what was happening without being caught.

My eyes quickly snapped back to the duo before the door, as Sebastian kept Scarlett between his arms despite the intruders, and my sister seemed in an utter state of stun, while his lordship kept his action.

Flushing, my eyes only widened at how tight his Keith's hands were around the woman, and how confidently he was deepening the kiss. My sister, on the other hand, seemed to have started realizing what happened. 

And she wasn't very happy about it. 

Raising her free up, Scarlett clutched over the fabric of Sebastian's fancy tuxedo, clearly in an effort to push him away. 

This effort was only evident to me, who stood behind them and could see the 'pushing' motion of her hands. 

To the guards behind his lordship, though, and given the nature of Evan Keith's posture and how he was not even budging from his place...

It seemed like a passionate and heated make out. 

That went on for some long seconds... 

Until one of the guards decided to clear his throat at the... erm scene.

As though he were waiting for that, Sebastian pulled away from Scarlett slightly at this, his lips twitching in the process as he did not turn to eye the guards.

Maintaining his composed, arrogant gaze at the woman before him, he also kept his smirk. "How rude, is a gentleman not allowed to enjoy his sneaky rendezvous with a beautiful lady in peace?"

I gulped, and the guards stiffened uncomfortably.

"Err, excuse me, sir. But this is a restricted area." The guard fixed the hippie lord with a suspicious gaze, "So I will have to inquire about your identities as well."

Scarlett shuddered slightly, yet Sebastian Keith seemed to have seen that coming too, as he tightened his grip against my sister's skin for a second.

As though... reassuring her.

"Certain." He turned, blocking Scarlett's view from the guards, as his composed voice came slow, yet dangerous.

"You are speaking to Sebastian Evan Keith, the grandson of the eighteenth Earl of Dartmouth."

And that was enough for either guards to shudder slightly, either of them opening their mouths and closing them because they didn't have any proper retort.

Seeing his undeniable effect, Sebastian arced his head in my sister's direction at this, as though signalling at her, before turning back to the objects of his unflinching gaze.

"Aye. I'd be dishonest if I claim I am unbothered by your intrusion," He shifted at this, reaching out for Scarlett behind him as he grabbed her wrist.

And tugged her next to him as he started walking forward.

"But I shall let it slide." Sebastian's low, threateningly, and smooth voice came.

I blinked. Wh-What?!

Reaching to the side of the guards, his lordship casually patted the shoulder of one of the guards, and my eyes widened as I noticed him slide a set of cash beneath the lapel of the man.

"As long as what you saw here is not disclosed to a single soul. Am I making myself clear?"

The guard's eyes widened, and he gulped at the fatal jades of Sebastian which were zeroed at him, before he nodded wordlessly.

Seeing this, Evan Keith's expression relaxed slightly, as his casual arrogant and carefree expression came back.

Moving his hand around Scarlett's soulder, he nudged her slightly forward as they walked out of the corridor.

"Have a goodnight then, gentlemen. May you never have a rendezvous interrupted as rudely as mine."

And the duo disappeared behind the corridor wall.

I gulped, silently closing the last millimeter opening of the door as I laid my back against it, sighing.

Phew. At least I know the guards wouldn't even think of opening the safe.

Just to make sure, I slowly locked the safe back from the inside.

The voices of the guards were heard at this, apparently conversing with one another.

"Dude, goddammit that was nerve-wrecking. The fuck was the Earl's grandson doing here?" –came the first interjection.

"I know, right? But meh! I think he really was making out with the woman. I mean it's common among spoilt brats like him. Plus..." The other voice paused slightly at this, as though hyping up for a revelation.

"Plus what?" Replied the first.

Chuckling, the other decided to do his revelation in a teasy manner:

"The woman with him seemed rather flushed. I bet we'd interrupted things at a steamy part."

I flushed, and at this my wireless earbuds released Sebastian Keith's voice:

"Tough one. Can you hear me? Three, two, one, Sebastian here."

Speak of the devil!

"Yes." I whispered, "You guys good?" 

A relieved breath escaped his lordship. "Well, if you exclude the glares I'm receiving from your sister," He smoothly teased, unfazed. "I'd say we're splendid."

I chuckled lowly, "That was a good save, I have to salute your acting skills, your lordship."

"Ah. Say it louder." He sighed jokingly, clearly for my sister to hear.

Before I commented, the young lord directly cleared his throat, as though remembering there were more important matters at hand. "So your sister just told me you're in the safe? Are you okay?"

I let out a soft breath, "So far, yes. I don't think they'd dare open the safegiven their strict orders. Thus as long as I'm inside, I should be good."

Looking around, my heart sank at the huge amount of drawers and closets possibly containing secrets beyond my imagination. "The problem is how I'm gonna come out now..." I let out a shaking breath, "And where I'll start searching..."

"Okay let's focus on one problem at a time." Keith ordered, "First off, Scarlett says there's a back door to the safe, a fact which I confirm from my sources as well." He instructed. "The back door is located behind one of the smaller closets, you'll have to crawl through it."

I gulped, looking around at the identical small closets around the safe. "But how do I figure which one is i—"

"Second, Scarlett says start looking in the closets that don't have keys." He cut me off. "There's certainly drawers which the Chairman has locked despite the fact that they're in the safe. We have no time for those. Try utilizing what's accessible for now."

I moved at how stern his voice was, pulling out the gloves I'd prepared to prevent any fingerprints from showing.

Putting on the gloves, I headed to the nearest locker I saw not to waste any time.

"Oh and listen," Scarlett's voice came at this, apparently making use of Sebastian's device. "Ellington had told me to ignore documents which included finances and economic stuff."

I'd opened the first drawer at this before me, and her voice came simultaneously:

"Focus strictly on documents that incriminate the father for murders, human trafficking, and drug dealing."

My blood went cold at her words which reminded me of what kind of enemy I was dealing with, and I started shuffling between the papers in the drawer.

"Alright. I'm on it."

.

.

.

A couple of minutes passed like years, as I desperately roamed through the contents of drawers.

The majority of the documents were of financial nature, which his majesty Ellington did not apparently see as worth our time at the moment.

And so when I stumbled upon the first document of interest to us, I was chirping with happiness and achievement.

"Trafficking from Venezuela and Africa!" I announced lowly, enough for Sebastian and my sister to hear me.

"Perfect!" My sister announced, "Make sure the pictures you take are clear!"

I bit my lips, snapping various pictures of the documents with my phone, and making sure to include extra emphasis on the signature of none other than Trevor Ellington Conway.

Closing the drawer and returning the documents to make sure he doesn't miss anything, I moved to the other set of drawers.

One which seemed recently revisited, as the third drawer was slightly parted.

I gulped, opening the drawer as I eyed its components.

And my eyes widened, as my blood froze.

And my heartbeats suddenly skyrocketed to the point that I could hear them with my own ears.

The contents of the drawer were of two categories.

There was a picture frame with a photograph.

And a file which apparently contained hospital bills and reports with clear hospital stamps.

My eyes zoomed at the photograph, as my heart sank in agony.

From within the photograph, a beautiful and angelic pair of green emeralds stared back at me peacefully, along with a gracious smile. Despite her clear pale skin, the woman in the picture had such outstanding beauty, well emphasized by her thick and long black hairlocks.

And I recognized her, unmistakably.

As I linked her features to the pictures in the photograph frames Rickard Ellington Conway had in the shelves of his room.

This... In the photograph....

It was a picture of Grace Ellington Conway, Mr. Ellington's mother and Trevor Ellington's late wife who died more than a decade ago.

I shuddered.

Why...

Would Trevor Ellington possess an image of her in his very protected safe...

"Charlotte," My sister's voice came from the earbud. "Can you hear me?"

I hummed, shifting my attention to the hospital file next to the picture frame.

"Okay, put whatever you're doing down and search for the back door to leave." Scarlett's order came clear from over the earbud. "Ellington said the cameras will start working in ten minutes."

I bit my lips, as I opened the file.

"Do you hear me?" My sister's voice came to emphasize what she said.

I retorted not, as I started shuffling between the papers of the file.

I couldn't help it.

Although I knew I had to leave as fast as possible.

I couldn't leave without knowing the contents of this fi—

My hands froze, and my eyes widened.

As a single document came into view.

And the world went mute at this split of a second.

As I gazed into none other than the 'Medical Report of Cause of Death' of patient Grace Ellington Conway.

My vision blurred, and Scarlett's voice and scolding in my ears were muted as well.

As I read down through the document.

From the age of the deceased.

To the medical conditions she had.

To the husband and the kids.

And finally, to the cause of death...

As I read the lines on the paper, my mind roamed back to one of the times R.E.C. had answered one of my endless questions.

Back on the day he'd decided to transfer me to the seventh branch and we were both stuck in an elevator together.

'How did she die?' My own voice echoed in my head.

'Cancer, or at least that is what we've been told. I was barely nine back then, so I do not recall precise details.' His dark and deep vocals had answered back.

And that was enough to break my heart into millions of pieces.

As I eyed what was written next to the cause of death section.

'Bullet shot in the chest and/or head injury.'

A tear strolled down my face, as my eyes moved down to the report of the coroner.

'The shot was inflicted in less than a minute prior to the head injury. As a result it cannot be identified which of the two was the certain cause of death. The concussion degree shows the deceased fell from a place with an altitude exceeding forty meters.'

"CHARLOTTE!" A clear shout from my sister echoed at this, snapping me out of my stunned state. "WE'RE ALREADY OUTSIDE THE ESTATE. IF YOU DON'T LEAVE NOW, YOU'RE FUCKED!"

I clenched my muscles, forcing myself to move as I snapped multiple pictures of the documents I had in my hand, containing also the signature of Trevor Ellington Conway.

Placing everything back in the drawer, I roamed my blurry gaze around the small closets, attempting to find the back door as fast as possible.

"Three minutes!" My sister's voice came. "Get the hell out, Charlotte. NOW!"

I bit my lips, moving around the room in frenzy as I started looking behind the smaller closets one by one.

While my psychological troops just collapsed one following the other.

By now I was starting to prepare myself to greeting the camera which will turn on soon, feeling like there was no way out.

Until finally...

One of the smaller closets caught my attention with a simple difference it had from the other ones like it.

"Two fucking minutes, Charlotte are you out?!" Scarlett screamed.

The closet was slightly farther from the walls than the other closests.

Meaning one thing.

Nearing it, I pulled it with effort I did not know existed within me.

And a small, kid-sized door came into view.

It was one that resembled a cupboard, if anything.

I crouched down, attempting to open it through its handle.

"ONE MINUTE GODDAMMIT, I'M GOING BACK TO GET YOU!" My sister's voice came.

"I found it." I hissed, dead serious to just stop her from worrying.

Though if anything, her worry was in place.

Because the knob was not opening the door.

I clenched my teeth, roaming my head over possible ways to open the goddamned door.

"Dammit!" I banged my fists against it. "Dammit!!!!!!"

I attempted bumping my shoulder against the door in fail at this.

Causing something to rattle in my pocket.

Ah!

I pulled out the triplet key at this, attempting one of the two keys that didn't open the main door of the safe.

"THIRTY SECONDS!" Scarlett's voice came desperate. "PLEASE TELL ME YOU'RE OUT!"

Bingo!

The door snapped open by the key at this, and I crawled into it, using my ultimate strength to pull the small sized closet back into its place.

"Ten seconds!" Scarlett's voice came like a sniff, "Please tell me you're–"

"I'm in the tunnel-like way through the back door." I cut her off as I started crawling. "I'm good."

"PHEW." She let out a breath. "Perfect then, let me know when you're back in the room!"

I retorted not, as I made my way through the dim and dirty pathway of the tunnel, every singly corner of my stomach churning at the disgust and darkness eating me alive.

It was in a minute or two that the light at the end of the tunnel emerged, and I found myself stepping out into the janitor's house, judging by the toolkit present in the place I stepped into.

Looking around, I made sure no one's around, as I picked up my pace, exiting the janitor house and entering from the back door of the estate which Violetta Ellington had left from earlier.

And I ran.

A lot.

With speed I did not know I possessed, I managed to sneak up and back into the floor where Daisy's room was located, without having any soul notice Daisy's wrecked state.

From her damaged clothes after crawling within the dirty tunnel.

To her messy hair.

And her scarred neck which had clearly bruised then from Marcus Ellington's bites earlier.

I made sure to take all possible unmonitored and secondary corridors, as I finally darted into my room, slamming the door behind me and locking it with a huge bam.

.

.

.

It has been more than ten minutes.

With me doing nothing but simply sitting on the floor.

In a daze.

Eyeing nothing in particular.

As my body shook endlessly.

And tears just streamed down my face.

Alongside the endless thoughts invading my brain and blinding me.

It was an incomparable and unprecedented feeling.

One which resembled the tunnel I'd just crawled through.

Every single inch of my body ached and twitched with massive disgust from the lingering touch of Marcus Ellington Conway.

Making me feel even dirtier than I did when I crawled through the dust and dirt of the tunnel.

And the truth I'd just uncovered about Grace Ellington Conway entered into an infinite loop of recursion within my mind.

Reminding me of how long and dark the tunnel had felt.

I placed my hand over my chest, as I sobbed.

In a pain I've never felt for any other person before.

I was grieving. For him.  

Grace Ellington Conway was murdered.

And I had just uncovered that with proved evidence.

Rickard Ellington Conway always had his doubts about this.

But he never knew the truth.

How will I be the one to break it to him?

How will I be the one to tell him about such a painful death of someone he'd carved onto his skin?

I sobbed, my entire body shaking as it started initiating its official breakdown.

As I simply sank into the darkness