CHAPTER 6

Life doesn't flash before your eyes in the moments you die. That's utter rubbish told by someone to make someone's death look less painful. 

From the darkness, someone charged at her with a knife in their hand. Claire side stepped him and he bulldozed in to the empty space behind her. The darkness covered the man's face but not his movements. When he charged at her again, with a crazed look in his eyes, she used all her strength catch his hand mid air and used her right leg to knock his knees. Now kneeling on the floor with his hands twisted in an unnatural shape, Claire could see who it was.

Arthur. The old man who snatched young girls innocence without remorse or second-thought.

"Poor you, didn't Sylvie allow you to pack yourself into one of her carriages?"

He laughed, almost maniacally and said, "You are FOOL, if you think you have won!" he put extra exaggeration on 'Fool', his spit flying everywhere but almost immediately after he finished speaking, she heard screams upstairs and Dani's gasping "M'lady!!"

Claire used the knife he clutched on to, twisted it and drove it straight through his throat and left him there to choke and die on his blood. She ran up the stairs as fast as she can and followed the sound of screams which led her back to drawing room. There is thrice the amount of blood compared to when she left for the basement. 

There was a maid lying on the floor, a slit on her throat. Her eyes, dead.

"You are a Fool, little girl. You will never win!"

Sylvie was standing in next to the door leading to the backyard. Her back towards the door and facing all the guns and men like she has got enough lives to live through this attack. She had another maid, with a knife to their throat. 

"If I die today, I will take you down with me. I will drag you through the dirty floors of hell and torture you in front of you mother's chained form."

She is laying out a trap, very clearly. It's only the matter of jumping head first into it and then you will be a mouse under the cat's paws. 

"But not today. Today is not the day." she finished it with an evil smirk on her face. The skies that was showing signs of the sun rise was turning grey. The thunder roared and lighting hit the ground with enough power to rattle it. The winds howled as they cut through everything, powerful enough to uproot the hundred year old trees.

The maid that was held under the knife point fell down but there was no major slit anywhere on her body. Claire and everyone else looked around the room and saw no sign of Sylvie. The condition outside was still raging and it would be hard to walk through it, unless they are ready to fly to wherever they want to be.

On the other side, the duke was extremely angry he allowed that old hag to disappear. He had been waiting for the moment to capture her and torture her but now, after all that preparation her still lost her. He was angry with him for losing her, he should have been careful. That woman had stayed alive till now, after all the heinous things she has done. He should have predicted that she wouldn't go down so easy.

He was also angry with himself for agreeing to the stupid deal. He blamed Claire for the things he lost today, now. His men are still scattered around the room. Everyone sheltered themselves from the raging weather outside that was most possibly started by Sylvie. 

But how?

His gaze wandered around the room to spot the other woman he wanted to kill for a long time. He found her standing there in the middle, with her back to the outside. Her hair scattered and out of place. Her dress was also flying everywhere. 

With difficulty he was able to tell one of his men to close the door leading to the backyard. His men - 2 to 4 of them - were able to close the door after a few seconds. As soon as the bolt fell in its place, everyone released a breathe of sigh. 

But Claire's relief was barely temporary because she felt the angry presence of the duke behind her. As if she doesn't already feel weak but now with an angry duke she couldn't think straight.

"What were you thinking? You never bothered to tell me anything unnatural related to her!"

"You are making it sound like I went behind your back. Don't you dare. You got what you came here for. Well, partially..."

"What I came here for is you step mother and she escaped. And be lucky that none of my soldier's blood is splattered, otherwise I would have made you pay for. With. Your. Blood."

"I understand you are angry but that deal was made so that MY family was kept safe. Not to please you. So you can get the hell out of here."

Claire now felt like the duke was twice as angry as he was before. His glowering presence made everyone stand back, even my eldest brother. 

"The deal was made and sealed. Now you will do you part of the deal. As a matter of fact, if you want your family to live then we will make a new deal."

Clare was horrified, "You can't do that!"

"Killian" Raymond's gritted voice sounded but was ignored by both of them. Claire and Killian was staring at each trying to kill each other with their gaze but soon Claire backed down when she heard a gasp.