1 Ohh… God damn

On a windy night, Darwin walked home from work with an exasperated expression, it was currently summer and even now at this hour it's quite humid, his wife told him he needed the exercise, he didn't think so, but who was he to disagree.

As he walked up his drive way, Darwin silently complained about how long it took, but the closer he got to the door, the better he felt.

He could just imagine the smile on her face as she welcomes him home with an embrace, and his daughter who calls out to him, as they have in the past.

But as he reached for the handle, his heart tightened and his mouth was beginning to dry up.

"Argh, w… what the hell."

Darwin was feeling like his heart was about to implode, he dropped to his knees, and began violently coughing, it was only then did he realise what was happening.

He was poisoned.

*Cough* "t… this is, the signature poison of the Styx renegade, The purple Indra."

The purple Indra is something the Styx renegade discovered himself, it comes from an armoured snake that lives in only a handful of underwater caves all over the world, it's so rare that almost no one knows it exists, the only reason he knows is because Styx is someone he encountered while tracking his target in the Sahara.

'Damn, I'm screwed, why the hell would he target me, all I did was steal his prey, and that was… ahh who cares, there's no point denying what isn't even in front of me, but inside me, I can feel it, I'm going to die.'

Darwin was debating whether to open the door, his body was trained against poison in the past, his immune system was extremely strong, his body was fighting the poison, however it was only a matter of time, but if nothing else, he was confident he could at least stand up, open the door, and say goodbye to his family.

Well he could stand and open the door, but apart from the fact that he probably can't even speak since his throat is closing, he never expected that he would leave his family, he doesn't know the words.

As he heaved in and out, struggling to breathe, his daughter who was in a daze peering out of her window finally turned and noticed him.

"Daddy, mummy, dad's outside."

She started running down the stairs, while holding the railing in case she trips, as she has many times.

Her scarlet hair swaying as she practically hops down stairs.

His wife Charlotte finished setting the table and approached the door.

"Annabelle please don't run, what will your father say if you hurt yourself again."

"Hehe."

Annabelle chuckled, the last time he punished her, he gave her a lot of ice cream, with the intention of teaching her a lesson, with the stomach ache and brain freeze, he hoped she would learn to take things in strides.

But of course she had no stomach ache, and the brain freeze was mild, she considered it a day out with her father, one she much enjoyed.

Charlotte opened the door and found no one there, only a ripped piece of paper with crooked red writing.

She was spooked by the letter, she thought it was another threat, she quickly closed the door, and silently read the poor excuse of a letter.

'My dear Charlotte and Annabelle, this letter was written with short notice, I don't have much time, and *smudge* never considered the possibility of a day coming when I would ever be parting with you, but with a cruel twist of fate, it seems I have no *smudge* I've *smudge* so please live well, should we meet again in our next lives, Charlotte, I hope you still love me, now to my dearest little rabbit, I love you.' Darwin Howler

The letter is smudged with blood, and it seems to be written by something blunt and pointy, the blood drops were used as ink.

However the words on the letter were still clear.

Charlotte's face paled, and her stomach started churning, she was on the verge of screaming, she wanted someone to say this was a joke, that he would come home and apologise for such a horrible prank.

But on the inside she knew better, her husband was a warm hearted man, he would occasionally play pranks with his daughter and tell jokes to see their smiles, but something like this, no, it was beneath him.

She knew it was real, she tried to hold herself together for her daughter, but she broke, tears started streaming down her face.

"Mum."

Annabelle spoke softly, while reaching up and tugging at her mother's shirt, Annabelle wasn't the kind of person to cry even if she were injured, it was like that since she was young, but seeing her mother in this state, she couldn't help but stifle her tears.

Annabelle was a smart cookie, she didn't understand why, but she knew something terrible happened.

Charlotte fell to her knees and embraced Annabelle, she sobbed into her shoulder while muttering to herself.

"Darwin, why? Is t… how c… a… argh"

A few minutes went by.

Annabelle was listening closely to her mother and figured out what happened.

Her father left

Annabelle joined her mother in this ephemeral depression, which continued for a little while, before Charlotte steeled her expression, and put on a wavering smile, pulled back and gazed into Annabelle's eyes.

*sniffle*

"Everything will be okay."

Charlotte was unsure what to do, she never dealt with a situation like this before, if this letter is to be trusted then she just lost the love of her life.

*Ping*

Charlotte heard her iPhone, and almost threw it out the window, but managed to stop herself, if she had to buy a new one after this, it would just make her more depressed.

Right now all they wanted to do was to wrap up in a blanket together and sit on the rocking chair on the porch, while watching the driveway, and imagine him walking towards them confused at to why they were crying.

Charlotte barely tilted her head to see what it says, in case it was one of those annoying notifications, she'd definitely break it.

{you have been transferred $62,000,000}

She breathed a slight sigh.

'At least I won't have to worry, about giving a proper life to my daughter.'

Charlotte didn't pay concern to why or who gave her the money, not until she came to her senses and realised.

'Could this be from him?'

She checked who sent this and saw the name.

'Windsor Anderson!?'

"This is…"

Annabelle also noticed the name.

"Mummy, daddy told stories about him, I remember he was some kind of hunter."

Annabelle spoke in an exhausted tone, with a far off look in her eyes.

"Yes that's right, when I first met Darwin, he was a bounty Hunter, this is the name he gave me, or the alias anyway."

You might think that $62,000,000 is too much, for a bounty Hunter, but Darwin was quite talented in his work, he started hunting bounties when he completed university, he worked 3 jobs a month for 4 years straight, he only stopped after meeting her, on average he earned $500,000 with each hunt.

Darwin only worked high risk jobs, for desperate and wealthy clientele, he was famous as a Hunter who has never made a mistake while on duty.

Long story short, he made a lot of money, and eventually caught a glimpse of a happier life, one he wanted to grab ahold of tight.

He finally decided to spend some of the fortune he had been amassing for an entire 4 years, just to win her heart.

Darwin inquired into her situation and found out that she was indebted to a loan shark who had been scamming her and others.

He gave her just enough recourses to take multiple routes, depending on the route she took would give him a glimpse into who she was deep down.

Vengeance would be fine, actually it is owed, he did cause her mother to die of overworking.

But what kind of vengeance, expose him to the public, torture him to death, frame him for mass murder and give him the death penalty.

So many options, Darwin was intrigued.

But that can wait until later, Charlotte must go through the procedures first, it's not like she would simply accept whatever help she is given, not without building a little trust, and what-not.

(Trust building start)

Charlotte was extremely hesitant, she had no idea where the money or this strange butler came from.

One day a butler appeared on her door step, from a single glance she knew he was a highly trained man.

And she was right, his name was Bartel, he was appointed as Darwin's personal butler, and disguised bodyguard, while he was still young and living at Howler manor.

The Howler manor was originally known as the Kingston manor, before it was purchased at above asking, on the condition that it would solely belong to Darwin, meaning they could change it's name.

On the surface this seemed like a superficial issue, once you own something changing it's name is entirely up to your whim, but this wasn't a simple issue.

But that goes to show, just how much influence his family held.

But enough about the past.

The butler tried calming her down, it wasn't easy though considering she was suspicious of every movement Bartel makes.

3 hour's later. (Bartel POV)

'Bloody f***ing hell, this women is a handful, I've heard that opposites attract, I must admit, I can see the appeal, in her eyes, but the young lord really has done it this time, falling for this Hell-Demon.'

*cough* 'Quiet yourself Bartel, it is unbecoming of a butler to speak such ill words, even in my head.'

Bartel berated himself while maintaining the same face he met her with.

Bartel finished explaining enough to give her a vague understanding of her predicament.

She was curious as to whom would go to such lengths for her, but standing around merely thinking would get her nowhere.

This butler read her like an open book, she would assume this young lord could do the same, which would mean if she desires to meet him, Charlotte must to show her true nature, if nothing else this mysterious man was helping here.

(Charlotte POV)

'I have no other choice, plus he made it clear that he just wishes to help me, the butler Bartel also gave me a handgun, just so I would be with peace of mind.

'It's a safe bet to assume that she was feeling displeased that she had to rely on another, for something so personal.'

(Trust building end))

After the whole trust fiasco, she was finally ready, and her choice did not disappoint, Charlotte made use of her limited options and avenged her mother.

Darwin is a very learned individual, and considers himself, somewhat of a wiseman, he is also a firm believer in karma, her choice would affect how Darwin saw her.

There is a huge difference between vengeance, and revenge, and Charlotte chose the option with the least amount of karma.

Charlotte knew she couldn't notify the authorities, for wealthy underhanded men like him, he wouldn't be in a prison cell for a single night, and she was not fond of torture, so with the quick shot of a rifle, he died.

The process was a little harder than told, but not impossible, not for the butler anyway, he paved a path of blood for her to walk down, the men killed were all terrible people, the fat loan shark had slaves littered all over the property, but the guards ignore it, for enough money of course.

She found him and killed him, as already explained.

This was the best ending he could have imagined for her, this clearly showed she wasn't blinded by emotion, she avenged her mother, the karma from giving a quick death to someone like him, would incur no karma.

There is a thin line between vengeance and revenge, thankfully she right, vengeance was hers!

Exactly as expected, just as he liked it.