Chapter 21

As Rose left the duke's mansion, slowly walking down the narrow path leading her back to the village, her mind still reeling from their argument, she suddenly felt herself grabbed roughly from behind. Before she could scream, a hand clamped over her mouth, preventing her from doing so. She twisted around to see two of Henry's friends, the older boys who had been part of the attack on the duke.

Fear surged through her as they dragged her away, her struggles doing little to deter their strong grips. She tried to call out, but their hands were firm, silencing her. The boys moved quickly and purposefully, heading towards the waterfall that cascaded nearby, and a dreadfully frightening scenario plagued her mind.

Her heart pounded in her chest, both from the exertion of fighting them and the terror of what they might do. The sound of the rushing water grew louder as they approached the top of the waterfall. Rose's mind raced with thoughts of escape, but their hold on her was relentless. She knew that alone; she would never be able to overpower them. Perhaps if she managed to catch them off guard and somehow free herself from their grip, but that seemed impossible at that moment.

"Let me go!" she tried to scream, but her voice was muffled by the hand over her mouth. She felt powerless and overpowered, as fear paralyzed every inch of her being.

As they reached the top of the waterfall, the boys stopped, looking around to make sure they were alone. One of them tightened his grip on her arm, while the other finally removed his hand from her mouth, but kept close, ready to silence her again if needed. She didn't even know she was that desperate for a deep breath until she fearfully inhaled, filling her lungs completely.

One of the boys sneered at her. "You shouldn't have stuck your nose in where it doesn't belong, Rose. You think you can protect that monster?"

She glared at them, defiance sparking in her eyes despite her fear. "William is not a monster. You are the ones acting like beasts. Let me go!"

But they didn't release her. Instead, they pushed her closer to the edge, the roar of the waterfall deafening. She looked down into what appeared to be an endless put of aquamarine blue, its foaming hands reaching for her, waiting to drag her down to the bottom. Rose's heart pounded harder, the danger of the situation becoming terrifyingly clear. She knew why they had brought her there.

"You think you're better than us, don't you?" one of the boys spat venomously. "Just because you work for him?"

Rose shook her head, desperation creeping into her voice. "You don't understand. You're making a terrible mistake. This has to stop before someone really gets hurt."

"Why are you defending him?" one of them demanded, his voice tinged with hostility. "Do you know what he's done to this town?"

Rose took a step back, her heart pounding in her chest. She tried to reason with them, to explain that the duke wasn't the monster they believed him to be, but they were not interested in listening.

"He's ruined families, destroyed livelihoods," the other boy accused, stepping closer to her with a menacing glare. "And you're helping him do it. Whose side are you really on, Rose?"

"He is not who you think he is!" she urged, her voice trembling as she endeavored to defend both herself and William.

But before she could finish, one of the boys grabbed her roughly by the hair, yanking her head back with a sharp cry of pain. Rose's heart pounded in her chest as she struggled against his grip, feeling the fear and anger bubbling up inside her.

"Why do you care so much about him?" the boy snarled, his grip tightening as Rose winced in pain. "You're just a servant. You should be on our side."

Tears pricked at the corners of Rose's eyes as she struggled to comprehend the situation. How could they hate the duke so much? And why did they seem to hate her as well?

"She is on our side!" Henry shouted, appearing a moment later from the bushes and jumping in front of his sister, standing between her and the ruffians. He forcefully pushed the boy, who had been grabbing Rose by the hair. His expression was a mixture of shock and anger as he demanded to know what was going on.

"What the hell are you doing with my sister?" Henry's voice was filled with outrage as he glared at the two boys, his protective instincts roaring like a lion's.

The boy who had been restraining Rose turned to face Henry, his expression defiant. "Stay out of this, Henry."

"This was not the deal, Charles," Hery reminded the other boy. "I never agreed to this."

"Shut up!" Charles hissed at him. "You are not going to ruin this for the rest of us. We are getting our money! Do you know how much it is? It will keep our families fed for weeks! Weeks!"

Rose glanced over at her brother, who looked horrified at those words. He neared her, his entire body trembling.

She wanted to wrap her arms around him, just like she did when they were little, and when their parents died. He asked her what happened, and she told him they would never come back. He fell into her arms and sobbed for hours until he fell asleep. She wanted to do the same now, because she felt he needed it. But he dared not move.

"I am so sorry, Rose," she heard him murmur. "I never meant for this to happen… I was only trying to protect you. I knew nothing of this, I swear."

"It's all right, Henry," she replied, taking him by the hand and squeezing it gently. "We are going to get out of this together."

"Oh, I sincerely doubt that."

Rose swallowed heavily. She would be able to recognize that voice anywhere. Mr. Trent appeared like a dark shadow emerging from the woods, like death itself, promising nothing but chaos. Rose wondered what he was doing there. But one glance in his direction assured her that he was not there to help them.

"You two," he addressed the two boys who had kidnapped Rose and brought her there in the first place. "Go home."

"But, boss—"

"Now!" Mr. Trent's voice was the sound of a volcano erupting. There was no arguing with him. There was only molten hot lava, swallowing everything and everyone in its path. The boys knew better than to stand in the way of such power.

Mr. Trent waited until they disappeared from sight. Then he turned to Rose and Henry.

"My, my, my," he said, clicking his tongue to the roof of his mouth. There was a coldness in his eyes that sent a chill through Rose, and she couldn't shake that feeling of sheer unease that settled over her like a dark shroud.

The man, on the other hand, seemed to relish in her shock, a cruel smirk playing at the corners of his lips as he addressed them. His words sent a wave of dread washing over her, and she felt her heart begin to race with fear.

"I have to say that this wasn't how I pictured all of this," he admitted. "You, my boy, weren't supposed to be here, but I suppose I can dispose of you later."

Rose stifled a gasp. Dispose? She couldn't let that happen. Not even if that meant her own demise.

"I have to admit that I like… no, no," he shook his head as he spoke, remaining at a safe distance from the two of them, "that I love how fate arranges things sometimes. You see, I came here without much of a plan. I only had a burning desire to see that man suffer, but I had no idea how to go about that. It seemed that he himself had become very good at making himself suffer. But then, I saw the way you two were looking at each other, and I knew it… I just knew it…"

"Knew what?" she spat at him angrily.

He raised his eyebrows at her. "What, my dear? Why, that you two are utterly, madly and hopelessly in love with each other, of course!" He laughed at his own words, while Henry gave her a shocked gaze. She didn't have time to explain anything to him now.

"That is not true!" she shrieked, in hopes that he would listen to her, but it was all in vain.

"Oh, but it is," Mr. Trent nodded slowly and with much conviction. "I know William better than you think I do. We both stared death in the face, and you get to know a man then, better than you know your own self. I could see that he harbors deep feelings for you. The one thing I could take away from him, to make him suffer. Now, he will know what it is like to truly lose everything…"

That was when Mr. Trent pulled out a knife, and Rose knew they needed to act fast if they were going to have any hope of escaping this nightmare.