Continue from chapter 47.
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"Stay away from my daughter Vincent". Annette warned calmly as she held the knife in a tight grip. Her eyes were still closed and her daughter was gripping her dress tightly.
This was not how they expected the night to turn out. One minute, she was laughing heartily with her daughter and the next minute, they were attacked by this crazy bastard called Vincent.
"I won't leave till I have the child, so give up". Vincent smiled, the previous fear on his face gone and now replaced by his evil grin. He crouched back down in front of them and stretched his hand to the girl behind Annette.
Once again, Annette tried to harm him with the knife by Vincent stopped her. "Your precious daughter is watching. I don't think you should do that". Vincent sang playfully and Annette turned back to look at her daughter. Indeed, the girl was looking at her hand that held the bloodied knife as she looked so terrified that her eyes were bulging out of their sockets.
Annette trembled when she saw her daughter like that. She threw the knife away to the corner which made a deafening noise in the quiet room. She wiped her hands on her dress immediately and hugged her daughter without a care in the world.
"Just leave Vincent. I beg you". Annette whispered in between shaky breaths only to hear Vincent's evil laughter.
"You beg me? You beg?" Vincent was still laughing. "He wouldn't be very happy if he heard you beg you know. I wish he was here to hear you so I can see him get angry". He taunted. "Unfortunately, I can't wait for him. He would ruin everything if he gets here, so I must hurry!" Vincent said with a hint of playfulness and seriousness.
At the mention of 'he', Annette's heart started pounding loudly. She didn't want him to come, but he was their only hope now. She needed him. "He will come, Vincent!" She stated firmly. "Just wait and see. He will come and when he comes…"
"He will take my head with him". Vincent completed and smiled afterwards. "I have heard that many times but where is he now? He won't be coming".
Annette's eyes trembled as reality hit her hard. Vincent was right. He won't be coming. She made him swear not to.
"Give me the girl!" Vincent growled which only made Annette hold her daughter tightly. That was the only thing she could do right now. Fighting in front of her daughter was not what she wanted.
But did she have a choice?
Annette looked down at her daughter and then at Vincent. She would have to fight else her daughter would be taken away from her.
With determination in her eyes, she stretched out one of her legs and with a swift movement, Vincent was sent flying to the other side of the room.
He was surprised; his face said it all, but then he smiled. He knew that she would not go too far with her daughter by her side.
He just had to wait.
When she saw the opening she had created for them, Annette moved immediately with her daughter. They ran until they were in front of a closed door where Annette stopped with her daughter.
She looked at her daughter with sorrowful eyes. Her little girl was trembling all over and her small fingers were twisted; something that happens whenever she was nervous. Annette felt a huge block in her heart. She didn't want her daughter to be like this.
"Hannah, listen to mommy okay? Go into this room and don't come out till mommy comes to get you. Don't make a sound okay?" Annette instructed and the girl nodded hesitantly. She didn't want to be without her mommy.
She was so scared…
Seeing her daughter like this, Annette felt a lump in her throat as tears threatened to fall from her eyes but she held it in. Pulling her daughter in a tight hug, she opened the door and pushed the girl inside the room. "Wait for me okay?"
The girl nodded.
Annette smiled and closed the door before her. Her eyes were now cold, not the warm and assuring eyes of the mother she was. She had to settle all this quickly so she could come back to her daughter.
She walked to the living room where she left Vincent but he wasn't there. No matter where she looked, she couldn't find him. It was like the man had disappeared into thin air.
As much as she wanted to be relieved, Annette wasn't. Instead, she was more than worried now. Vincent's disappearance only made her anxious. He would not leave without a fight.
That was how well she knew him.
Suddenly, the door burst open and a man walked in with a young boy behind him. Annette's eyes widened in surprise as she stared at the two of them. Her eyes darted between the boy and the man who was no doubt, his father. The striking resemblance between them was enough proof of that.
Masking her surprise, Annette went down on her knees in front of them and bowed deeply. "Leader". She greeted in a low and audible voice before standing up.
"You are coming with me after this". The man said in a tone that left no room for negotiations and Annette nodded.
As soon as she stood up, the boy ran into her and wrapped his hands around her. "Are you okay?" The boy asked as he raised his head to look at her.
Annette fondly ruffled the boy's hair and flashed an assuring smile. "Of course Ray, I am alright". She assured him but the boy didn't seem to be convinced.
"Hannah…"
"She is safe. Don't worry". Annette replied and the boy finally relaxed. She tore her eyes away from the boy and looked at the man in front of them before asking, "Why did you bring him along?"
Immediately he heard that the boy tightened his arms around her, "Don't send me back! I wanted to come!" The boy explained and he looked at Annette with pleading eyes.
Annette smiled again, "You should not worry Raymond, I won't send you back". Raymond nodded and buried himself in Annette's embrace.
Raymond's father on the other side, just watched them calmly without saying a word. He wanted to ask questions but he didn't want to spoil the moment for them.
Suddenly, a shuffle was heard behind them and three heads turned at the same time to see Vincent standing behind them with a smile on his face. He was watching them quietly without speaking but suddenly, he laughed. The sound of Vincent's laughter echoed in the dark living room for a while before it stopped abruptly.
"What do you want?" This time, the other man spoke, his voice nothing but serious. He looked at Vincent calmly as he spoke, and his demeanour was as calm as his voice.
"I just want the girl, Levi. I will leave only when I have the girl". When Vincent spoke, Annette was enraged and so was Raymond. The boy ran forward without thinking and drew out his knife to stab Vincent but before he could do a thing, he was sent flying to the wall by a blow thrown by Vincent.
Raymond hit the wall and fell to the ground. A painful cry escaped his lips as blood flowed from his mouth.
Seeing that, Annette ran to his side and began to pet him. She made him lie down and placed his head on her lap as she sobbed silently.
Raymond opened his eyes and forced a tight smile out to assure her that he was okay. He raised his hand and placed it over hers that was petting his hair. "Don't worry, I am okay".
Though she knew he was lying, Annette nodded and managed a small smile before standing up. She was worried for Raymond but was more concerned about her daughter, Hannah. The longer Vincent stayed here, the more danger he brought to her and her daughter.
Levi, who had been staring at Vincent the entire time, finally looked at his son who was lying down on the cold tiles with blood spilling out of his mouth. Though the sight created a lump in his throat, he remained calm on the outside. He walked to Raymond and squatted next to him.
Raymond looked at his father and swallowed. He did not want to look weak in front of his father, so he struggled to stand but the pain in his chest was worse than he thought. He was breathing heavily and more blood spewed from his mouth.
Levi placed a hand on Raymond's chest and his eyes met with Raymond's. "Why did you run to him?" Levi asked, his eyes and expression still calm and Raymond lowered his eyes.
He knew he was wrong, he should not have attacked first but he was so angry when Vincent talked about taking Hannah away that he acted without thinking.
"I am sorry Father". Raymond said through clenched teeth.
"Stay here. Don't try to stand up". Levi ordered and patted Raymond's chest gently.
"I want to keep watching but I think there are more important things to focus on". Vincent snickered as he bent down to pick up Raymond's knife which had fallen when he tried to stab him. "Tell me where the child is Annette".
"Give up Vincent. I won't let you take her away". Levi said and he was now standing in front of Vincent.
That very minute, a fight broke out. Both Levi and Vincent were in an intense fight and soon, Annette got involved.
Since it was a fight with two against one, not to mention, they were skilled fighters, Vincent was starting to get weaker. He had many cuts on his body and his vision was getting blurry. Things were starting to look good for Levi and Annette not until they heard small footsteps and a tiny voice calling out to her mommy.
For a moment, everything froze. The four people in the room turned their heads in the direction of the voice just to make sure they weren't hearing things.
However, the next minute, the voice came again and Annette's hands dropped to her sides when she saw her daughter just standing there.
When Hannah saw her mother, her eyes lit up. She had waited for her mommy to come back like she said but when she did not see her mommy after a long time, she came out. She was afraid that that bad man would bully her mommy and make her cry.
"Mommy…" Hannah was about to run to her mother when someone held her wrist and knelt before her.
Levi had a small smile on his face as he looked at the girl he was holding. She looked just like her mother, and the longer he stared at her, the less guilt he felt. He was even starting to regret the decision he made back then. He should have stopped Annette when she was leaving the guild. Maybe then, this child would not have been in danger like this. He would have watched her grow and ensured her safety so Vincent would not be able to come anywhere near her.
"Hannah…"
While Levi was staring at Hannah's adorable face, Vincent, who had now found an opening, smiled to himself as he picked up a double-edged knife. No one noticed.
Raymond was looking at Hannah, Annette was doing the same, and even Levi was still looking at the child.
Seeing them fully distracted, Vincent threw the knife at Levi. If Levi died, Annette would be devastated and guilt-ridden, Raymond would be weak and the Night Knights would be left without a leader. Then he would be able to take Hannah away without trouble.
Annette turned around just in time to see the knife flying towards Levi. Without thinking, she placed herself in front of Levi and the knife plunged into her chest and straight into her heart before letting her fall lifeless on the ground.
When he heard the loud thud behind him, Levi instinctively pulled Hannah into his embrace before turning around only to see Annette's lifeless body on the floor. Her eyes were still open and blood pumped out of her chest continuously.
His pupils dilated and his arms suddenly felt weak. He released Hannah from his embrace and turned fully to face Annette's body. "Anne…" he called softly but all he got was silence.
Raymond, ignoring his pain, stood up and with all his strength, he walked to Annette's body. He fell to the ground when he saw her lifeless eyes and the life that spilled out of her in scarlet streams.
Hannah had to crane her neck to see what was happening because Levi's large frame was in her way.
"Take her away". Levi ordered before Hannah could see anything and Raymond moved fast. He grabbed Hannah's hand and pulled her behind him as he ran slowly.
When she was being dragged behind Raymond, Hannah turned her head and in that second, she saw her mother lying lifeless on the floor with blood around her. Though she was little, Hannah knew that it was her mother's blood. She had seen her mother kill animals numerous times and they would lay on the floor without moving, covered in their own blood.
That was exactly how her mother looked right now.
Was her mother dead?
Did that bully kill her mother?
Hannah tore her eyes from her mother's body and looked at the man, Vincent, who now wore a victorious grin.
Hannah stopped walking and raised her hand to touch Raymond's hand holding hers.
When he felt the coldness of her fingertips, Raymond turned and saw that Hannah was pointing a finger at Annette's body. He quickly went around her and used his body to prevent Hannah from seeing that bloody sight.
"Don't be scared Hannah, I am here with you alright?" Raymond assured as he began to rub her palms. He was starting to get worried as Hannah hadn't said a word, her fingers were cold and she was getting paler by the second. "Hannah…"
"Ray… tell me, did mommy die?" Hannah asked quietly, her eyes still on that spot even though it was being blocked by Raymond.
"No, Hannah. She is just badly injured and she will be fine as long as she rests well". Raymond said, "You have gotten injured many times before and I have always told you to rest well. It's the same with your mommy. She will be fine soon."
Raymond tried to sound as convincing as possible. He just could not bring himself to tell a six year old child that her mother had just been killed.
"She must be in so much pain then". Hannah mused. "Go to her Ray, you always stay next to me when I am injured. You should stay with her, that way, she would not be in so much pain". Hannah said innocently and Raymond felt a painful sting in his heart.
Hannah remembered that he would always stay with her whenever she was injured. If she cried out in pain, he would feed her sweets and she would go quiet immediately. But right now, he could not do that for Annette. If she was truly injured, he would stay by her side till she recovers even though it takes a thousand years.
"Someone is already there with her, she will get better soon". Raymond said and forced a smile. Hannah looked behind Raymond and saw that there was indeed a man seated next to her mother, but she did not know who that man was. All that she knew was that he was not Raymond and he would not be able to feed her mother sweets if she cries out in pain or pet her hair when she falls asleep. That man was not Raymond and he would not be able to make her mother recover in time. Just looking at the blood around her mother, Hannah wanted to push that man away and put Raymond in his place!
That man could not make her mother better.
Only Raymond could do that!
"No, Ray. My mommy needs you right now. You must go to her, don't worry about me!"
A tear slid down Raymond's cheek when Hannah spoke and he had to bite his tongue to suppress his sobs. He didn't stop biting till the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth.
"I will go to her, right after I hide you in a safe place, okay? Do you still remember your favourite hiding spot whenever we played hide and seek? I will hide you there and you don't come out until I come to get you". Raymond instructed seriously but he was met with Hannah's worried face.
Her mommy also said that she would come back to get her but now she was injured and lying in a pool of blood. Raymond could also get injured especially since that bully was still there.
"We should hide together. No one would find us there!" Hannah said in a low voice like she was trying to prevent anyone from hearing their conversation.
"I can't hide with you. If I know your hiding spot, I will find you the next time we play hide and seek. You don't want that, right?" Hannah shook her head. "Good, now go there and wait for me". Raymond said and gently pushed Hannah to start walking.
But the next second, Hannah launched forward and hugged his waist. "You must come find me Ray! Don't make me wait too long!". Hannah said and tears streamed down from Raymond's eyes. He gently brushed her hair with his fingers and bent down to her eye level.
"I will find you. I won't make you wait". Raymond said and he hugged Hannah again before pushing her. "Now go!"