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"This is not the time, Ethan," I said as I walked away from him. I didn't want to respond to that question. Freedom had always been a desire of mine since I was brought into his home. However, my uncle's life was much more important to me, and I had grown to enjoy my life in the times I spent with Ethan. Nevertheless, if anything happened to my uncle, I would never be able to forgive myself.
"Just tell me. I need to know," he begged me, but I was furious with him.
I tried not to be, but it was impossible not to.He had the ability to save him,but he chose not to.
"If you let me see him," I said, leveraging my only position.
"No," Ethan said emphatically, leaving no room for debate.
"You must allow me to see him. Who knows when you'll have him killed?"
"You can't handle his current state. He was seriously injured. I've summoned the family doctor. You should see him after he's been bandaged up," Ethan provided advice.
"I need to see him right now," I demanded, but I couldn't reach Ethan. "Please," I begged. There was no longer any anger in me, only a desire to see himagain and confirm that he was still alive.
I couldn't believe Ethan's words until I saw Uncle Fred. He could have downplayed the situation in order to put my mind at ease. I would have appreciated his gesture if it hadn't been the life of my remaining family on the line.
"Please, I canhandle it. I'm not scared of blood," I said. I needed him to know that I could handle whatever was thrown at me.
"Okay," he said, resigning and holding the door open for me, and I felt relieved.
Unsure of what condition I'd find himin, I puffed my chest out in a show of bravery and walked out of the room, past Ethan.
As we moved down the corridor toward the stairs, there was less noise. The crowd had dispersed completely, leaving only an excessive number of guards on standby.
The war between the families had begun, and while I had not been shot a second time, it seemed only a matter of time before I was.
As we walked ahead, none of them dared to look our way.However, as we passed by the dining room, I noticed his uncle Luke, and cousin Dylan, who had come to our aid a few nights before.
My gaze locked on Luke's, but I couldn't read anything from his expression. I was afraid he was there because of my uncle, but he didn't reveal his true intentions to me. It made me more concerned about the condition in which I would find him.
Ethan came to a halt in front of me and opened a door. He stepped aside and motioned for me to proceed down the basement stairs.
"Heis down there," he explained.
I dared to walk past him. The steps were longer than I had anticipated, and silence echoed in my chest as I struggled to keep my trembling hands steady. When I turned around, Ethan was behind me with the same worried expression on his face.
I'm not going to like what I find.
"Where is he?" I asked when I came to the place where Anna had been kept in.
"Further down," Ethan replied.
The section of the basement we arrived at had many cages embedded in the walls, similar to Anna's cell. For the guards who were not present, there was a table and a bench in the center where I stood.
A grunt from one of the cells led me to my uncle's cell. I rushed into the cell and unlocked the door from the outside. I knew Ethan wasn't going to stop me now that he'd gotten me this far.
Uncle Fred sobbed quietly in my arms as I clutched him. He just rested against me, his body straining to rise and fall.
"Vanessa," he said weakly before coughing. When I saw what had happened to him, I grabbed him and pushed him up against the wall.
"You lied to me." I burst into tears as I stared at my uncle. Tristan's fists had turned his face red and swollen. His hands were tightly wrapped around his stomach as he tried to stop the bleeding. He had been stabbed.
"What?" Ethan exclaimed as he approached me. "He hadn't been stabbed before arriving at the mansion. Who would have dared to do such a thing?"
Ethan jogged up the stairs, calling out names. In a matter of seconds, hehad six men interrogating them in the basement.
I crumbled to my knees by the little bed, sobbing next to my uncle.
