Chapter 71 I Am Here to Help You
Celeste forced the ticket and passport into Caroline's cold, trembling hands.
"Take them. This is all I can do for you. In an hour, the servants will change shifts. I'll find a way to distract them—the back path isn't guarded. This is your last chance, Caroline!
"So what will it be? Stay here clinging to a phantom hope while enduring God knows what horrors? Or seize this lifeline—for yourself, and for whatever peace you might find in death? Take the gamble."
She rose slowly to her feet, looking down at Caroline from above.
"Your choice."
Caroline lowered her gaze to the thin ticket in her hand, her heart hammering so hard it hurt.
But Celeste had already turned and left.
She'd given Caroline the choice.
At the sound of the door closing, Caroline's body shook violently, her grip on the ticket tightening.
Leave… or stay?
Celeste emerged from the room to find the medical team waiting anxiously.
"Miss, how is Mrs. Hamilton? May we proceed with the examination?"
Celeste offered a gentle smile. "Don't worry, Caroline's much better now. She was just startled by your sudden arrival. She's willing to cooperate, but she'd like to bathe first. Would you mind waiting a bit longer?"
"Of course." The lead doctor nodded. "Then we'll…"
"Please, go downstairs and rest. Have some tea, some refreshments." Celeste's smile never wavered.
They descended without suspicion.
Inside the room, the air remained suffocatingly heavy.
Time crawled forward. Outside the window, daylight began to fade.
Caroline sat slumped against the door, barely hearing the muffled conversation of the medical team downstairs, occasionally punctuated by Celeste's light laughter—as if she truly were helping to buy time.
Caroline's turmoil deepened.
Images flashed through her mind—years of suffering, the leering faces of her kidnappers, Alexander's gaze filled with hatred and something far more complicated…
Finally, the images settled on Edith's young, beautiful face, slowly draining of color.
Caroline shuddered violently.
No. She couldn't leave.
Edith's dying wish had been for her to take care of Alexander, and their parents.
Even though she'd been cast out of the Neville family. Even though Alexander saw her as his enemy. This was the punishment she deserved.
She had killed Edith. She deserved this.
What right did she have to run?
Even if Alexander tortured her to death, even if he damned her soul to eternal torment—it was what she'd earned.
Caroline collapsed against the floor, covering her face as silent tears fell.
She thought, 'Edith, am I pathetic?'
After what felt like an eternity, she staggered to her feet and walked into the bathroom.
She stared at her reflection and roughly wiped away her tears.
Whatever unknown horrors lay ahead, she would face them.
She took a deep breath, clutching the thin passport and ticket—symbols of a freedom she felt she didn't deserve—and stumbled out of the room.
She would return them to Celeste. This stolen freedom wasn't hers to take.
The hallway stretched empty before her. But the moment Caroline stepped through her doorway, a tall figure emerged silently from the shadows at the corner.
Caroline's heart lurched. She spun around.
"Ma'am, don't be frightened." A male servant hurried forward.
"It's just me."
Caroline recognized his face and relaxed slightly.
She gestured, asking where Celeste was.
"She just went to fetch something." The servant gestured toward the far end of the hall.
"She's in the last room. Mr. Hamilton asked her to deliver some documents to the office."
Caroline signed her thanks and turned toward the direction he'd indicated.
She didn't notice the servant following silently behind her.
Just as Caroline raised her hand to knock on the door the servant had pointed out, he suddenly grabbed her wrist from behind.
Caroline's heart jumped. Before she could react, she was dragged through a narrow door nearby—a storage closet filled with cleaning supplies and miscellaneous items, a place rarely visited.
"Ma'am, there's a hidden panel in the wall here. Push it open and you'll find stairs leading directly to the service yard behind the house. No one uses that route—you can avoid all the security cameras and watchful eyes in the main house." The servant's voice cut through the darkness.
Caroline gestured frantically.She didn't want to leave!
In the darkness, a sharp blade pressed against the small of Caroline's back.
"Ma'am, don't be afraid. I'll escort you the whole way. Now, let me take you through."
Caroline froze, ice flooding her veins, her heart trembling.
She shook her head desperately! She wouldn't go—she hadn't atoned for her sins yet!
But the servant gave her no chance to resist. He seized her hand.
"Move!"
He wrenched open the hidden panel and shoved Caroline inside.
She lost her balance and tumbled down the steep staircase.
After a violent, disorienting fall, Caroline slammed into the cold, hard concrete floor.
Her temple struck something sharp. Searing pain exploded through her skull. Warm liquid trickled down from her brow, blurring her vision. Her mouth filled with the heavy taste of iron.
It felt as though her bones were shattered. Her ankle had twisted badly—even the slightest movement sent agony shooting through her leg.
But the immediate danger left no time to recover from the pain.
She struggled to push herself up, but her vision kept going black.
Heavy footsteps echoed down the staircase.
The servant descended slowly, backlit as he looked down at Caroline.
"Ma'am, I'd advise you not to waste your energy." His voice was cold. "Leave quietly, and spare yourself more suffering."
He advanced step by step, the small knife glinting in his hand.
Alarm bells rang in Caroline's mind. Fear overrode pain as her hands scrambled across the cold, damp floor.
Suddenly, her fingers closed around a loose piece of concrete. She gripped it tightly.