Chapter 101 Today Is Your Death Day
Early in the morning, ten carriages from The Hamilton Mansion, loaded with piles of belongings, set off in a grand procession toward Cool Breeze Manor.
Before leaving, Rose, accompanied by her maids, personally saw Patrick and the others to the door.
When Patrick saw Rose, he said perfunctorily, "Take care of your mother, don't let her go crazy."
Rose nodded, "Don't worry, Father."
Her gaze shifted to Cressida beside him, seeing that Cressida had already taken Emma's hand and boarded the carriage.
Only after all the carriages had departed did Rose breathe a sigh of relief.
The entire manor instantly became much quieter—they had even taken Michael with them.
Tonight would be a good opportunity for her to go to Yosef's palace.
But...
On her way back to her room, Rose felt something was off.
Was that note really sent by someone from Yosef?
Although this method had been used before to summon her to Yosef's palace.
But usually, the maid who delivered the message would confirm it reached her hands and get her response before leaving.
This time, the person Yosef sent just dropped off the note and left in a hurry?
The more Rose thought about it, the stranger it seemed.
Rose became alert. Though she worried it might be a trap, Cressida and the others had left in such a grand procession—they wouldn't suddenly return.
Otherwise, with so many people coming back, Rose would surely know.
With this in mind, Rose decided to go to Yosef's palace tonight to ask. If Yosef had summoned her, he naturally had something to order. If he hadn't, she wouldn't have to worry. Serving Yosef required such caution—otherwise, who knew when she might displease him and lose her life.
Night fell quickly.
The night watchman's call from a distant street announced it was nearly eleven o'clock.
Rose put on a light cloak, pulled up her hood, and left through the back door of The Hamilton Mansion.
She took a carriage to the back door of Yosef's palace and knocked using the agreed-upon pattern.
On this summer night, the heat was stifling.
Wrapped up tightly, a fine layer of sweat had already formed on her forehead.
While waiting, Rose looked around at the surrounding alleys, afraid of being seen.
Finally, someone opened the door. The butler poked his head out.
"Ms. Hamilton?" He looked puzzled. "Why are you here?"
Hearing this, Rose paused. "Did His Highness Yosef summon me?"
The butler shook his head. "No, when did you receive word?"
Rose's heart sank.
She quickly said, "No, it was my own guess, because His Highness Yosef hasn't summoned me for several days."
The butler looked at her strangely. "If His Highness Yosef has orders, he'll naturally call for you. If there's nothing, Ms. Hamilton, don't keep coming here—it'll be trouble if someone sees you."
"You're right." Rose forced a smile and turned to leave.
The back door of Yosef's palace slammed shut behind her.
At that moment, her face had turned pale, her whole body cold.
Climbing into the carriage, her voice was urgent: "Quick! Back to The Hamilton Mansion!"
She had definitely been set up!
Just now, in front of the butler at Yosef's palace, she didn't dare admit she had come because of a fake message.
That would only make Yosef think her foolish and stop using her.
But Rose knew—she had been set up!
The carriage had barely stopped at the back door of The Hamilton Mansion when she hurriedly pushed open the door to go back.
Unexpectedly, when the door opened, she saw blinding torches illuminating her pale face.
Rose's breath caught in fear.
Before her, Patrick stood with a crowd of servants, blocking the back door.
And Cressida stood right behind Patrick.
Their eyes held the same icy coldness.
"F-Father..." Rose couldn't control her trembling, her body going cold.
"Where did you go so late?" Patrick asked darkly.
Rose's mouth moved weakly: "I, I had a headache and felt unwell, so I went to find a medicine shop."
Just then, the sound of a horse being reined in rang out behind her.
Rose turned to see one of The Hamilton Mansion's guards dismounting.
Patrick asked, "You just followed her the whole way. Where did you see her go? Was it a medicine shop?"
The guard bowed. "Reporting to Mr. Patrick Hamilton, Ms. Rose Hamilton went to Yosef's palace."
Rose couldn't control herself—her knees hit the ground with a thud.
"Father!" Before she could explain, tears were already streaming down her face. "I didn't mean to deceive you, I...!"
Patrick's heavy slap landed on her face.
Rose was knocked to the ground, her ears ringing. Only one ear could still hear Patrick's roaring bellow.
"Take this scum to the main hall! Bring the family punishment rod!"
"Father! I was wrong, I was really wrong!" Rose screamed in terror.
Two women came forward, dragged Rose all the way to the courtyard of the main hall.
She was thrown to the ground. Before she could get up, Patrick struck her spine hard with the punishment rod.
Rose screamed and fell to the ground, curled up and convulsing in pain.
Patrick's tone was extremely stern as he pointed at her: "I heard that a few days ago, His Highness Yosef sent someone to inquire about the whereabouts of that midwife's son from years ago. Why would he suddenly be interested in this? Did you tell him?"
Rose shook her head through tears: "I didn't, Father, I really didn't!"
"Liar! You meet with His Highness Yosef at night—what good could come of it? I never imagined, Rose, that you went from being an orphan to Ms. Hamilton of The Hamilton Mansion, and still weren't satisfied."
"Are you trying to trade the lives of our entire Hamilton Mansion for your own wealth and future?"
The angrier Patrick got, the harder he struck.
Rose coughed up blood.
"Father, I really didn't, I know I was wrong, please forgive me." She crawled over and clutched at Patrick's pant leg, begging.
But Patrick remained unmoved.
The Hamilton family's wealth and status had been so hard to come by. How many days had he enjoyed the good life? How long had he been among the elite?
How could he tolerate keeping such a threat as Rose in the house!
Moreover, she knew the family's secrets. Thinking of this, Patrick felt especially regretful.
He really shouldn't have agreed to let Clio tell Rose about the mystery of Cressida's background.
Fortunately, there was still room to fix this. If he killed Rose, no one would know.
A deep murderous intent rose in Patrick's eyes as he said roughly:
"If it weren't for Echo being unable to bear the cold at Cool Breeze Manor and us rushing back in the middle of the night, did you think tonight's actions could be kept secret?"
"You ungrateful wretch, I'll beat you to death today!"
Being a martial artist, in his rage, the rod fell without pattern.
Sometimes hitting Rose's back, sometimes her legs.
Rose's screams were piercing, blood foam flowing from the corners of her mouth.
She begged until her voice was hoarse, but Patrick didn't stop.
Just then, Rose looked up and saw Cressida standing behind Patrick.
The torchlight flickered eerily, casting dancing shadows all around.
Cressida stood in that swaying light and shadow, her expression calm, her eyes deeply cold, as if she had calculated everything from the start.
Rose's fingertips trembled, her throat tightened, her whole body felt like it had fallen into an ice cellar.
Rose finally realized—it was Cressida who had set her up!
She had deliberately sent that note because Cressida had long known about her collusion with Yosef.
How hateful! If only Mabel hadn't suddenly arrived, Rose was certain she would have looked more carefully and noticed something wrong.
But Cressida had planned carefully, anticipating Rose's guilty conscience would make her burn the note when someone came, dragging her into this trap!
She was going to be beaten to death by Patrick!
Rose felt such hatred—hatred that she hadn't been more careful.
That note had long turned to ash, but now it felt like a red-hot brand burning in her heart, making even breathing difficult.
She stared hard at Cressida, whose handsome, clear face was half-lit, half-shadowed by the firelight, her lips even carrying a trace of an extremely faint, almost mocking smile.
She seemed to be saying: "Rose, today is the day you die."