To His Hell and Back-Chapter 521: A Chance Encounter-II

Ann pressed her back harder against the wooden box, her fingers curling into the rough grain as she listened to the faint, deliberate sound of metal scraping against stone. The noise was slow, almost thoughtful, as if Riley were savoring each step she took closer. The sound alone made Ann’s throat tighten.

She knew why Riley was searching for her. That much was clear.

Yet what Ann couldn’t understand, what unsettled her far more than the threat itself, was the desperation behind it. Riley wasn’t merely looking for answers. She was frantic, cornered, as though time itself were gnawing at her heels.

Isaac’s warning echoed in Ann’s mind, haunting her like a ghost: Trust no one.

She had listened. From that moment on, Ann had changed everything about the way she moved through the castle. She kept her smiles polite but distant, her words carefully chosen. She never lingered too long in conversation, never allowed herself to seem too curious or too informed. Everyone was kept at arm’s length, because anyone, anyone, could be a trap waiting to spring.

The secret she carried wasn’t hers to gamble with. It belonged to her brother. And that alone was reason enough to protect it at all costs.

Earlier that evening, everything had seemed ordinary.

Ann had been seated at the small vanity in her bedroom, methodically brushing her hair as candlelight flickered against the stone walls. Savannah, her roommate, had already left, slipping out with a delightful smile and a whispered excuse about a "late errand," which Ann knew well enough meant a secret rendezvous with her lover.

Ann hadn’t thought much of it.

She was alone, yes, but never truly isolated. The castle was full of maids, their quarters clustered close together. Voices echoed through corridors, footsteps passed by at all hours. If anything were to go wrong, help would never be far.

That was what Ann had believed.

Then came the knock at the door.

At first, she hadn’t been alarmed. A visitor at that hour wasn’t unheard of, especially among servants who shared gossip and quiet worries after the day’s work. When she opened the door and saw Riley standing there, her concern had only deepened.

Riley was soaked to the bone. Water dripped from her hair and sleeves, pooling at her feet. Her skin was pale, unnaturally so, and her lips carried a faint bluish tinge, as if she’d been standing in the cold far too long.

"Riley?" Ann had asked, startled. "What happened? I didn’t know it was already raining."

Without waiting for an answer, Ann ushered her inside, guiding her to the wooden chair near the bed. She moved quickly, instinctively, opening the wardrobe, pulling out fresh clothes, snatching a towel and pressing it into Riley’s hands.

She looked like she needed help and perhaps an ear to listen to her worries and Ann being the kind child had spared time for it as if it was natural.

"You will catch a fever like this," Ann murmured, already turning toward the window. She reached up, undid the latch, and leaned her head outside to glance at the sky.

That was when confusion crept in.

There were no clouds overhead, no raindrops falling to her fingers. Not even the lingering scent of dampness in the air.

"Hm?" Ann frowned. "There isn’t any rain here, even though you were drenched—"

She turned back, lowering the window.

And froze.

In the dark reflection of the glass, Riley’s face appeared behind her, far closer than it should have been. Ann barely had time to register the wrongness of it before she saw the knife in Riley’s hand, raised high and already descending.

The terror hit like a physical blow, almost knocking her soul out of her body.

The blade flashed downward, aimed straight for her skull.

Ann didn’t think. She didn’t scream. Something deep and instinctive surged within her, desperate to avoid the looming death. Power she barely understood answered her fear, and in that split second, her body moved faster than it ever had before.

She twisted sharply and shoved Riley with all her strength.

The impact sent Riley crashing onto the bed, her back hitting the wooden bed that seemed to momentarily made Riley to wince in pain. The knife didn’t fall from her grasp, it remained clenched tightly in her hand, but the attack was broken, disrupted just enough to spare Ann’s life.

Ann staggered back, heart pounding violently against her ribs.

"W– what are you doing?!" she demanded, her voice shaking despite herself.

Riley didn’t answer.

Her eyes were unfocused, distant, as though she were no longer entirely present in her own body. She rose slowly from the bed, knife still in hand, her expression eerily calm.

"Everyone is struggling to survive in this place. You know that Ann..."

Riley blankly stared at Ann as the mirror behind her reflect the horrified face on Ann’s features.

"If you were in my position, you would have done the same wouldn’t you, Ann?"

"I wouldn’t try to kill someone even if my life is on the line," Ann said carefully as she inched toward the door.

"You can say that because you aren’t in my position yet."

"Maybe," Ann acknowledge, "But I wouldn’t know why you would be in that position, Riley. Even going as far as trying to kill me.. what have I done to you?"

"Not you but your brother."

Ann frowned, "What do you want from my brother?"

"His secrets," answered Riley, dangerously pointing toward her with the edge of the knife, "And I’m sure he must have said something to you. Since children you and Isaac had always shared secrets and knew how to keep a secret so well that no one else would know. But he never failed to tell you what he is doing and what he plans."

"You know that Isaac and I hadn’t even seen each other for so long. He’s busy with the lady and I... I don’t know anything."

"No. I saw how you two talked before. I know he must have had told you something!" Riley walked dangerously closer this time, "I don’t want to hurt you either, Ann. But I’m forced to do this! Lady Esme is really angry at me now. She’s someone who never allow a mistake and I had done the worse possible mistake by giving her a false information... now I can’t find my father at all... I know... she must have took him."

Ann frowned, "I don’t know what mistake you have done Ann but I can promise you this... no matter what you do to me, I can’t say anything that would help you. Isaac really didn’t tell me anything! I don’t know what he’s doing... I can’t possibly know."

"Lies! Lies! I tried... I have already tried asking you alright? It’s not my fault anymore Ann... I wouldn’t have cared if I’m the only person who is going to die from this mistake but my father is blind. I can’t let him suffer more."

And before Ann could say anything, Riley had reached out her hand, rushing toward her with the knife held on her chest.

Struck with fear, Ann immediately opened the door of her room and bolted. "HELP! HELP ME!" She made sure everyone could help her by screaming for help, screaming for anyone to hear. But oddly, no one seemed to open their door. As if no one had heard her.

In fear, Ann tried to knock on of the door when she saw she was quite far from Riley but the person inside the room didn’t answer.

When Ann tried to budge the door open only then could she feel someone behind the door trying to force it close.

No. It wasn’t that they hadn’t heard her. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

They just didn’t want to be involved.

This cold realization made Ann to understand that there was no one in the place she could trust and in desperation she began to ran again as from the corner of her eyes she could already seen Riley coming after her yet again.

Somehow, Ann found herself hiding near the waterway to the sewer. It’s a place that her brother often said to have many escape pathways but before she could try to run into the waterway, she could hear the sound of the door bursting open as a knife had lunged to the door, forcefully opening the wooden door one way or another.

This sent chills down Ann’s spine as she slammed her body, hiding it under the boxes while covering her mouth with her trembling hands.

What should she do now...? What can she do?

Riley secured the door by closing it behind her, making sure to also press the button on the round door knob which locked the door for good.

Then she dragged her blade to the wall, singing with delight, "If you had just spoke... this wouldn’t have dragged on to this, Ann... you understand that I’m desperate. So come here." As she said that, Riley bent down to one of the box, grinning as she looked to it, "Or else it would be far more painful to you, you know."