**Disclaimer: Some violence/gore and emotionally disturbing/triggering content in this chapter.**

Day after day passed for those watching over Esmeralda's estate.

Nobody else stayed as vigilant as Austin. Many began dozing off or chatting in hushed tones. Austin was lying in wait for an infiltration but the days passed by uneventfully. Only sounds of crashes and things dropping in the estate rang out occasionally.

Was there someone so clumsy in this household all this time?

A bad premonition slowly grew in his heart.

It had just been another mundane day of observation when Austin saw something that made his heart skip a beat. Although he could only see the back view of the person falling out of the window, he found himself dashing to the window before his mind even registered the identity of the person. He stood below the window, ready to catch her in case she failed to pull herself back in. The sight of him shocked the servants in the room below the room that the trio was in, delaying their response in running to the source of the loud bang.

He heaved a sigh of relief when he saw her body go back into the room, however he frowned and quickly signaled for the rest of his men to secure the surroundings before running into the house. There was definitely something wrong.

When he broke into the house and ran up to the room that the trio was in, he found Esmeralda's parents reaching the door a second before he did. They began pounding on the door while Eva's parents stared at him in shock.

"Who're you?" Eva's father asked warily, drawing the attention of Esmeralda's parents.

Before anyone else could say anything else or make a move, they suddenly heard Briana shouting from the room. "Eva! What are you doing?! You shouldn't be doing this! When did you get so out of hand?!"

Everyone looked at the door in unison and Austin saw smoke drifting out from the gaps of the door. His mind blanked out and his body moved with only the aim of ensuring Eva's safety.

While he repeatedly and ferociously rammed into the door, Eva's parents looked at each other meaningfully.

"I'll go get help!" Eva's mother said to Esmeralda's mother before running off.

When the door finally fell through the doorway, Austin dove into the room through the fire as soon as the smoke cleared and he could see a path to his target. Soon after him, Esmeralda's parents rashly followed him through fire as well to get to Esmeralda. Only Briana's father stayed outside, calling for Briana.

Austin immediately carried the frozen stiff Eva in his arms and whisked her away and out of the room easily. He hastily scanned and checked her body while spinning her a complete round on her feet. When he was sure that she was not injured besides some light bruises, he heaved a sigh of relief.

It's- It's... Him...

So it's really Austin?! BaoBao started cheering and jumping for joy.

On the contrary, Eva felt anything but happy. Where's-

Your mother ran all the way home! No way, she just killed people! She's not even going to bother being secretive anymore?

Upon hearing her mother's location, she immediately took off, leaving a dumbfounded Austin behind.

Suddenly, crackling sounds that drew Austin's attention were heard from the room. Just as he turned his body towards the room, a heavy weight was thrown onto him, knocking him back. Almost immediately after he was hit with the mysterious baggage, a loud crash resounded through the room. The ceiling caved in.

"Father!!! Mother!!!" Esmeralda threw off the blazer that had been covering her head and arms and struggled to get off Austin to rush back into the room.

Austin instantly understood what had happened while his attention was elsewhere so he gritted his teeth and held Esmeralda back by her arm. "Your parents threw out of there for a reason. Why're you going back in?"

"They're still there! I have to get them out!"

He saw his young self in her. "They're gone! They're buried in burning rubble!"

The smoke was filling the entire floor, the fire was spreading, and more cracking and creaking sounds were heard. "We have to go." He heaved Esmeralda over his shoulder to take her out of the building against her will. Briana and her father followed behind Austin.

Esmeralda kicked and fought hard against being brought away. She did not feel like she deserved to live. If she had not been coughing so badly that she could not move, if she had not looked so scared, her father would not have wasted time thinking of a way to ease her fear, her father would not have wasted time taking off his blazer to cover her with it, her father would not have been slowed down by needing to carry her. They would have been able to run out together. Everyone would have been able to make it out safely like Briana did. It was all her fault.

When Austin burst out of the house, he saw his men on standby with buckets of water. He nodded to them to begin extinguishing the fire. With a depressed and motionless Esmeralda still on his shoulder, he scanned the entire area, unable to find Eva. Where's she?

He passed Esmeralda to one of his men. "Look after her and make sure that nothing happens to her."

He ran off with the intention to search for Eva.

After running a short distance away, he heard a ruckus coming from where he just left. When he turned back, he was greeted with a sight that made him see red. He would recognise that black garments from anywhere.

 

When Eva ran out of the house and after her mother, she encountered the men that surrounded the house. They were supposed to prevent anyone from leaving the premises. She already expected to run into them since BaoBao informed her of how her mother disposed of the ones who were escorting her back to her house.

Eva frantically gestured in the direction that her mother ran to and tried to talk as if she forgot that she was a mute in her panic. 

The person who held her back instantly lowered his guard, thinking that she was of no threat whatsoever. Not only was she mute, all her strength she put into resisting him was so negligible that he could easily hold her back without breaking a sweat. As such, he decided let her pass without a second thought. 

Now that all the attention was off of her, BaoBao appeared in his small form after she ran a short distance to help her catch up with her mother. They flew past the dead bodies in front of her house and entered the hidden tunnel that was in the back of a wardrobe in the bedroom. 

She ran into her mother halfway down the tunnel.

"Eva! What're you doing here?!"

Eva held onto her arm and looked at her mother earnestly. 

"I don't understand what is it that you want now but I have no time." Her mother said while trying to walk forward. However, she was held back by a stubborn Eva. 

"Eva! I need to settle Esmeralda while everyone's distracted!"

Eva shook her head vigorously then looked at her mother pleadingly. 

Now her mother understood what Eva was here for. "You promised to not be a worrywart any longer. Now you're really being a hindrance! You forced my hand, Eva." 

Eva was not given a chance to digest what was said as her mother immediately followed her words with a hard and swift chop to Eva's nape, causing Eva to lose consciousness. She left Eva crumpled on the floor in the tunnel there and ran off.

Some time elapsed before Eva finally woke up to hear BaoBao frantically calling her name. Once BaoBao knew that she regained consciousness, he immediately filled her in with the details without needing her to prompt him.

After your mother knocked you out, she went straight to Esmeralda. She reached after Austin left Esmeralda with someone else then started fighting with the people there. Austin intervened just before she could kill Esmeralda and they got embroiled in a fierce fight. Your father and sister pretended to help hold her down but they got thrown back and onto Austin. They held him back long enough for your mum to take off. Austin's hot on her heels though! Here she comes!

Eva looked up to see her mum all bloodied and running towards her. 

Austin's searching through the house now! He seems to know there's a hidden passage somewhere.

"Eva! You care about me, don't you?"

Eva nodded while frowning. Why's she asking something like this now?

Suddenly, her mother started cutting and tearing apart her clothes in a haste, leaving Eva in her undergarments. While her mother took off her black garments, the stark contrast in the state of their bodies stood out to her. 

It was at this same moment that Eva understood her mother's intentions. She was not surprised when her mother started cutting her and hitting her in the same places she had been injured. What hurt her heart was how her mother did so without batting an eyelid and without a hint of remorse. 

This is normal. She's just in a rush. She's just panicking. This is normal.

After her mother haphazardly put the black garments onto Eva and changed back into what she was wearing beforehand, she dragged Eva out of the tunnel through another entrance further away from their house.

"Delay him here as long as you can."

Her mother threw the two daggers she was carrying in her other hand at Austin through the open window. If she was lucky, it would injure him, better yet kill him. However, it missed him as he happened to bend down to check the floor for any hidden trap doors. 

Seeing that his attention was caught, Eva's mother disappeared down the tunnel again. She would come out of the entrance in their fake house and make her way back to the estate. Eva started running as fast as her legs could carry her, away from the hidden entrance, away from Austin. 

Eva! You can't take the rap! You'd just-

Do I have a choice?! This is the only way!

Just turn your family in! They obviously do not care about you! Save your hide!

They do! They- They're just getting desperate! They're not in their right minds! They still love me! They care about me! They do!

Eva! What are you on about now?! What's going on?!

It's normal to sacrifice yourself for your family, isn't it? I did the same in my original world anyway... There's no difference! 

There is! They- It's Austin!

She heard the sound of a sword being sheathed then was roughly pulled to a stop by her elbow.