Mystery: Gray Walker

Chapter 89 The Tragedy of the Hayes Family

The watchman's carriage drove off first, disappearing at the end of the street.

Green and Anaïs boarded another empty carriage left by Henry.

Green sat in the driver's seat and flicked the reins. Fortunately, he had learned a few times from old John before, so although he was still quite rusty, he still remembered some of the essentials of driving.

The wheels rolled, crushing the snow and leaving Fairfax Manor, steeped in blood and eeriness, behind.

Oberhafen slept soundly in the cold night, the streetlights casting a dim glow. Apart from the survivors, no one knew how many lives this "Night of Charity" had claimed.

Anaïs sat silently in the passenger seat next to Green.

She hugged her arms, her dress coat offering no protection against the night's chill. Despite shivering slightly, she refused to enter the carriage, as if only being near Green could bring her a sense of safety.

Anaïs opened her eyes wide and looked into the darkness ahead.

Neither of them spoke a word the entire way.

The carriage traveled through the quiet streets and across the stone bridge.

Finally, when the neat rows of houses on Ti'an Street came into view, Green's tense nerves finally relaxed.

He slowly pulled on the reins and stopped in a secluded spot a short distance from number 27.

Green didn't get out of the car immediately. After a while, he turned to look at Anaïs.

"I'm sorry, Anaïs. I..."

"I'll go with you."

Anaïs interrupted him, her voice low and without any hesitation.

Green was taken aback.

Anaïs looked at her, her fingers gripping the hem of her dress. "I hope I can help in some way... Mrs. Hayes needs someone to take care of her, and Miss Emily, she..."

She paused, remembering Emily's eyes filled with hatred and madness, and lowered her voice, "Perhaps we need someone... who isn't family to be present. And..."

She looked up and stared directly at Green: "Tonight... without you, I'm afraid I'd end up like those people..."

Green's throat moved. He wanted to say, "Too dangerous," "I'm the one who dragged you into this," "I need someone to handle this," but all the words stuck in his throat.

Because Anaïs is right. Auntie is having a meltdown, Emily is out of control and hates him, and the house is now a powder keg of emotions.

When he goes back alone, he may face not only sadness, but also accusations, conflicts, and even Emily who may lose control again.

He needs a helper. A calm person who can lend a hand.

"Thank you," Green said.

Anaïs seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, her tense shoulders relaxing slightly.

Green jumped off the carriage, tied up the horses, and then reached out his hand to Anaïs.

The two walked side by side toward number 27. The living room light was still on, but there was no sound.

Green took out his key and inserted it into the lock.

The door opened.

Under the dim gaslight, Aunt Sylvia huddled in a rocking chair by the fireplace, still wrapped in the shawl Green had given her, but she remained motionless, her eyes vacant, tears streaming down her face.

Henry Burns stood awkwardly to the side, barely daring to breathe.

Sula knelt beside the rocking chair, tightly holding her aunt's cold hand. She was wearing pajamas, her hair slightly disheveled, clearly having been keeping watch there the whole time.

As Green and Anaïs entered the house, Sura suddenly looked up.

Her gaze fell on Green, and her pupils contracted sharply.

Sura looked at Henry and said, "Get out."

She stared at Henry. "We don't need outsiders in our family right now."

Upon hearing this, Henry looked at Green, and seeing Green nod, he felt relieved. He bowed slightly and almost ran away from the suffocating space.

Before leaving, he whispered something in Anaïs's ear, and she hummed in response.

After closing the door, Sura looked at Green again. She gently placed her aunt's hand down, stood up, and walked to Green.

"Brother," she called softly, but her tone was heavy. "When Emily was helped upstairs, she kept shouting that Dad was dead, and she kept calling your name... It was... horrible."

She sniffed, trying to make her voice sound steady, but she still couldn't control it.

"Now, Auntie... is like this. She can't hear anything, she just cries, and then she stops crying, and then she becomes like this..."

She pointed to Sylvia in the rocking chair and suddenly burst into tears: "Tell me, Uncle Victor...is something really wrong? Is it...because of that damned dinner tonight?"

Seeing this, Anaïs spoke softly, "Sura, a very unfortunate accident happened tonight. Your brother..."

"I'm asking Green!" Sura interrupted Anaïs abruptly, her eyes fixed on Green.

At this moment, she was hostile to any explanation from outsiders; she only wanted Green's own answer.

This stubbornness and directness are unique to the tense relationship between family members.

Looking at his sister's red eyes and at his aunt, who seemed to have aged ten years in an instant, sitting in the rocking chair behind her, Green couldn't lie to Sura, especially since a lie would tarnish Uncle Victor's final sacrifice and wouldn't truly soothe Aunt Sylvia's deep-seated pain.

He wiped his face wearily. "Yes, Sura. Uncle... he... something terrible happened while protecting Aunt and Emily... and he couldn't come back."

He avoided describing the specific horrific details, but affirmed the greatness of the sacrifice.

"The dinner was a trap. None of us... including my uncle, expected it to be so dangerous. I... failed to realize it sooner and stop them from going in more decisively."

In his last sentence, he acknowledged his powerlessness and regret; he didn't need to explain himself to his family.

Sula's tears finally rolled down in large drops, but she didn't make a sound; she just wiped them away forcefully with her sleeve.

She understood what Green meant: their father had died protecting his family. Her brother had tried his best, but couldn't change the outcome.

The anger seemed unable to find a clear target, and ultimately turned into sadness and fear.

"Then... what about Auntie?" She turned around and looked at the lifeless Sylvia. "What about her, brother? It's like... it's like she went with her..."

Anaïs took two steps forward and said softly:

"Sura, you're doing a great job. Staying with her is the most important thing. But we need to warm this place up and prepare some hot food. Your brother is injured and needs treatment too. What we can do is keep the house running so we can slowly help Mrs. Hayes through this time. Would you help me? For example, could we go to the kitchen and boil some water?"

Sura sobbed, glanced at Green, then at her aunt who seemed to be in another world, and finally nodded, her voice hoarse as she said:

"...There's soup in the kitchen. My aunt made it for me before she left, but I haven't drunk it yet."

"That's wonderful," Anaïs said gently, gesturing for Sura to lead the way.

Sura followed Anaïs to the kitchen, and at the door, she looked back at Green again. Her eyes still held lingering fear and resentment, but even more so, worry—both for her aunt and for her injured brother.

Only after their figures disappeared behind the kitchen door did Green let out a heavy sigh of relief, and then walked over to Aunt Sylvia's side.

He slowly knelt on the carpet in front of the rocking chair, looked up at his aunt's blank face, and gently held her cold hand.

"Auntie... I'm back... Sura is here too. We're all here."

Sylvia's eyes slowly moved, her gaze landing blankly on Green's face, as if it took her a long time to recognize him.

Her lips trembled, and it took her a long time to speak: "...My...Victor...has really abandoned me...has he?"

Green gripped her hand, his eyes welling up with tears. He nodded vigorously, his voice trembling slightly, "Yes... but in the end, he must have been thinking of you and Emily... and us."

The last glimmer of light in Sylvia's eyes was completely extinguished.

She let out a long, broken sigh, slowly closed her eyes, and could only hold Green's hand tightly, conveying a silent, immense grief.

That night, a charity gala took everyone's lives, even those who were still alive.