The night passed with many different emotions for everyone. Vienne was distraught, Sebastian was confused and worried about her, Claudine was angry, and Edward felt a smug sense of self-satisfaction that the first part of his plan had worked and was now moving forward. But he knew he wasn't done yet, not at all.
He knew Vienne and Sebastian were both stubborn and wouldn't give up so easily if given the slightest chance of acting out in a rebellion, so he believed in taking deeper measures in order to ensure that he got what he wanted. But his desires also ran a lot deeper than just wanting Vienne. Edward was the kind of man who always sought out for moreâmore fame, more money, more of anything. But he had always managed to make it look like it had come naturally and not like he had been pulling strings behind the scenes to get it.
And he was planning on turning this into one of them.
Edward was a very egotistical and narcissistic man to his core, and although he was good at hiding it from the public eye, he would never not be egotistical and narcissistic. Growing up with a silver spoon in hand and getting whatever he wanted started this for him very early on. And the pressure of being the oldest in the Carter family, which meant somehow bringing more attention and power to the family, also fed into this idea that also contributed increasingly to his decline in morals.
And over the past few months, they had certainly declined more. Claudine introducing him to her daughter, knowing that it would probably be a hassle to get her to comply, ignited some insane fire inside of him that made him disregard others feelings more and more as time went on. It had gotten to the point where he hardly cared about anyone but himself, truly cared, that is.
If he could marry Vienne, use the Austen fortune to his advantage, and take credit for everything, he'd be set. The only issueâLuis was now in the way. The money left for Vienne was currently in his possession as Vienne wouldn't get it until she was twenty-four years old, and she was twenty-two. That was two years Edward was not willing to wait.
And besides, the entire Austen fortune sounded a lot more appealing than just Vienne's inheritance.
The Carters had raised a money- and power-hungry man, but even now it surpassed anything they had ever thought. The fight to get Vienne had only thrown him down a slippery slope.
It wasn't just about winning Vienne over anymore; he wanted a lot more than just her. He was quickly allowing himself to be overcome by greed and selfishness; not a single thought about the well-being of others crossed his mind.
When he returned home, he had a smug smile on his face. Upon entering his office, he saw Rolf, who hadn't' left since failing to keep the paper away from Edward. He was still sulking, feeling guilty about not doing something about this earlier. And he could tell by the look on Edwards's face that his plan had indeed worked. Rolf immediately felt sick to his stomach.
"Today is a good day, Rolf." He announced with a smile on his face. "The first part of my plan has successfully moved forward. I can practically feel the victory from here."
Rolf's eyes widened. "What do you mean the first part? Wasn't telling Claudine your whole plan?" He asked; the terror of knowing Edward was planning something else was beginning to rise in his voice.
"Well, yes, that was all it was originally, but then I thought, why stop there?" Edward replied. "There also have been some things to come to my attention that draw my concern or have piqued my interest. Telling Claudine was simply the start of things."
"What could you possibly be planning next?" Rolf questioned. He wanted to criticize Edward, but he knew if Edward was going to tell him anything about this plan, he needed to seem like he was on his side so he could prevent it this time.
Edward took a deep breath, taking a step up to Rolf and putting his hand on his shoulder. "Rolf, you're my oldest friend, and I trust you with everything I tell you." He spoke. "So, when I tell you, I trust that you will understand me."
Rolf nodded his head, not even thinking about the possible consequences that may follow.
"Good, yes." Edward smiled, removing his hand. "Firstly, I've realized Sebastian may be too stubborn to leave town, even if more people came to know about his past. I've had to come up with a new idea to solidify the chance of getting him out of the way completely."
"And that is?"
"Well, that brings me to my second point." Edward spoke. "The Austen family fortune, it's quite large. It's currently all in the possession of Luis Austen, including Vienne's inheritance. From the beginning, part of the reason I was so open to marrying Vienne was because of the inheritance... with a few other benefitsâshe is a beautiful woman, after all."
"But as time has gone on, and as Claudine has absentmindedly spilled information about her family, I've come to realize I can reach so much higher than what I'd be getting by simply just marrying her without the plan I have."
Rolf could feel his stomach roll at the way Edward was speaking, but he held his tongue, wanting nothing more than to stop and oppose him, but right now he kept silent.
"That being said, Luis needs to be removed from the equation."
"And what does that entail?" Rolf asked.
Edward took a deep breath. "I'm going to kill Luis Austen." He spoke.
Rolf's eyes widened and his jaw droppedâhe couldn't be hearing things correctly, could he? Edward's behavior and actions had already gone too far, but thisâactively talking about killing someone for their fortune? Rolf was shocked.
"What? What do you mean you're going to kill Luis?" Rolf asked, his voice quivering a little bit.
"I mean just what I said." Edward replied flatly, as if he had no issue with anything he had just said. He had just openly confessed to planning to kill a man, and he had no problem with it? Truly, he was going insane.
"Edward, you can't be serious!" Rolf exclaimed. "Killing a man for his fortune? That's insane!"
Edward rolled his eyes. "People do it more often than you think, Rolf." He replied bluntly. "I told you this in confidence, Rolf. I trusted you, but perhaps I have misplaced my trust; you don't seem to quite understand the situation."
Rolf couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Edward, wanting the fortune is one thing, but going out of your way to end someone's life is another!" He exclaimed, trying to get Edward to see his point. "That man isn't just a man; he's a husband and a fatherâhe has a wife and children!"
"And I will ensure that they are taken care of." Edward replied curtly.
Rolf's brows furrowed. "Then where does Sebastian come in in all of this?" He asked. He was curious, but he was still keeping his guard up.
"Well, I have to get him away somehow," Edward spoke. "I'll simply kill Edward and frame Sebastian for it. He has a hefty criminal record, one of which is the same crime; it'll be much more believable than someone with the perfect public image, such as I. Besides, I have half of the town on my side anyway. He won't stand a chance."
Rolf shook his head. "Do you hear what you're saying?" He questioned. "Talking about killing an innocent man and framing another! Why kill Luis? He's innocent!"
"Luis is in possession of the entire Austen family fortune, Rolf." Edward answered. "George Austen never expected to die young; when he wrote his will, he wrote everything in Luis' name, as he was to inherit everything for the sake of him handling it. The only clause was that Vienne would get her portion when she turned twenty-four; she's twenty-two, and I don't have that kind of time to wait. Nothing is in Claudine's name because he expected to go around the same time as her."
"But if anything happens to Luis, everything goes right to Vienne, but because she's not twenty-four yet, it won't be hard for me to weasel my way in and take control of everything anyway."
"How did you even know about all of this?" Rolf questioned him with a disgusted look on his face.
Edward simply shrugged. "Claudine is quite the chatterbox; lead her down one path and she will not stop talking." He grinned.
"What kind of a man marries a woman just for her money or fortune?" Rolf asked. He already had a bad feeling that Edward would mistreat Vienne, but knowing that on top of that, he was attempting to take everything right from under her feet was even more sickening. It'd make her completely dependent on him, keeping her there even if she wanted to leave.
Edward scoffed. "All the time; ever heard of a dowry?" He mused, raising a brow.
"A dowry doesn't include murder!"
"You just don't understand it, Rolf, and perhaps you never will." Edward said, narrowing his brows. "Sometimes taking risks is necessary to get what we want."
"Taking an innocent man's life should be out of the question, Edward." Rolf said firmly. How Edward had ever come to this conclusion, Rolf had no idea. His heart was racing, beating against his chest as if it were going to burst out at any moment. He took a deep breath, looking Edward straight in the eyes. "I can't let you do this. I don't care what you've promised. There's no way to ensure that you'll take care of Luis' family; you'll abuse Vienne and push Claudine out of the way. And above all, you can't take away a man's life; I won't let you."
His hand slowly drifted to his wand, knowing that he needed to apprehend Edward and report him to the authorities. This time, he was not letting him get away.
Edward went silent, looking down for a moment. "You know, Rolf, I really believed I could trust you."
Rolf saw Edward reach into the inside of his coat and instantly knew what he was going to do. If Edward wasn't hesitant to take Luis' life, he certainly wouldn't hesitate to take his. Edward grabbed his wand quickly, but Rolf was quicker.
"Avaâ" Edward began the words to the incantation of the killing curse, but Rolf was just barely faster.
"Petrificus Totalus!" He cast quickly, his adrenaline giving him a reaction time he wasn't even sure was possible before this.
Edward had no time to cast Protego; instead, his whole body froze up as if it were bound, and he fell to the floor, completely conscious and aware of everything going on but unable to do or say anything. Rolf knew he needed to get out of there and get something out to the Ministry. In the back of his mind, he was worried they'd call them "baseless accusations," but anything was a try.
And aside from that, he needed to help Vienne! He could only imagine how she felt right nowâhaving her freedom stripped away and knowing that her fate would more than likely boil down to marrying a man who only wanted to use her.
Rolf gripped his wand tightly, heading towards the door. As he looked down at Edward, who was currently bound on the floor, he made a face of disgust. "Stupefy!" He cast, just to add onto Edward's situation.
The spell hit Edward, and instantly, he was out cold.
Rolf then quickly rushed out of Edward's office and upstairs, hoping none of his family would soon check his study and wake him up. Once upstairs, he ran out the front door and into the night, not taking a single second to look back.
His heart was racing, his thoughts were racing; the world around him was moving so fast he didn't even know what to do but keep running until he was sure he was far enough away. He had acted impulsively, but he regretted absolutely nothing. Edward had gotten what he deserved, and Rolf wanted to make sure he continued to get what he deservedâprison time.
When he finally felt that he was far enough away from the Carters home, he collapsed, trying to catch his breath. Never in his life had he run so fast for so long; it hurt, honestly.
He didn't know what to do or where to go. He had lived with the Carters for so long after his mother had kicked him out at eighteenânow he was certainly not welcome back there. And he couldn't go to his mother in fear that maybe the Carters would send someone there looking for him and get her thrown into the mix.
No matter what he did or where he went, he needed to do it quickly. He needed to alert the ministry and hope they did something. If not, he needed to go straight to Vienne and try to help her. Her brother's life was at risk, and so was hers, honestly. He knew what life with Edward would entail for her, and it was not desirable.
He lay on the ground in the dead of night, staring up at the slightly cloudy sky, his chest still rising and falling but much slower now. He had never felt such an adrenaline rush in his life.
"Oh, what am I to do?"
***
Vienne had felt absolutely sick to her stomach for the past several hours; night had fallen, and to think just a few hours ago, she was supposed to be leaving town with Sebastian. Now she was locked away in her bedroom, unsure of what the future held for her.
She couldn't imagine how worried or confused Sebastian was, and she felt guilty despite the fact that it wasn't her fault in the slightest. What if he thought she was bailing on him? What if he thought she didn't want this?
The feeling of sickness never left Vienne. She had cried all the tears she could, and everything made her stomach feel worse. All she felt like she could do was lie on her bed and cry.
She was twenty-two for Merlin's sake! She could make her own decision, decide who she loved, choose what she wanted to do with her life, but clearly her mother saw things differently. She was still so confused about how Edward had even come to know all those things about Sebastian's past. When Sebastian felt like something was wrong, apparently his gut feeling had been correct.
Overall, she was worried about him. What would they do to him? Would her mother try to kick him out of town? Every thought just brought more and more worry to her mind, worsening her already fragile state.
Nothing seemed appealingâeating, sleeping, cryingâall of it just felt terrible. She felt empty, like there was a void inside of her. Claudine had forbidden Marie from going up to see her for the rest of the night, and Ceci had managed to slip upstairs with some food, but it was left untouched. Of course, Ceci and Marie were trying their absolute best to reason with Claudine, but her mind was made up and was not to be changed.
After some time, she knew she needed to do something. She needed to somehow get word to Sebastian and Ominis about what was happeningâsomeone had to help her.
She managed to muster up the energy to get up and grab some parchment, ink, and a quill and began writing, detailing what had happened. Her hands shook, but she tried her best. After crying so many tears, she felt faint whenever she stood up, but this could be her only way out of here, and she was willing to take that chance.
She detailed everything in a quick summary as well as she could. About Edward knowing Sebastian's past and his time in Azkaban, about Claudine's decision to force Vienne to marry Edward, and about her currently being locked away in her room, and that was the reason why she had failed to be at Ominis' home that evening. No doubt they were both worriedly waiting on her.
Thankfully, Claudine hadn't thought about Vienne's messenger owl yet, so she could still get this message out to Sebastian and Ominis. She sealed it with wax and sent the owl out her window, letter in possession. Thankfully the Gaunt's manor wasn't far away at all, so more than likely they'd receive it relatively quickly.
Once the messenger owl was out of sight, Vienne closed and locked her window with a sigh. "Merlin, help me." She whispered, feeling tears well up in her eyes again.
She sat back down on the bed, staring down at her hands. How did everything come to this? How could Claudine go so low to get something she wanted by taking away Vienne's ability to choose? Vienne had no idea, but it was slowly beginning to make her resent her mother.
Their relationship had always been a little tense, then it became strained after the death of her father; now, Vienne wasn't quite sure what it was anymore. Was Claudine her mother or someone who Vienne had the inconvenience to be born to?
She wasn't sure yet, but she was sure that her feelings were beginning to change and form into resentment and anger, and it was understandable.
At first she tried her best to understand where her mother was coming from. It was more than likely that she didn't love George when she first married him (although he was head over heels for her since the beginning) but had eventually learned to love him. But regardless, to her at first, and her parents, it was probably a marriage of convenience.
But just because it may have happened to her didn't mean she had to inflict the same thing on Vienne. It was the last thing she wanted, really. All she wanted was to be happy with Sebastian, but even that was too much for Claudine.
Vienne fell back onto her bed, staring up at the ceiling with an emotionless face.
"Oh Sebastian, I'm sorry."
A/n: AWOOOOOOOP ð
(possible editing later xoxo