Claimed by the Prince of Darkness novel Chapter 172

Chapter 172: How Long You Survive

"Caroline—"

Ezekiel walked straight to his wife’s cell. For a moment, she simply stared before relief broke through her face. "I am here now," he said, placing his hand over hers where they gripped the iron bars.

"Ezekiel—look at this—look at what they’ve done to me," Caroline cried, her fingers tightening against the bars as if she could squeeze reassurance from the cold iron. "I didn’t do anything—please... please take me home."

Ruelle, who stood at the back watched Ezekiel move his hand past the iron bars, wiping away Caroline’s tears as they fell.

"Look at me." There was a gentleness as he spoke, "You didn’t do anything. I know that. I will get you out of here."

Ruelle watched the way Caroline clung to Ezekiel’s hand, her sobs gradually softening beneath his reassurances. There was no hesitation in him and he looked every bit the worried husband.

"You shouldn’t have been brought here," Ezekiel murmured, his brows pulling together as if the thought itself pained him. His thumb brushed beneath his wife’s eye, catching another tear before it could fall. "I can’t believe they thought you did this."

Caroline let out another cry and lowered her head against the bars. In the meantime, Ruelle’s lips pressed together and she turned to look at Lucian, whose eyes were fixed on Ezekiel.

"No one listens," Caroline cried. "They think I am lying..."

"You don’t need to upset yourself," Ezekiel comforted her and somehow Caroline’s frantic breathing slowed beneath his voice alone. "I am here now. I will make sure you aren’t punished for something you didn’t do."

"Ruelle..." Caroline’s voice trembled. "Please tell them I didn’t do it."

Before Ruelle could answer, Lucian questioned, "Mr. Henley, when was the last time you saw your wife wearing the lost chain?" The dungeon turned quieter after his voice entered it.

Ezekiel turned to look at Lucian properly for the first time properly. Dark eyes met pale red ones.

"It was around the time my in-laws came to stay with us," his response came smooth and rehearsed as if he had prepared for this question. "She mentioned later that she couldn’t find it, but we assumed it had simply been misplaced among her other things."

"Yet your wife seemed convinced it had been stolen and the complaint was filed," Lucian said, his tone even. "You didn’t share that suspicion?"

Ezekiel’s expression remained composed. He replied,

"The chain was precious to her and Caroline can become emotional when distressed. Filing the complaint seemed to calm her mind at the time, while I still believed it would eventually turn up somewhere in the house."

Ruelle watched the exchange between the two men. Everything about Ezekiel looked normal. And if Lucian had not spoken to her earlier about her brother-in-law, she would have never questioned anything. She then heard Lucian ask,

"It must have been a precious chain," Lucian’s gaze shifted from Ezekiel to Caroline. "If you decided to dismiss all the servants over it."

Caroline looked taken aback. Her tear-filled eyes widened before uncertainty flickered across her face and her feeble voice came out, "I–I didn’t do that."

Ruelle noticed how Ezekiel placed his hand back on Caroline’s hand as if to soothe her and he replied,

"Emotions in the house were tense at the time. The servants had already begun accusing one another after the complaint was filed. I thought it would be better to replace them rather than allow the situation to worsen further. Especially with my in-laws staying at the house."

"Interesting," Lucian’s gaze remained on Ezekiel. "That you chose to dismiss the servants rather than keeping them until the chain was recovered."

Ezekiel’s expression stilled. He asked, "Is there something you are implying, Mr. Slater?"

Lucian’s gaze lingered on Ezekiel before it shifted to Caroline. He spoke calmly,

"Pity. The servants might have been useful in proving your innocence, Mrs. Henley."

Caroline stared at Lucian for a moment as if processing his words before the colour in her face drained. She quickly turned to her husband and said,

"We should bring them all here! They will say I am innocent! Ezekiel, bring them back and let them speak to the ministers. They’ll tell them I didn’t do anything. Where are they?!"

Ezekiel tried to calm Caroline, though his attention remained fractured. His eyes couldn’t quite focus on her face anymore as he was calculating now.

He hadn’t been able to properly look at Ruelle since entering the dungeon. Not with Lucian Slater standing there watching everything with those eyes that seemed to be waiting for him to take a misstep.

Yesterday, Ezekiel had been pleased knowing Ruelle wasn’t bought by anymore. But the truth about what Harold Belmont said hadn’t left him. His jaw tightened faintly. First Dane Slater hovering around her, then the prince and now Lucian himself. And what irritated Ezekiel most was the simple fact that he hadn’t managed to get a moment alone with her. He responded to his wife’s words,

"They were dismissed weeks ago. Some returned to their hometowns and others already found jobs elsewhe—"

"I can arrange for them to be brought in. You only need to provide their names and current addresses," Lucian remarked, his cold gaze returning to Ezekiel. A pause followed before he added, "Assuming those haven’t gone missing as well."

Ruelle watched hope enter Caroline’s face. The panic and tears still lingered in her sister’s expression, yet desperation flickered through it now. But before her sister could thank, Ezekiel stated,

"How convenient, though, that the man in charge of the investigation also happens to be the same person who destroyed the Belmont house. First their home and Mr. Belmont’s arms," he continued. "And now Caroline sits in a cell under your authority."

Caroline, who hadn’t been aware about this, her mouth fell open as she stared at the pureblooded vampire. Ezekiel added politely,

"You’ll have to forgive me, Mr. Slater. If I find it difficult to believe your interest in this case is entirely impartial."

Lucian Slater was the one who sent her behind the bars? Caroline’s lips parted in disbelief, but he was only a student of Sexton.

Then her gaze quickly shifted toward Ruelle.

"Why? Why did you destroy our house?" Her voice shook before her eyes snapped at Ruelle. Her voice rose suddenly, "Is this because of you? You wanted me here?!"

Ruelle was stunned at how volatile her sister was right now. "Caroline, this has nothing to do—"

"You’ve hated me since we were children!" Caroline accused her. "You were angry because Father always loved me, and now—now this pureblooded vampire is keeping me locked in here because of you! Why would you do this to me?!"

The accusation hit harder than Ruelle expected. Then again, whatever bond they had once shared had long since shattered.

Caroline whispered, "If you truly cared, you would have asked him to let me out of here. That I wasn’t the murderer!"

"Believe whatever you want," Ruelle said quietly. "You always have."

This was how Caroline had always viewed things. Through her own hurt and her own wants. Rarely stopping to see how things had been for Ruelle instead. A bitter smile appeared on the older Belmont sibling’s lips.

Caroline’s expression twisted suddenly. Her voice rose sharply, "You’re smiling?! I knew you hated me!" Her fingers tightened around the iron bars as tears slipped down harder now. "You wanted this to happen to me!"

Ruelle only stared at her sister.

A small part of her almost wanted to laugh at the irony, at how Caroline could construct such elaborate stories of maltreatment while remaining blind to her own role in everything that had occurred. But she could already sense the distraught accusations that would soon leave her sister’s lips. The endless spiral of blame and counter-blame that would change nothing.

"You truly think far too highly of my influence in your life, Caroline."

Before Caroline could lash out, Lucian spoke.

"Mr. Henley." The dungeon quietened almost immediately beneath his voice. "I would like a word with you outside."

Ezekiel turned his gaze to Lucian before asking, "And what exactly would require my attention at a time like this? My wife needs me. Surely it can wait."

"It concerns your wife," Lucian remarked. "Though if separation troubles you, I can easily arrange for the two of you to next to each other."

The meaning behind Lucian’s words didn’t go amiss with Ezekiel. Silence lingered between the two men before Lucian raised his hand, motioning for the halfling to follow and turned toward the dungeon exit.

When Ezekiel turned to look behind him, at the same time Ruelle had turned to face the burning lantern on the other side, watching little insects flying around it. He then followed Lucian out of the dungeon, while Caroline was too busy staring at Ruelle.

"Tell me, Caroline, what exactly do you think I gain from having you here?" Ruelle asked, her eyes slightly dazed. Before Caroline could answer, she continued, "At this moment, I already have everything I need. A roof over my head. Security. A place where I no longer need to worry about money."

"It must be because of everything I said before," Caroline huffed with a deep frown on her face.

"So you did know those things were going to hurt me, yet you said them anyway," Ruelle murmured before a sigh escaped her lips. "I hope it eased your heart at least then."

Silence fell between the sisters. Ruelle then began to walk toward the exit, when Caroline demanded,

"Where are you going?!"

Ruelle paused and turned to look at the empty cell next to her, before she calmly responded, "The air here has turned stale."

Caroline gritted her teeth, watching the vampiress follow after Ruelle and her brows slowly drew together.

Outside the dungeon, the air had turned sharper with winter.

Ezekiel stood before Lucian, his posture relaxed, his expression was of a concerned husband. Even if the pureblooded vampire felt that he had something to do with the murders, there was no way for him to be sure of it. He had tied every possible loose end. The thought sat comfortable in his mind. Every thread would lead back to Caroline and nowhere else.

Lucian stood with his hands buried in his coat pockets, his expression unreadable as his gaze drifted toward the nearby building. The movement was almost bored.

"What did you want to talk about?" Ezekiel questioned.

"Submit the servants’ names and addresses," Lucian spoke, his eyes moving back to Ezekiel. "I imagine you would rather have your wife beside you than behind iron bars."

"I will do that right away, Mr. Slater," Ezekiel’s response came smoothly. "I am just surprised you arrested her," the words came with a shake of his head, as if troubled by the injustice.

"It is rather unfortunate for her chain to end up near the vicitim’s body," Lucian agreed, his tone matching Ezekiel’s false concern perfectly. "Especially when it appears someone went to considerable effort to ensure it was found."

A faint silence settled between them, and neither blinked.

"Which naturally raises the question..." Lucian’s eyes continued to stay on Ezekiel, his gaze patient and relentless like a predator who had already decided where to bite. "Who benefits from Mrs. Henley being placed behind iron bars?"

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