"Was that man out of his mind? What can’t wait till morning? In this godforsaken hour, and in the rain no less, he came here causing a ruckus?"
"Don’t mind him," Donald assured. "We’ll handle this. Sorry for waking you, Mr. Clark."
"No worries," Clark replied, glancing toward the neighboring room. He whispered, "Rose wasn’t woken up from all this commotion, was she?"
"No..." Donald lied, averting his gaze. "Perhaps the storm drowned out the noise... or maybe she’s just exhausted and sleeping soundly."
Remembering all that his sister had been through today, Clark nodded in agreement. "Thanks for your help."
"It’s our pleasure to serve you and Rose," Donald replied with a smile on his face.
Just as Clark was about to enter his room, he added, "Oh, and leave him alive." Tomorrow, he, Rose, and Romeo were set to visit a location that Carol had left behind. He didn’t want to attract unnecessary attention.
Donald paused for a brief moment, then reassured him, "Don’t worry, Mr. Clark. He saved our boss’ life once. We won’t harm him."
"Saved Rose?" Clark turned back. "How come?"
Donald didn’t expect Clark to be unaware of that. He was surprised, then explained, "When our boss first came here, she was alone and vulnerable. She nearly died... but he saved her. I heard she was severely injured, barely hanging on to life... If not for him, she might have..."
"Why was she injured?" Clark asked, his heart aching. "Who hurt her? Why would they?"
Donald was taken aback, but he continued, "Our boss is beautiful, and when she first arrived here, it was inevitable that some would have ill intentions... wanting to claim her for themselves. She came here alone, searching for herbs. She had a hard time."
The whole of Mafia Flame felt sorry for her.
Clark understood the situation, and it hurt even more. Of course, his beautiful sister would attract attention in such a ruthless place. No wonder she hid her identity as a woman and rarely showed herself. When she did, she posed as "Mr. Bryant" to avoid unnecessary trouble.
"Mr. Clark, please don’t tell our boss that I told you about this," Donald pleaded nervously. He had no idea his boss hadn’t told Clark about her past—probably to spare him the pain.
Seeing Clark’s reaction made him regret his loose tongue.
Outside.
Dennis held a knife to one man’s throat. "Don’t push me to do this."
"You, you, you—let Arnold go!"
The crowd was furious.
Arnold was held hostage, too scared to even make a move.
"Enough!" one man yelled. "We’ve given you enough leeway out of respect for Rose. Don’t push your luck."
"Do you plan on waking the entire castle tonight?"
"I warn you—Rose hates being threatened. If you know what’s good for you, let Arnold go!"
The commotion outside was growing. Clark didn’t return to his room; instead, he went to the window overlooking the courtyard.
It seemed like one of Rose’s men was being held hostage.
Donald was anxious. If Rose didn’t come out of her room, would Clark realize she wasn’t there?
Thinking that, he urged, "Mr. Clark, don’t worry about it. You should go take rest."
"Rosemary... I need to speak with you..."
In the midst of the storm, Dennis’s voice rang out clearly. "I need to see you..."
Could it be that the place where his sister went was the location that Carol left behind?
He was worried about the dangers—that’s why she didn’t let him follow.
Upon a closer look, Romeo, who had returned with his sister, had also deceived him.
Clark decided to go and "settle the score" with them.
"He rarely comes here."
"There’s no choice but to help him. The boss owes him a favor."
No one knew who said the last sentence, but Romeo’s gaze fell on him as he curiously asked, "Owes him a favor?"
"Didn’t the boss tell you?" The man realized he had misspoken, quickly covering his mouth—but it was already too late.
Romeo’s gaze was too intense for him to bear, so he looked to Tom for help.
Tom could only briefly explain the situation.
Even though it was brief, Romeo’s heart still ached.
So, before he knew Rose, she had already suffered so much.
Some hardships, even men couldn’t bear—but she persisted.
Just as Clark was about to step out of the castle door, he saw Romeo walking back with an umbrella, step by step up the stairs.
"Clark!"
The tone of Romeo’s voice felt like he was a bit surprised.
Clark’s face was gloomy. "It’s one thing for Rose to act recklessly, but how could you join her? In the middle of the night, in torrential rain—if something happened, I would feel guilty and miserable for the rest of my life.
Although you can protect her, it’s the unexpected that’s terrifying."
Donald, standing nearby, pleaded with Romeo with his eyes. He didn’t mean to spill the beans. Because he mentioned that Dennis owed Rose a favor, they wasted some time—and that’s why things escalated to that point.
"We finally found Rose in our family, and I don’t want anything to happen to her. I especially don’t want her to be in trouble because of me. Can you understand that?"

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