Gunfire at the Manor!

John Howlett's face darkened upon hearing the commotion below. He forced himself to suppress his anger, turned to Victor behind him, and slowly spoke.

"Your dad's drunk again, Victor. You should take him home."

It turned out that the person banging on the door was Victor's father, Thomas Logan, who was also the Gardener of this manor.

However, when Victor realized that the person shouting the name of the manor's mistress was his father, his expression turned furious. After hearing John Howlett's words, he did not do as he was told, but instead said through gritted teeth.

"He didn't call for me, sir!"

When he said this, Victor's eyes even revealed a kind of hatred and disgust. Clearly, his father was not good to him, or to be precise, very bad!

Thomas Logan was an alcoholic who often got drunk and would beat Victor severely. His mother was beaten to death by his father when he was very young. Therefore, Victor felt no love for his father, only hatred.

Victor felt no love from Thomas, only endless beatings and scoldings. He preferred to stay with James Howlett, the boy who grew up with him and was like a younger brother, rather than at home. The boy's relationship with him was much better than that with Thomas, his so-called father.

Only with James could Victor feel the warmth of family and care.

This is why he had a complicated expression and felt envious but not jealous when he saw the heartwarming scene of Howlett and his son getting along.

Although he was just James Howlett's playmate, Victor Logan truly treated him like a younger brother, placing the love he hadn't felt in his father and family onto the innocent and naive James, caring for and protecting him like a real older brother. Only with him could Victor feel the remaining warmth in this world.

At this moment, Thomas, drunk again, came to harass Elizabeth. If he went down to take Thomas home as John Howlett had suggested, he would surely be met with another beating. He didn't want to see Thomas, much less go home with him, so Victor refused without hesitation.

Upon hearing Victor's words and recalling Thomas's harassment of his wife, John Howlett was also filled with anger. He abruptly stood up from the bed, opened the door, and strode towards the exit.

"Dad!"

James Howlett sat up in bed and called out in a panic.

"Stay there, James!"

John Howlett turned around, reached out to stop James, and then turned and left.

"Dad!"

James called out again, but John Howlett had already left the room.

While the group was talking, they heard a constant arguing coming from downstairs. Victor sensed that something was wrong and worried that something serious might happen, so he quickly followed John Howlett out.

As he was about to close the door, Victor glanced at James on the bed, whose face was filled with panic. Victor's expression was also somewhat flustered. He hadn't expected John Howlett to angrily leave alone without even calling a servant.

If his own father and James's father were to clash, and a fight actually broke out, the outcome would certainly not be good. If Mr. Howlett were to get injured, James would be heartbroken. If he had known this would happen, he should have agreed to bring Thomas home earlier. At worst, he would get a beating, but he was already used to it, and his injuries would heal in a few days.

But there was no time to think about that now. After giving James a deep look, Victor closed the door and followed John Howlett, quickly crossing the corridor and rushing downstairs.

James Howlett sat on the bed, watching the door close, leaving him alone in the room. The sounds of arguing could still be heard downstairs; he recognized both voices—his mother Elizabeth and Victor's father Thomas.

"Stay away from me!"

"Come with me now! You've never loved him!"

Hearing the angry arguing downstairs, James leaned back onto the bed in a panic, clutching the blankets tightly with both hands, his eyes fixed on the door.

Soon, he heard his father's voice, which was sternly rebuking him.

"I told you, don't come back here!"

However, just as John Howlett finished speaking, a muffled gunshot suddenly rang out.

"Bang!"

James was startled by the sudden gunshot. He quickly recovered and, without thinking of anything else, threw off the covers, jumped out of bed, opened the door, and ran barefoot downstairs.

The door to the room closed slowly behind him, and on either side of the door, on the left and right walls, hung a picture of an animal, one of a tiger and the other of a wolf!

James Howlett ran down the corridor, his mother's piercing screams echoing from the end, making James even more anxious and panicked.

When he reached the stair railing at the end of the corridor and peered down into the hall below, he saw his mother, Elizabeth, wearing a white nightgown with her belt seemingly ripped open, revealing her chest, being pulled towards the door by Victor's father Thomas. In Thomas's hand, a hunting rifle was being held!

John Howlett, who had just come downstairs, lay on the floor not far in front of them, a patch of bright red blood seeping from his chest.

Ignoring his mother Elizabeth, who was being pulled by Thomas, James ran barefoot down the stairs, rushed to John Howlett who was lying on the ground, knelt down beside him, and anxiously bent down to check on him.

John Howlett was still alive. When James appeared before him, he struggled to lift his head and looked at him, while reaching out his right hand to tightly grasp James's clothes.

"James..."

John Howlett's eyes revealed boundless love and worry, but soon the light in his eyes faded, his hand gripping James's clothes loosened weakly, and his raised head fell limply back to the ground. Lying on the cold floor, he gradually lost his life.

"No!"

Elizabeth shook her head in anguish. She never imagined things would turn out this way. If she had known, she would never have opened the door and let Thomas in.

Perhaps, she shouldn't have made that mistake in the first place!

"James!"

Thomas, who was holding Elizabeth, seemed to have no remorse for killing John Howlett. Instead, he spoke to James, who was still kneeling beside John Howlett.

There are some things you don't understand!