FreeNovel
Chapter 1647
Arthur did not know how to write and could not compose a letter. Hence, he lost touch with Evelyn after three
years.
He had initially assumed that she would have already wed upon his return. To his surprise, the person he had longed
for was still waiting for him at home.
Although they hadn't seen each other in years, their reunion was natural, as if they had never been apart. They
quickly confirmed their relationship after that.
Arthur hired a matchmaker to formalize their union, and they soon set a date for the wedding.
The couple were engrossed in the preparations for their new life together, eagerly anticipating their future. Little
did they know, tragedy was on the horizon.
A series of gruesome murders began plaguing the town. The perpetrator targeted young women, committing
heinous acts before taking their lives.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtIn just six months, four lives were brutally taken, causing the people to panic. Women were afraid to venture out
alone.
At the time, Evelyn was employed at a textile factory. Arthur would see her off and pick her up daily.
As their wedding approached, Evelyn's family suddenly changed their minds, demanding a larger dowry. It turned
out that Evelyn's younger brother had fancied a girl from a prominent family whose dowry demands were
unreasonably high. The Thornfield family could not muster the required funds, so they came up with this plan.
Evelyn was deeply embarrassed and enraged by her family's actions. Despite her usual gentle demeanor, she had a
massive fight with her family about it.
However, in those days, women had little say in their own marriages.
Should Arthur refuse, the Thornfields would swiftly arrange another marriage for their daughter. They were
convinced that they would eventually find someone who would be willing to foot the bill.
Arthur was equally upset but had no choice but to give in. He could not stand to see the Thornfield family forcing
Evelyn into such an unwanted situation.
But he had just set up a new home and had very little money left. Even with assistance from relatives and friends,
he was still lacking financially.
Back then, the county was home to a coal mine. The machinery in that era was not as advanced as what they had
today. Miners had to manually extract the coal without proper protective gear, hauling it up sack by sack. It was a
physically demanding and dangerous job.
Nonetheless, the pay was significant. Arthur could come up with the remaining funds for the dowry with only one
month of labor. Besides, he possessed great stamina at the tender age of twenty,
Despite his demanding schedule, Arthur still waited for Evelyn at the entrance of the textile factory every time she
got off work.
Until one day, a heavy rain came. The downpour caused the mine entrance to collapse. It took the miners a
considerable amount of time to work together and dig their way out of the coal mine.
When Arthur got out, he changed into dry clothes and hurried to pick up Evelyn. The skies were dark. Upon his
arrival, he found the factory gate securely locked, and Evelyn was nowhere in sight.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmArthur was worried, so he went to Evelyn's house. However, she was not there. Her co-workers said she waited at
the gate for half an hour and left, saying she would look for him at the mine.
But the people at the mine hadn't seen Evelyn.
Arthur had a bad feeling about this. He called a few of his former comrades from the military and set out along the
road from the textile factory to the coal mine to search for Evelyn.
One of his comrades heard some noise while passing through a farmland stretch. He called out, "Who's there?"
Suddenly, a figure jumped up and ran away in a panic.
As the man approached the area where the figure jumped out, his face changed instantly.
Something dreadful had happened to Evelyn.
Arthur rushed over and saw that she was naked from the waist down, with a rope tightly wound around her neck.
Fortunately, they discovered her in time, still clinging to life. The men quickly sent her to the hospital.
Evelyn stood as the sole survivor of the string of horrifying assaults and murders. The police swiftly arrived to get a
statement.
After the doctors checked out Evelyn, she identified her assailant.
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