Inside Number 19, Spinner's End, both sides were in a standoff.
Danny's men were intimidated by the bizarre plants in front of them; their feet seemed glued to the spot by an invisible adhesive, unable to move.
Those vines slowly writhed in the dim light, their sharp thorns glinting with a chilling coldness that made hearts palpitate, like tentacles from hell, ready to drag their prey into an endless abyss.
They looked at Danny in bewilderment, waiting for his instructions.
Danny's gaze was also fixed on the creature, but unlike the others, his eyes, besides fear, gleamed with an indescribable light—a craving and greed for unknown power... "What are you afraid of? Grab that child, dead or alive!"
At Danny's command, his men, who had been frozen in place, drew the pistols from their waists and aimed at the creature and Thomas.
Gunshots instantly exploded in the narrow space, fire and smoke intertwining, but the vines on the poisonous tentacles showed no sign of panic or retreat; instead, they brandished even more wildly, making whooshing sounds like long whips.
Those thorns, like the Grim Reaper's scythe, tore through the air mercilessly, leaving a trail of flesh and blood wherever they went.
A pungent smell of blood quickly filled the air, and groans and cries of pain rose one after another.
The bullets did not cause any damage to it, and Thomas was protected thoroughly.
Witnessing all this, Danny was filled with unprecedented shock and panic. He knew that staying here any longer would only lead to certain death. So, he suppressed his craving and curiosity for that mysterious power, quickly gave a look to his subordinate beside him, signaling him to take the unconscious Severus and retreat together.
The two turned tacitly, ready to rush out the door and escape this place of death.
To their astonishment, a giant black python was coiled at the doorway.
Beside the python's tail lay two motionless bodies, the two guards who had been watching earlier. They were pale and lifeless, their fate unknown.
Aegis whipped away the person holding Severus with its tail, gently coiling around the boy just as he was about to fall.
Seeing that Severus was safe, Thomas finally relaxed completely.
He slowly walked through the groaning crowd towards Danny: "What did you do to Eileen?"
Danny took two steps back, steadying himself: "That was just an accident. Tobias sold you to me, Eileen was very angry. She had a dispute with Tobias, and I just helped her! If Tobias didn't die, she would have. " In order to avoid paying the remaining reward, he took the opportunity to help Eileen get rid of Tobias. Shouldn't they thank him?
"But she still died."
"I didn't do it! When I left, she was clearly still alive!" Danny argued, this time he was telling the truth.
"Thomas, let me go. I'll destroy this contract, and we can pretend today's events never happened, okay?"
"Oh?"
"If this house is left with so many bodies, do you know what kind of big trouble you'll get into!"
Thomas looked at him with amusement: "But I think my pet would be very happy to take care of these. Not even a single bone will be left here."
"No, Thomas, I don't eat Muggles. Salazar says they all stink!" Aegis hissed in complaint.
"Did you hear that? He's impatient." Thomas's expression remained unchanged.
Danny actually fell to his knees before Thomas with a thud: "Thomas, spare me! Money, power, I can give you anything. If we cooperate, I can help you become the king of London's underworld."
"Oh?" Thomas looked down at the man who had just been so arrogant: "What power do you think you have that makes us worthy of cooperation?"
He said, word by word: "I just need you to go to hell and apologize to Eileen!"
The room fell into a heavy, brittle silence.
Then—bang.
The gunshot cracked through the air, echoing off the walls. The door burst open at the same moment, and Sherlock Holmes stepped inside, coat sweeping behind him as his eyes instantly scanned the scene.
Danny Blackwood collapsed to the floor, a neat bullet hole carved into the center of his forehead. His fingers were still locked around the pistol he had fired, as if his hand hadn't yet realized he was dead.
Sherlock took in the body, the angle of the gun, the lingering smoke, and Thomas standing there unmoving.
He didn't speak—not yet. He only narrowed his eyes, already piecing together exactly what happened in the seconds before he arrived.
Sherlock Holmes had tracked this notorious London 'human trafficker' to this town.
On the ground, besides a scattered group of thugs, there were also the bodies of two adults, a man and a woman, clearly the owners of the house; their deaths had clearly occurred much earlier.
So, who killed Danny Blackwood?
"God, what on earth happened here?" Watson came to his side.
Something's not right. Sherlock's brows furrowed.
Just then, he heard a faint sob amidst the groans.
That's it! There should be another child here.
"Hello?"
Behind the only remaining sofa, a small black head peeked out.
The siren of a police car also sounded in the distance...