"Where's Katie?" Joe asked as he innocently played with his toy car.
Immediately, Rose's head snapped over to stare at her husband. She watched as his eyebrows furrowed together, his mouth turned down and his eyes began to glisten. John Shelby had been broken, his firstborn child had been taken from him, his brother the culprit.
"Why don't you all come over and sit beside us." John told his children as they all began to slowly walk over to their parents.
"Is Elsie okay?" Edward whispered as he sat beside his mother.
Nodding, Rose wrapped her arm around him, "Yes, she's going to be okay. Auntie Polly is looking after her at the moment."
"What happened to her?"
"She saw something terrible." Rose replied, her throat began to tighten as she struggled to find the right words.
Glancing over at her husband she saw him nod, "Katie isn't going to be coming home."
All of them turned to look at their father, "Why not?"
"Because someone bad took her away from her."
"Why?"
"Because he wanted to hurt us?"
"Why?"
"Because he's angry."
"Why?"
"Because he wants something that he doesn't deserve."
The children went to ask another question but after seeing the faces on their mother and father they decided not to.
"What happened to her book?" Edward asked quietly, "She always carried it with her."
"We don't know." Rose told him, "It could be anywhere darling."
Later on in the evening, when it was just the two of them, they finally showed their grief. Rose and John clung onto each other, silence consuming them both.
"Revenge." Rose finally whispered, "We will get our revenge John."
"I will kill him for what he's done." John replied, "He won't go unpunished for what he's done to our family."
The two began to walk down the garden and stopped at the bottom. Together they stood. Staring out over at the ocean. Wind blowing against them, the two of them battling against it to stay still.
"The battle of the three gangs is about to come."
"And then will it end?"
"Hopefully."
YOU ARE READING
The Poisoned Rose
FanfictionThey were once everything. They were once in charge. Now everything has changed. The Peaky Blinders were all arrested and thought to be put away forever but Tommy made sure his family got out. By making a deal with the devil. ...
