Chapter 422
“What month was Xav born?” Elara asked Leonard.
The man responded, “That’s confidential.”
Xavier’s origins and birth month were classified secrets.
Elara then said, “Merida’s always been the younger sister at home. Could you let her be your big sister, Xav? Let Merida take care of you, okay?”
“Come play with us again next time, Xav.”
“Xav! Merida and I have been waiting for you!”
Elara’s warm voice echoed through Xavier’s fading consciousness as he lay teary–eyed in the closet. Suddenly, a splintering sound erupted above them. Something was collapsing on the upper floor.
Blood oozed from Elara’s hands, the sticky fluid making it impossible to grip the bobby pin. Without hesitation, she tore at the ropes with bare hands, wrenching Xavier free.
When the boy tumbled into her arms, two hearts–one large, one small–plummeted from suspense into relief.
She scooped Xavier up, but as she stood, her vision blurred dangerously. Each breath became a struggle. The exit seemed to recede as darkness encroached at the edges of her sight.
Then, the door burst open just as her knees buckled. A towering figure silhouetted in the doorway as her consciousness slipped away…
Outside the auditorium, Harvey paced like a caged animal, his eyes burning holes into the firefighters battling the
blaze.
His subordinates clustered around Beau–some forcing water into him, others fanning him frantically.
Each time Beau took a sip, Ralph would immediately offer oxygen, asking anxiously, “Mr. Beau, are you feeling better now?“!
Beau turned toward the still–burning building. “Why aren’t Mommy and Xavier out yet? Could they really… die in there?”
“Enough!” Harvey’s snarl dripped with barely restrained violence, his pupils dark with fury.
One bodyguard voiced the question haunting them all. “Mr. Fisher, how will we explain this to Prof. Fisher?”
A splitting headache exploded behind Harvey’s temples, as if someone had stuffed tangled wires into his skull. In all this chaos, he’d never considered how to face Leonard.
With Elara still trapped inside, he couldn’t–wouldn’t–picture what she might be enduring in that inferno. Just then, the first wave of firefighters emerged.
Harvey lunged forward–only for his hope to shatter when he saw their empty hands.
“Where’s Elara?” His breathing turned ragged as his voice cracked uncontrollably.
The firefighter’s response was, “We found no one inside.”
“You didn’t find anyone? Then why the hell did you come out?” Harvey’s roar erupted like a sudden storm, each word striking with enough force to make organs tremble.
3-8
Chapter 422
The fire’s reflection danced in his pupils, twisting his norm bulged across his forehead like restless serpents.
The firefighters stood in stunned silence until their captain
“We’ll send another team for a thorough search immediatel
Just then, Ralph shot a terrified glance at Beau. He never int