“It appears to have ended?”
“Perhaps.” Eric offered a cautious nod. “Either the earthquake was relatively minor, or Srixby escaped being the epicenter.”
“News reports should emerge shortly,” Eric observed.
Phillips had already retrieved his phone and was scanning for updates. “Mr. Scott, it’s breaking news everywhere. The epicenter was… Tidebourne?”
“What?”
Eric, who had been resting against the seat, bolted upright as if struck by lightning. Tidebourne? Hadley was in Tidebourne! “Phillips!”
“On it, sir!” Phillips grasped the situation without explanation. “I’ll reach Tamara this instant!”
As his fingers flew across the phone’s surface, he whispered desperate prayers for Hadley’s well-being. However, Tamara’s line remained ominously silent.
Eric’s gaze burned into Phillips with desperate intensity. Phillips grew rigid, his complexion draining of color as he shook his head helplessly. His voice cracked with strain. “Mr. Scott… the call won’t connect.”
“Keep trying!” Eric’s lips compressed into a thin line, his face growing ashen. “What about the other bodyguards?”
Tamara might be unreachable, but there were still four additional bodyguards who had shadowed Hadley.
“Of course!” Phillips nodded frantically, cycling through each contact number. Yet every attempt yielded identical failure.
“Mr. Scott.” Phillips’s voice rose with mounting panic. “None of them are responding…”
“What’s happening?” Megan’s confusion was evident in her voice. “Phillips, who exactly are you trying to reach?”
“Silence!”
L?tτ chɑρτ?rs ιn glov.
Eric’s desperation reached a breaking point, veins bulging across his forehead as he thrust an accusatory finger at Megan. “Speak one more word and I’ll throw you from this car without hesitation! I guarantee it!”
Megan recoiled as if physically struck. Blood drained from her face, leaving her mouth hanging open in shock, too terrified to risk another syllable. Though his treatment had always been cold, this moment transcended anything she had witnessed. Never before had she encountered such raw fury blazing in his eyes.
But… what could possibly justify such rage? She blinked rapidly, but tears escaped despite her efforts to contain them.
“Mr. Scott.” Phillips cast a nervous glance toward Megan before continuing with forced optimism. “Please don’t panic—this is likely just a communication disruption.”
“Continue trying!”
“Absolutely!”
While Phillips persisted in his attempts to establish contact, Eric seized his device and frantically scrolled through breaking news reports. Within minutes, Tidebourne’s earthquake had exploded across every news platform and social media feed. As Eric absorbed each devastating detail, his anxiety intensified with every sentence.
“Phillips!”
.
.
.