Eric’s pulse stuttered as his fingers dug into Megan’s arm.

“Ah…” Megan flinched in pain. “You’re hurting me!”

“You earned this suffering!” Eric showed no compassion, shoving her away with a snarl. “Every catastrophe stems from your actions!” He dismissed her completely, seizing Phillips’s arm with desperate force.

“Ah!” Megan staggered backward, fighting to maintain her balance.

She turned to Eric and screamed, “Suddenly, everything is my fault?” Confusion clouded her thoughts completely. Why was she to blame? Had her interference destroyed their relationship?

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“Wait for me!” Megan’s voice cut through the air as she spotted Eric charging ahead. Swallowing her irritation, she quickened her pace to catch up. “This way…” She moved in front of him, brows drawn. “Aren’t we supposed to head back to Srixby? Where exactly are you going?”

Eric’s patience frayed. “Step aside.”

“I won’t.”

“Get the fuck out of my way!”

Before it could escalate, Phillips stepped in. “Mr. Scott needs to find Hadley. Her phone’s off—he’ll have her call Mr. Flynn to let him know she’s safe.” Ernest had been aware of Eric’s presence since right after the earthquake. He trusted him. Still, nothing short of Hadley’s voice would really calm Ernest.

Megan didn’t answer. So that was it. With a tight-lipped expression, she stepped aside, offering no further resistance. She fell into step beside Eric, silent.

But before they could even reach the ward, they spotted Hadley in the emergency hall. Hadley was walking alongside Tamara, making her way back to the observation ward through the nurses’ station when something—or someone—caught her eye. A familiar silhouette. The back of someone she hadn’t expected to see here.

“Hi!” The man’s voice came out in a rush, the edge of desperation barely veiled by his polite tone. “Was there a patient named Hadley Pearson admitted here? Could you check, please?”

The nurse, masked and clearly overwhelmed, gestured dismissively. “Sorry, we’re swamped tonight, too many injuries—we haven’t registered everyone yet. Maybe try calling her?”

“That’s bullshit,” he snapped, voice rising. “If I could reach her, do you think I’d be here asking?”

“Sir, please calm—”

Realizing he was losing control, he took a breath, forcing himself to dial it back. “Sorry… I didn’t mean to—”

Just then, Hadley stepped forward, her voice soft but unmistakable. “Zane?”

The man froze. Then slowly, he turned.

Hadley’s smile bloomed. “Zane, it really is you.”

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