“Hadley!” Eric’s voice cracked with desperation.

“Let her go, Eric!”

Megan’s grip tightened on Eric’s arm, anchoring him in place.

Eric’s eyes fluttered shut, his body swaying as he fought to stay upright.

Fixing his gaze on Hadley’s retreating form, he summoned the last of his strength and resolve. His voice rang out, raw and resolute. “Even if you don’t trust me, I have to say it—I admit I’ve roughed up Denver plenty of times. But today, I swear I didn’t lay a hand on Zane. I didn’t!” His legs buckled, and he teetered on the edge of collapse.

“Eric!” Megan gasped, rushing to steady him. “Are you okay?”

Hadley froze at those words, a flicker of doubt crossing her mind. Was Eric unwell?

She wrestled with the urge to turn back, hesitating briefly before continuing her departure.

“Hadley!” Eric’s hoarse cry echoed, brimming with anguish and sincerity. “I didn’t do it… I swear it wasn’t me!”

The pain surged, overwhelming, unbearable.

He couldn’t hold on any longer, his strength slipping away like sand through his fingers. Hadley’s silhouette blurred in his faltering vision. “Hadley… Hadley…”

“Eric! Eric!” Megan’s voice broke into a scream as Eric’s eyes closed, and he crumpled to the floor with a heavy thud.

“Eric!” Megan screamed.

Though she was right beside him, she lacked the strength to stop his fall, helplessness tightening around her like a vise.

“What’s happening? You’re scaring me!” Megan cried out, dropping to her knees beside Eric, her hands trembling as she gently patted his face. “Wake up! Please, wake up!”

She looked up, her voice piercing the air. “Help! Someone, please! Eric has fainted! Call an ambulance and get him to a hospital now!”

Iè$? ￠t?€я? 1n lπoνεl?.c

“I’m on it!”

“I’ll make the call!”

“Get Mr. Brown, quick!”

In an instant, the house erupted into chaos.

Hadley spun around, her heart racing as she took in the scene, her mind reeling. Her fists clenched, torn between rushing to Eric’s side and staying rooted in place. Megan’s presence held her back, her feet heavy as if cemented to the floor.

“Mr. Scott!” Phillips charged forward, heading straight for Eric. “Miss Aston, please step back. I’ll carry him.”

“Right!” Megan nodded, scrambling aside.

Phillips hoisted Eric onto his back.

“Hadley…” As he passed Hadley, Phillips cast her a fleeting, pointed look, his silence heavy with unspoken reproach, before hurrying on. Hadley’s chest tightened, the sting of Phillips’ glance cutting deep.

“Hadley!” Megan stormed toward Hadley, her eyes blazing with tearful fury. “I warned you, you would be his undoing! And look, I was right!”

She shoved Hadley with force and snarled, “He is suffering because of you!”

.

.

.