“The elevator stopped at Basement Level Five!”

Hadley’s and Xander’s eyes met. Then they barked in unison, “Let’s go!”

Anxious, Hadley tore free from Xander’s hold and broke into a run.

“Can you manage?” he called after her, worry etched in his voice.

“I can!”

Her face was ghostly pale, but she nodded quickly. Eighteen floors down to Basement Five. He had been tossed around mid-fall.

“Please let him be alright… Please… please let him be okay.” Hadley kept praying.

By the time they reached the basement, the bodyguards and maintenance team were already gathered, alerted by the update.

“Miss Pearson!”

Hadley ignored them all and sprinted until she reached the elevator.

But as she turned the corner, her steps faltered.

What was going on?

The same stunned silence swept through the crowd behind her. Basement Five was the lowest level. There was nowhere further for the elevator to fall. They had been ready to force the doors open to get Eric out, but it wasn’t necessary.

Because right now, the elevator doors were already wide open.

And Eric was nowhere to be found.

“Eric?” Hadley stumbled forward, then rushed into the elevator car.

Her eyes darted wildly over every corner in disbelief. The car was empty. There was no sign of Eric.

What happened?

She whipped around to Xander, her face pale and stricken.

“What’s going on? Where is he?”

Xander stood frozen, just as baffled.

Stay tuned for more glnoνes.c?m

He trusted Eric’s strength to survive an elevator malfunction. But for a grown man to vanish without a trace? How was that even possible?

Just then, a realization dawned on Xander, and a look of horror flickered across his face.

“Miss Pearson… I’m afraid… the elevator malfunction wasn’t an accident after all.”

Hadley’s pupils constricted.

Earlier, she and Eric had spoken of this very possibility inside the elevator.

And now, the truth struck her with chilling clarity.

Right.

This was a major hospital in town—the VIP wing, actually. The odds of a malfunction here were astronomically low.

And for it to fail more than once in such a short span? Impossible.

“You mean…” Hadley swallowed hard and forced the word out, her lashes trembling.

“Sabotage?”

“Yes. It’s most likely,” Xander responded with a grim nod. His gaze shifted to the empty elevator as he added, “Otherwise, how do we explain Mr. Scott’s disappearance?”

Hadley’s eyes snapped shut. A chill raced down her spine, and every hair on her body stood on end.

“Miss Pearson… I’ll send the bodyguards to search the area first—”

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