The n nodded in unison, dispersing like ghosts into the night. Jas placed a hand on Rafael’s shoulder. "We’ll find her, Raf. She’s resilient—your words, rember?"
Rafael shrugged him off, but his voice softened fractionally. "She better be. If that bastard Jason’s involved... or Mirabel... or Sarai and Bianca... I’ll end them."
Outside, the festival grounds erupted into controlled chaos. Alarms blared softly, lights flickered on in tents and cabins. Guests—socialites, CEOs, influencers—stumbled out in robes and pajamas, murmuring in confusion. "What’s happening?" one woman asked, pearls clutching at her neck—Mirabel Vexley herself, her elegant form wrapped in silk, her smooth brown skin pale in the moonlight. But her icy eyes held a glint of calculation.
Security teams fanned out, flashlights piercing the darkness, calling Eliana’s na. "Mrs. Vexley! Eliana!" The air filled with urgency, the once-quiet mountains alive with footsteps and voices.
Far below the moonlit trail, the forest dipped sharply into a cruel, narrow ditch—a jagged scar in the land where rocks jutted like broken teeth and thorny undergrowth clawed at anything foolish enough to fall in. That was where Eliana and Jason lay, tangled together in a painful, breathless heap, the forest pressing in around them like it had claid them as its own.
The fall had been vicious.
Branches had lashed at them on the way down, snapping and scraping skin. Rocks had slamd into bone. Leaves and dirt had swallowed their bodies as gravity showed absolutely no rcy. Eliana lay half-curled on her side, her slender fra battered and trembling. Warm brown skin was scraped raw in places, thin lines of blood streaking her arms. Her long, curly hair was a ss of twigs, leaves, and panic. And worst of all—her belly throbbed, a deep, terrifying ache that made her breath hitch.
Jason lay beside her, no longer the polished golden boy who knew exactly how to smile at the right people. His charm had been stripped away sowhere between the trail and the rocks below. His ankle was twisted at an unnatural angle, his clothes torn, his hazel eyes blown wide with shock.
"Help!" he shouted, his voice cracking as it bounced uselessly off the valley walls. "Soone—please! We’re down here!"
The forest answered with silence.
Eliana groaned softly, eyelids fluttering open as pain stabbed through her ribs. "Jason..." she whispered, her voice shaking. "What happened? We—we fell."
Her hand moved instinctively to her stomach, fingers splaying protectively over her belly. Fear tightened in her chest, cold and sharp. Not for herself—for the tiny life inside her.
Jason sucked in a breath, pushing himself up on his elbows with a hiss of pain. Mud streaked his blonde hair, and his hands shook. "I felt it," he said, panic bleeding into his words. "Soone shoved us. I swear I did. And—" he swallowed hard, "—I saw Bianca. Just for a second. Out of the corner of my eye."
Eliana’s head snapped toward him despite the dizziness. "Bianca?" Her voice wavered. "Sarai’s sister?"
Before she could say more, a wave of nausea hit, and she clenched her teeth, fighting it. "Oh God... Jason, it hurts. Everything hurts." Tears welled in her honey-brown eyes, sliding down her cheeks. "Rafael... he’s going to be frantic. I shouldn’t have co out here. I shouldn’t have—" She let out a shaky breath. "That was stupid. So incredibly stupid."
Jason reached for her hand, his usual arrogance completely gone. For once, there was no performance—just raw, terrified sincerity. "Hey. Don’t do that. Don’t fade on , okay?" He squeezed her fingers gently. "You’re going to be fine. The baby’s going to be fine. We just need soone to hear us."
He turned and sucked in a breath that burned his lungs. "Help!" he yelled again, louder, desperation cracking his voice. "Down here! Pregnant woman! She’s hurt—really hurt!"
He paused, then muttered hoarsely, "God, of all the places to take a dramatic tumble..."
Eliana let out a weak, breathless sound that might have been a laugh—or a sob. She clung to his hand, eyes fixed on the darkness above the trail, silently praying that Rafael was already on his way.
Because if help didn’t co soon, the forest might decide to keep them.
They shouted together, voices raw: "Help! Please!" The night mocked them with silence, the pines whispering secrets above. Eliana’s breaths grew shallower, the adrenaline fading into shock. "Jason... I feel faint. The baby... tell Rafael I love him. If I..."
"No!" Jason’s voice cracked, panic etching his strong jawline. "Don’t you dare faint on , Eliana. You’re too strong for this. Rember when we were kids? You’d climb trees higher than any of us, laughing the whole way. Fight, damn it! Help! She’s passing out—hurry!"
Eliana’s eyes rolled back, her body going limp against the damp earth, unconsciousness claiming her. Jason shook her gently, tears streaming down his dirt-sared face. "Eliana! Wake up! Please, don’t die. Not like this. I’m sorry—for everything. The cheating, Sarai... I was an idiot. Just hold on. Begging you..."
Back at the tent, Rafael was a storm incarnate. He paced outside now, his designer suit rumpled, ignoring the chill. Jas hovered nearby, fielding updates. "Security’s sweeping the trails, Raf. Guests are helping— even your stepmother’s out there, pretending to care. You need to get in your chair before soone notices you."
Rafael snorted bitterly, a rare flash of dark humor. "Forget about the damn chair! And Mirabel? She’d sooner push Eliana off a cliff than save her. If she’s involved..." His voice trailed into a growl, fear twisting his guts. Images haunted him: Eliana alone, hurt, their child in danger. His growth—from bitter puppet master to a man capable of love—felt fragile now, teetering on the edge. "I can’t lose her, Jas. She’s the only one who makes this world bearable. If I have to tear these mountains apart..."
Jas squeezed his arm. "You won’t. Look—Jax is signaling." Jas said before dramatically pushing Rafael down on his wheelchair. Rafael growled but said nothing.
Jax approached, phone in hand. "Update, boss. Teams heard shouts from the eastern ditch. Moving in now."
Rafael’s heart surged with hope, then plumted into dread. "Shouts? From who?"
An hour had dragged by in agonizing slowness, each minute a knife twist. Then, the radio crackled: "Found them! Mrs. Vexley and... Jason Asher. In the ditch below the trail. Wounded— she’s unconscious. dics en route."
Rafael froze, his commanding presence shattering. His steel-grey eyes widened, the world narrowing to a pinpoint of terror. His heart dropped, a lead weight in his chest, fear choking him.
"Unconscious? Eliana..." The words were a whisper, raw and broken. Jas caught him as he almost fell forward, the ruthless billionaire reduced to a man on the brink.
"Get there," Rafael demanded, voice trembling. "Now."
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