In another mountainous region.
By a river at the foot of the mountains, a historical drama film crew was setting up for a shoot.
The staff were all busy with their tasks, while the actors were getting their final makeup touches from the artists.
In the sweltering sumr heat, the actors were dressed in thick period costus, so hot that even large fans couldn’t dry the sweat drenching their faces.
The oppressive sumr heat was truly irritating.
Sitting in a chair was Julian Thorne, dressed in a long, black robe of The Demon Clan embroidered with a white dragon pattern, a gem-encrusted purple and gold crown holding his hair in place. His face was already etched with displeasure.
His assistant noticed and cautiously handed him a bottle of iced water.
"Professor Thorne, your scene isn’t until later anyway. Do you want to go to your car and enjoy the AC for a bit?"
Julian Thorne snatched the iced water and took two gulps. Just as he was about to close his eyes and rest for a mont, he suddenly heard a crew mber scream from the riverside.
"AHHH!!!!"
The shriek was so piercing that everyone on set imdiately turned to look.
A young woman by the river was shouting in a panic, "Over there! I think... I think there’s a body over there!"
Hearing this, the crowd surged forward.
Julian Thorne also got up, dragging his cumberso costu along as he followed.
Before he even reached the riverbank, he saw several crew mbers lifting the so-called body onto the shore.
Soone gasped, "It’s a young woman."
Everyone gathered around the cold, lifeless body, their faces a mixture of pity and horror. "How did she die?"
"Could she be a local villager?"
"Quick, call the police!"
Julian Thorne pushed through the crowd. The mont he saw the face of the person lying on the pebbles, it was as if he’d been struck by lightning.
"Serena..."
He murmured her na, then suddenly lunged forward, sweeping Serena Yardley’s small body into his arms and crying out in shock:
"Serena! Serena, wake up!"
Seeing the girl in his arms, her face as pale as paper and her body ice-cold, clearly lifeless, Julian Thorne lost his composure and yelled at the people around him:
"What are you all standing there for? Get a car! Take her to the nearest hospital!"
He hastily tore off his cumberso costu, scooped up Serena Yardley, and broke into a run.
Before so of the crew could even react, Julian Thorne had vanished with the girl in his arms.
On the way to the hospital, Julian Thorne kept listening for Serena Yardley’s heartbeat.
Feeling for her breath.
But there was nothing.
She was like a corpse, lying motionless and ice-cold in his arms.
Moreover, the back of her head had suffered a heavy blow; the injury was severe.
Julian Thorne couldn’t believe that Serena, so young, would end her own life just like that.
He held her, desperately calling out to her:
"Serena! Serena Yardley, wake up! What are you doing in the countryside? What on earth happened to you, Serena...?"
No matter how he shouted, the person in his arms showed no sign of life.
Upon arriving at the hospital, Julian Thorne didn’t dare waste a second, rushing straight to the ergency room with Serena Yardley in his arms.
He only managed to catch his breath after the doors to the ER swung shut.
’But he couldn’t understand why Serena would be in the countryside.’
’He’d taken her to Ethan Yardley just yesterday morning. Only a day had passed. Why would she have an accident and be washed up by the river right where he was filming?’
’Did Ethan Yardley do this?’
’No, impossible.’
’His sister had said Ethan Yardley sponsored Serena Yardley’s education since she was a child. He treated her like his own little sister.’
’Ethan Yardley had even been the one to give her the na Serena Yardley.’
’Besides, given Ethan Yardley’s status, how could he possibly harm Serena?’
’There had to be another reason.’
Julian Thorne quickly pulled out his phone and called Ethan Yardley himself.
But the call wouldn’t go through.
He hurriedly dialed his sister’s number.
The mont the call connected, Nina Thorne’s voice, choked with tears, ca through unsteadily:
"Julian, did you know? Serena committed suicide."
Julian Thorne’s heart tightened in disbelief. "Serena... committed suicide?"
"Yeah. Ethan took her to the countryside for an inspection yesterday. It seems like they had a fight or sothing. Serena left a few last words on her phone and then jumped into the river to kill herself."
Julian Thorne was speechless.
He stared at the sign above the door in front of him, its words reading, "Surgery in Progress." He was stunned.
’Serena Yardley committed suicide?’
’Why would she kill herself?’
’No matter how bad things got with Ethan Yardley, a girl that young and optimistic wouldn’t resort to sothing so drastic, would she?’
Julian Thorne knew he didn’t really understand Serena Yardley, that he wasn’t close to her, but he refused to believe she would choose to end her own life.
’There had to be sothing suspicious about this.’
A thought struck him. Julian Thorne hung up and quickly called the film crew, telling them not to say a word about finding a woman’s body by the river.
’He wanted to see just how Ethan Yardley would react to losing Serena Yardley.’
After waiting outside the operating room with his assistant for a full eight hours, the doors finally pushed open.
Julian Thorne rushed forward. "Doctor, how is she?"
The doctor removed his mask, his expression grave as he shook his head.
"Her injuries are too severe. Although her heart is still beating, we can’t guarantee she’ll survive. We’ve moved her to the ICU. We’ll observe her for the next 48 hours. If she wakes up, then there’s still hope."
Julian Thorne was silent.
Although he knew Serena Yardley’s chances of survival were slim...
...the fact that she could still be saved, for now, allowed him to breathe a small sigh of relief.
As he hurried to her room, Julian Thorne instructed his assistant:
"You stay here at the hospital and watch over her for . Don’t leave her side for a mont. Call if anything changes. I’m going back to Alcrest."
The assistant asked curiously, "What’s your relationship with this girl, Professor Thorne?"
"She’s important. I don’t want her to die. Just take good care of her."
"Yes, sir."
By the ti Julian Thorne returned to Alcrest, it was already night.
A full 30 hours had passed since Serena Yardley’s disappearance.
Ethan Yardley still hadn’t received any news.
He was crouched on the floor in front of the sofa, head in his hands, hiding himself in the corner in agony, unwilling to accept the fact that Serena was gone.
Quinn Gardner and Nina Thorne were sitting nearby.
Nina Thorne’s eyes were red as she spoke through her tears:
"I just ca back and only saw her once... I was thinking I could be with her every day from now on so she wouldn’t be so lonely, but..."
Looking at Ethan Yardley crouched beside her, Nina Thorne demanded:
"Ethan, what on earth did you do to her? She was always so cheerful and full of life. Why would she give up and try to kill herself?"
Ethan Yardley couldn’t say a word.
He knew it was his fault.
He was filled with remorse.
He was praying for Serena to co back.
Even though he knew that nothing he did now could undo the tragedy that had already occurred, he simply refused to believe that his Serena had truly left this world.
Quinn Gardner also spoke up. "They haven’t found a body yet. Doesn’t that an there’s still a little hope?"
Ethan Yardley didn’t know if there was any hope left.
But he had sent so many people to search. They’d combed the mountains for a day and a night, following the river, but they hadn’t found a single trace.
The river was too long, and who knew if it had an undercurrent.
If she had really been swept away by that river, the chances of survival were practically zero.
What’s more, she had been determined to die.
Ethan Yardley felt as if his heart had been torn to shreds.
He sat there in misery, not uttering a word.
Just then, Julian Thorne pushed the door open and walked in.
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