Chapter 418

Chapter 418:

Noah’s grip on the phone tightened.

His voice was low, steady. “Thank you.”

There was a brief silence on the other end.

“Eh?” Nanette’s tone shifted, confused. “Wait… Who is this?”

She blinked, momentarily thrown off by the unfamiliar voice.

Her lips parted to ask, but before she could get a word out, the call abruptly disconnected.

She pulled the phone away from her ear, staring at the screen in confusion. Who was that? Sadie had never mentioned a husband. Not once.

Noah exhaled slowly, slipping the phone back into Sadie’s pocket. His gaze returned to her, her delicate hand still enveloped in his own.

He didn’t know exactly what had happened to Laura. Not yet. But he would find out. And he would give Sadie the answers she deserved.

The next morning, a sharp, sterile scent of disinfectant burned at Sadie’s senses.

Her eyelids fluttered. Her fingers twitched against the crisp sheets. A stark white ceiling. Fluorescent lights glaring overhead.

A hospital.

Panic hit her in waves. Memories crashed into her all at once—shattered fragments piecing themselves together in a violent rush.

The knife in her hand. Pressed against Isabel.

Her breath caught, a sharp, suffocating ache spreading through her chest. Grandma!

Sadie jumped out of bed, her feet tingling from the cold, hard floor.

Not bothering to put on her shoes, she stumbled out of the hospital room.

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The corridor was alive with activity, filled with people moving in every direction. She grabbed a nurse by the arm, her voice trembling and barely audible. “Excuse me! How is Laura Stewart?”

Taken aback by Sadie’s urgency, the nurse paused before responding. “Co—what? Did you say Stewart?” She searched her memories. “You must be referring to Laura Stewart, right? She… she didn’t make it,” the nurse murmured, her voice dropping to a hushed tone. “We couldn’t revive her. She’s gone.”

The nurse’s words blurred Sadie’s vision momentarily.

Suddenly weak, Sadie felt her legs give way, and she began to fall.

“Sadie!” A strong arm caught her just in time, and a familiar, crisp scent enveloped her.

It was Noah.

Seeing him triggered a flood of sadness and frustration. Tears that she had been suppressing streamed down her face.

In a surge of emotion, she struck him across the face.

The slap echoed down the corridor. A vivid handprint marked Noah’s cheek. He didn’t flinch, nor did he react. His eyes conveyed deep sorrow.

“Why… why did you intervene…” Sadie barely managed to say through her tears.

Her cries became uncontrollable.

Noah embraced her firmly, trying to offer comfort.

With a forceful push, Sadie shoved him back, yelling through her sobs, “She’s dead! My grandmother is dead! I blame myself; it’s all my fault!”

Overwhelmed by grief, she sank to the floor, covering her face as she wept bitterly.

Noah knelt before her, attempting to draw her into an embrace. She recoiled, shoving him away with fierce determination.

“Don’t you dare touch me!” she screamed, her eyes red and filled with anger, fixed on him. “You’re to blame! Your whole family is! You’re the reason she’s gone! I swear I’ll make you regret what happened to my grandmother!”

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