Chapter 306
The car fell silent, Blake's voice echoing clearly in Sterling and Matthew's ears.
The two men exchanged a glance.
Sterling ended the call and ordered the driver, "Pull over. I'm driving."
The driver pulled to the side and vacated the driver's seat.
Sterling got in, and moments later, the car shot forward like a bullet.
A thirty-minute drive took Sterling less than twenty. The car came to a steady stop outside the film studio.
Just as Blake had said, even from the outside, smoke could be seen billowing from one of the buildings.
Sterling's heart plummeted.
Ignoring his subordinates' attempts to stop him, he ran straight toward the burning structure.
The fire was growing, nearly engulfing Willow completely.
Willow lay weakly on the ground, her vision fading to black from suffocation.
"I'm sorry, baby."
With her last shred of consciousness, she touched her belly, apologizing silently, forcing her eyes to stay open as she stared toward the door.
Her luck had never been great.
She'd lost her mother as a child. When she grew old enough to understand, her father died in a car accident, and then her grandmother fell gravely ill. Charles, the man she thought she could trust with her heart, had betrayed her on their wedding night.
It wasn't until she met Sterling that she finally felt like a lucky person.
But now...
Willow gradually lost consciousness. No matter how hard she tried, her eyelids slowly fell shut.
"Willow!"
Sterling's hoarse voice rang in her ears.
Willow struggled to lift her eyelids, catching a hazy glimpse of Sterling walking toward her.
Was it an illusion?
She smiled bitterly to herself. The fire was so intense—how could Sterling possibly be here?
She must be close to the end, hallucinating like this.
"Willow?" Sterling held the unconscious Willow in his arms, his heart sinking to rock bottom. "I'm getting you out of here."
He lifted Willow, intending to carry her away.
He took two steps before sensing something was wrong.
He turned his head and saw a chain as thick as a thumb hanging from Willow's wrist, connected to the distant bedpost.
Unless the chain was removed, Willow couldn't leave.
Charles's handiwork.
A murderous glint flashed in Sterling's eyes.
But he had no time to dwell on that now.
He could faintly hear Blake and the others shouting from outside.
Sterling carried Willow back, laid her on the ground, shielded her with his body, and began violently dismantling the bed.
"Haven't the firefighters arrived yet?" Outside the palace structure, Blake was nearly losing his mind with anxiety.
Matthew was also constantly calling the government officials he knew.
"The firefighters have arrived, but... the roads inside the film studio are too narrow. The fire trucks can't get through. They're trying to figure something out," a subordinate reported.
As the fire spread to the outer walls of the palace structure, everyone was too anxious to speak.
Time crawled by.
Finally, the firefighters made it through.
"There are people inside..." Matthew immediately explained the situation.
Before he finished speaking, Blake stared at the palace gate that was about to collapse, his pupils slowly contracting. "Mr. Lancaster...?"
He took a few disbelieving steps in that direction.
Nearby, subordinates quickly noticed the two figures emerging.
"Mr. Lancaster! It's Mr. Lancaster!" Someone rushed forward, calling out, "And Ms. Spencer!"
Everyone finally snapped to attention.
They saw Sterling carrying Willow in his arms, dragging a chain across the ground. One end was tied to Willow's wrist, the other to an iron bedpost.
At this sight, everyone was momentarily speechless.
"How's Willow?" Matthew was the first to react, concerned about Willow's condition.
Sterling glanced at him and passed Willow toward him.
Matthew instinctively took her.
The next second, Sterling swayed.
"Mr. Lancaster!" Blake caught his boss just in time.
Two days later.
Willow slowly opened her eyes in the hospital bed.
Seeing the white ceiling, she blinked in confusion.
Where was this?
Was she already dead?
But if she was dead, why could she still feel pain?
So much pain.
Just breathing hurt enough to make her want to pass out.
"Willow!" Molly's careful voice sounded by her ear.
Willow froze, turning her head toward the sound.
Molly sat by the bed looking freshly awoken, clearly having cried—her eyes were red and swollen.
"Willow, you're awake? You're finally awake!" Seeing Willow look at her, Molly was so moved that she was about to cry again.
Willow's eyes also grew hot.
She struggled to open her mouth. "I'm still alive?"
Her voice came out frighteningly hoarse.
Molly had to strain to understand, nodding forcefully. "Yes! You're alive!"
She gripped Willow's hand tightly, tears streaming as she said, "Thank God you're okay. I'll call my brother right now and have him tell Mr. Lancaster."
With that, she grabbed her phone from the bedside table.
Willow tried to ask what had happened while she was unconscious.
But Molly was focused on her call, and Willow's voice was pitifully weak—Molly didn't notice at all.
Willow moved her fingers.
Only after finishing her call did Molly look down at her. "Willow, what's wrong? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?"
Willow shook her head and slowly sat up.
She must have only injured her respiratory tract. Her body didn't feel particularly uncomfortable, just weak from lying down so long.
[How did I get out?] She took Molly's phone and typed out her question.
Molly looked at the line of text on the screen, hesitated for a few seconds, then met her gaze.
"Well, about that... when Mr. Lancaster gets here, you'll find out."
After speaking, she guiltily avoided Willow's eyes.
Willow frowned in confusion.
Suddenly, memories from before she lost consciousness flooded her mind.
Her eyes widened in shock as she typed on the phone again. "Sterling rescued me?"
Molly glanced at it and quickly looked away, pretending not to have seen.
Her reaction only confirmed Willow's guess.
It really was Sterling.
What she saw before losing consciousness really was him!
Willow's hand trembled slightly as she held the phone. Even now, she couldn't believe that scene hadn't been her imagination.
With such a massive fire, how had Sterling gotten in?
The person by her bedside now was Molly, so where was Sterling?
Was he injured?
At this possibility, Willow's heart filled with unease.
"Molly," she forced herself to speak through the pain, wanting to know Sterling's current condition.
Just as she opened her mouth, sounds came from the hospital room door.
Willow instinctively turned to look.
She watched as the door was slowly pushed open from the outside.
Sterling's tall figure appeared in the doorway.
Willow's voice cut off abruptly, her gaze locked on Sterling as he walked in.
Sterling wore loose athletic wear, his hair falling messily with a few strands scattered across his forehead, giving him an unexpectedly youthful air.
From the outside, aside from his slightly pale complexion, he showed no other signs of injury.
But Willow knew all too well—rescuing her from such intense flames, how could Sterling possibly be unscathed?