Chapter 95 Someone Fell and Died!
As night fell, Grace built up the campfire.
Liam refused to return to the RV with Alexander, instead lying in the tent with Max, gazing up at the stars and moon.
Above them, wispy clouds drifted across the sky, making the stars and moon appear especially brilliant.
"Look," Max pointed to a bright star. "See how bright that one is?"
Liam nodded.
Max pointed to another luminous star. "That's Perseus, and that's Andromeda."
Liam blinked curiously.
Max continued, "Legend says that in ancient times, there was a hero named Perseus, son of Zeus—brave and clever. One day, he was traveling along the coast when he saw the beautiful princess Andromeda chained to a rock, about to be sacrificed to a sea monster. Perseus was moved by her beauty and courage, so he decided to save her. Using a divine shield and winged sandals gifted by the goddess, he bravely slayed the monster and rescued Andromeda. Later, they married and lived happily ever after."
Liam nodded as if he understood, though he clearly didn't grasp it all.
Grace crawled into the tent and lay down beside Liam, ruffling his hair. "Liam, do you understand the story of Perseus and Andromeda?"
Liam said innocently, "Perseus is Daddy, and Andromeda is Grace."
Grace burst into laughter. Liam's comprehension was surprisingly spot-on.
Max was amused too. "Silly, that's not right!"
Liam asked in confusion, "Can Grace be with Daddy?"
Max replied, "No way."
Liam tilted his head, as if asking, Why not?
Max said matter-of-factly, "Only people who love each other can be together."
Suddenly, Liam gave Max a big hug, holding him tight and nuzzling his little face against Max's shoulder.
Max blushed and pushed him away in embarrassment. "What are you doing?"
Liam said, "We should be together." He wanted to love Max and stay with him forever.
Max didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Dummy, we're both boys. We can't be together forever."
Liam huffed. He didn't care about that—he liked Grace and he liked Max, and he wanted to be with them forever.
The campfire gradually died down.
The evening breeze stirred.
Grace settled into the tent, zipped up the flap, and lay down beside them. Without realizing it, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
In the middle of the night, she was suddenly awakened by some disturbance.
Grace opened her eyes and instinctively reached out, feeling around beside her.
But the space was empty.
Both Liam and Max were gone!
All sleepiness vanished instantly. She sat up in alarm, looking around frantically. Max and Liam had disappeared without a trace.
"Max?"
She called out nervously, "Max? Liam?"
Grace pushed open the tent flap and stepped outside. Emily stood motionless by the extinguished campfire, her face expressionless.
All around them, the night was pitch black.
All the RV doors were shut tight, lights extinguished.
The entire campground was shrouded in darkness, with only scattered embers providing any illumination.
"Have you seen Max and Liam?" she asked.
Emily turned around, giving her a cold look and curling her lips disdainfully. "Grace, since you're already divorced from Alexander, why are you still hanging around? You're getting close to Liam so you can use him to remarry Alexander, aren't you?"
Grace had no patience for her nonsense and demanded, "Where are they?"
Emily said, "Those two little brats are already dead."
"What do you mean?" Grace was completely baffled.
Emily's face suddenly twisted with malice. "That little bastard—I don't know what tricks you used to make him so attached to you while keeping me at arm's length. Here I was, scheming to get along with him, but since he hates me so much, I might as well just kill him. Don't worry though—I killed Max too!"
Grace's heart lurched violently. Like a madwoman, she lunged at Emily. "You psychotic bitch!" She couldn't believe Emily would actually do such a thing—to be evil enough to harm two children.
Emily said, "You think I wouldn't dare? Alexander belongs to me, and anyone who gets in my way dies!"
Grace's voice was hoarse. "You! What did you do to them?"
Emily smiled with vicious satisfaction. "Those two little pests—I just threw them off the platform." She raised her hand, pointing toward a high platform in the distance, her voice dripping with malice. "From that height, they're definitely dead by now."
Grace didn't stop to think. She ran toward the platform.
Max...
Liam...
Her mind suddenly conjured images of the two children being thrown from the platform by Emily—falling from such a height, how desperate and agonizing it must have been!
Grace rushed to the edge of the platform and looked down.
Below the platform, everything was pitch black. She couldn't see anything.
Grace cried out desperately, "Max! Liam!"
Her night vision was poor, and she couldn't see anything. Emily's evil words echoed in her ears. Terrified that Liam and Max had really been thrown down and killed, she scrambled to her feet in panic, completely beside herself.
Emily appeared behind her like a ghost, suddenly shoving hard against her back. "Go to hell!"
Grace lost her footing and tumbled off the platform. With terrifying centrifugal force, her body fell through the darkness like a kite with its string cut, crashing onto the rocks below.
A sickening thud echoed through the night.
Emily looked down coldly. From such a height, there hadn't even been time for a scream.
If she'd landed head-first, her skull would probably be shattered.
That's what happened to anyone who dared covet her man.
With that thought, Emily turned and walked away without looking back.
Below the platform, an RV was parked.
Someone inside the RV heard the sudden loud crash and came outside, following the sound to its source. They vaguely made out a figure lying on the ground.
"Honey, honey, wake up..." The woman returned to the RV and shook her sleeping husband. "I just heard a loud crash. It sounded like something fell."
The man got out of the RV and walked to the base of the platform. When he saw Grace lying in a pool of blood, he collapsed to the ground in shock. "Blood, there's blood everywhere... Someone fell from up there!"
In the RV, Max was waiting for Liam to come out of the bathroom. In the middle of the night, Liam had suddenly sat bolt upright, saying he needed to pee, so Max had accompanied him to the RV's restroom.
Suddenly he heard a terrified cry for help from nearby, "Help! Someone's been killed!"
The scream shattered the peaceful night at the campground.
Lights came on in all the RVs.
Alexander heard the commotion outside and threw on a jacket before stepping out, immediately running into Liam and Max.
He looked around and saw everyone heading toward the platform, talking excitedly.
"My God! How did someone fall?"
"Can't tell, but it looks like a woman."
"There's so much blood."
Liam felt afraid and urgently wanted to return to find Grace. Max said, "Don't be scared, it's okay."
But Liam felt an ominous premonition rising in his chest. He suddenly ran desperately toward the tent. Max was startled and immediately chased after him. "Liam!"