Chapter 284: Chapter 284
Chapter 284
The freezing rain poured down in heavy sheets, soaking straight through Ethan and Isabelle’s clothes the second they crossed the tree line into the surrounding forest. The muddy ground gave way beneath their feet with every desperate step, thick branches clawing at their faces as they pushed deeper into the dark woods. Behind them, the high-pitched wail of the estate alarms echoed off the surrounding hills. Beams of harsh white light from tactical flashlights sliced through the wet trees, and the frantic barking of guard dogs began to rise above the steady roar of the storm.
Isabelle kept a firm grip on Ethan’s hand, her chest heaving as she pulled him along the treacherous, unpaved terrain. She could feel how cold his skin was, how violently his frame trembled every time his foot landed in the deep mud. His breathing was harsh, rattling, and unsteady, his pace noticeably slowing with every passing second.
"Ethan, keep moving," Isabelle urged, her voice strained as she glanced back at his pale face. She gripped his fingers tighter, refusing to let go even when her own shoes slipped on the slick pine needles covering the forest floor. "We’re almost past the main boundary. Just hold on a little longer."
Ethan swallowed hard, forcing his heavy legs to move forward despite the intense, burning exhaustion consuming his entire body. His ribs throbbed with a sharp, stabbing heat, and his lungs felt like they were bursting with every cold breath he dragged in. He knew his body was giving out on him. He had no stamina left, no physical reserve to draw from, but looking at Isabelle running beside him free from that basement room kept his feet moving.
"I promised you," Ethan gasped out, his voice hoarse and raw against the howling wind. "I promised I’d get you out of here safely, Isabelle. And I’m going to do it. Just don't stop. No matter what you hear behind us, do not slow down."
"I'm not leaving you behind, Ethan," she shouted back over the sound of thunder shaking the sky above. She dragged his weight up a steep incline, her heart hammering against her ribs as the sound of snapping branches behind them grew dangerously close. "We do this together. We both get out of here!"
"You have to run faster," Ethan pleaded, his voice laced with desperate urgency as he forced himself to match her stride, taking the lead to position his own body between her and the estate guards closing in from behind. "Don't worry about me. Focus on the path ahead. Just keep moving toward the river!"
They pushed through a thick wall of wet bushes, emerging onto a slippery, mud-slicked bank overlooking a raging river that churned violently over sharp rocks below. The water roared loudly, a wall of white foam crashing against the steep embankment. The border bridge was only a few hundred yards down the slope, offering a direct route out of Sam's private land.
Ethan turned his head for a fraction of a second, catching the sharp glint of flashlight beams reflecting off the wet trees less than fifty yards behind them. Shouts in French echoed through the woods as Sam’s security detail broke through the upper treeline.
"Go, Isabelle! Run for the bridge!" Ethan yelled, using the last bit of strength in his aching arms to push her forward down the bank.
Before Isabelle could even take another step, a sharp, deafening gunshot shattered the air.
The high-caliber bullet tore right through the flesh of Ethan’s right calf. The sudden, violent impact snapped his leg back, sending a wave of agony straight up his spine.
Ethan let out a bloodcurdling scream of pure agony that tore through his throat, his knee buckling instantly as he crashed hard onto his side. He tumbled down the muddy slope, his body rolling violently over wet rocks and sharp roots before slamming into a mound of slick earth right at the river’s edge. He lay pinned in the cold mud, clutching his bleeding leg as a harsh cry of pain escaped his lips, completely unable to stand back up.