Chapter 96 With Me Here, She Won't Die
Max chased after him, but Liam didn't care. He ran straight to the tent entrance and burst inside, only to find Grace was gone.
The anxiety in his chest erupted like a volcano.
His blood seemed to flow backward.
Liam's face flushed red, and he began to have trouble breathing.
His heart was racing.
He had a terrible feeling that something had happened to Grace.
Sharp pains shot through Liam's head. Max caught up and grabbed his arm. "Why are you running?"
Max glanced into the empty tent and was also startled. "Where's Mommy?"
Without looking back, Liam bolted from the tent.
A wave of dread washed over Max, and he immediately gave chase.
Liam and Max reached the edge of the platform, which was now crowded with people. Liam squeezed through the circle of onlookers and followed their gaze down below the platform.
Grace lay in a pool of blood, unconscious.
Liam let out a heart-wrenching scream, "Ah!"
His anguished cry startled Max, who frantically pushed through the crowd and leaned over the platform's edge. When he saw the scene below, his heart nearly stopped.
"Mommy!"
He screamed hoarsely, then hurried down the stairs toward the base of the platform.
Liam followed close behind.
Both boys desperately wanted to reach Grace's side. The area below the platform was also surrounded by people. As Max was about to rush to Grace, someone stopped him.
"Don't go over there, sweetie!" a well-meaning parent warned, worried that such a young child shouldn't see such a gruesome scene.
But Max struggled against her. "That's my mommy!"
He broke through the crowd and reached Grace's side. She lay on her side, a trail of blood spreading from beneath her all the way to his feet.
Max felt helpless. He knelt beside Grace, reaching out his hand but not daring to touch her.
"Mommy? Mommy..." Max's heart felt like it was being cut with knives. Looking at Grace's blood-covered face and her barely open, vacant eyes devoid of any light, he trembled with fear.
He wasn't afraid of the gruesome scene—he was terrified of losing the mother he loved most.
The crowd buzzed with speculation.
"She must have accidentally fallen from up there. A fall like that—she's definitely dead!"
"I don't think she's even breathing... Could she really be dead?"
"How careless. It was probably too dark to see where she was stepping."
"There's a doctor here!"
Someone in the crowd shouted, and people quickly cleared a path.
Alexander and Emily approached. Emily dispersed the crowd while saying, "Don't touch her, everyone! When someone falls from a height, moving them carelessly could worsen their injuries."
Emily crouched down beside Grace to examine her.
When Alexander saw that the person lying in the pool of blood was Grace, his face went rigid.
How could it be her?
He moved closer, but Emily blocked him. "Don't touch her. She's still breathing."
Emily looked at Grace's face and checked for breath. Though she was still breathing, it was extremely weak—she probably wouldn't last much longer.
Emily glanced at Grace's hand, which was broken. It looked like she had instinctively put her hands out to break her fall, which had cushioned the impact somewhat. Otherwise, if she had landed head-first, she would have died instantly.
Damn it. From that height, she should have died on impact. How was she still breathing?
Emily frowned, forcing herself to stay calm. Even if Grace was still breathing, by the time the ambulance arrived for emergency treatment, it would be too late.
She turned to Alexander. "Alexander, I'll get the first aid kit. You watch her and make sure no one touches her."
Alexander nodded. "Okay, hurry."
As soon as Emily left, Alexander went to Grace's side and saw her chest rising and falling slightly. She was indeed still alive.
How had this happened?
How could she have fallen from such a height?
Nearby, Max's little hands trembled uncontrollably. He kept trying to force himself to stay calm, but an inexplicable fear prevented him from thinking clearly, bringing him to the edge of collapse several times.
Tears unknowingly slid down his cheeks.
Max rarely cried, but in this moment, he couldn't suppress the terror and heartbreak in his chest.
Around them, voices grew more chaotic.
"Don't touch her!"
"Whose kid is this? Where are the adults?"
Alexander looked up to see that Liam had somehow crouched down beside Grace. The boy extended his small hand and firmly grasped Grace's wrist. "Liam, don't touch her," Alexander said.
But Liam seemed not to hear him. He placed two fingers on Grace's pressure points, closed his eyes, and quietly felt for her pulse.
Alexander was stunned.
Liam looked so focused and serious. His hand position—it looked like he was checking her pulse.
"Liam?" Alexander asked in disbelief. "What are you doing?"
Liam looked at Grace's face, his mind hazily recalling the diagnostic knowledge that doctor at the orphanage had taught him.
Emily hurried back with the first aid kit. As she approached, she saw Liam pressing the pressure point below Grace's nose.
She was horrified.
What was he doing?
He actually knew that this pressure point was crucial for emergency care? How could he possibly know this?
Everyone present was stunned. No one thought to stop Liam—they all stared at him in amazement.
"Cough..." Grace suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood. Her eyelids fluttered slightly, then gradually opened. Blood that had been stuck in her throat spilled out, and she weakly closed her eyes again.
Emily said nervously, "Stop touching her! If you keep pressing like that, she'll die!"
The surrounding crowd immediately reacted. "Little boy, don't move her! This is a matter of life and death!"
"Someone get this kid's parents! We can't have an actual death here!"
But Alexander didn't stop him, because he saw something unusually determined in Liam's eyes.
Liam suddenly stood up and walked to Emily, opening her medical kit.
Emily protectively clutched it. "What are you doing?"
Without explanation, Liam searched through the first aid kit and found an acupuncture needle set.
Emily always carried this with her. When she sat in her clinic for long hours and felt back pain or fatigue, she would give herself a few needle treatments. She wasn't skilled in acupuncture—she only knew the basics.
Emily grew nervous. "Don't touch that! Those are needles—they're very sharp."
Liam pushed her hand away, took the needle set back to Grace's side, opened it, and sterilized the needles with alcohol swabs. Then he looked around. "Fire..."
He needed fire.
Max paused, then suddenly remembered the lighter in his pocket that they'd used for the campfire. He immediately handed it over.
Although he didn't know what Liam was doing, he trusted him.
Emily tried to intervene again. "Liam, don't do anything reckless! This is a matter of life and death—if you make a mistake, Grace could die!"
"She won't die," Liam finally spoke.
He looked up at Emily, his eyes filled with incomparable determination. "With me here, she won't die."