Chapter 295

Chapter 295

Sebastian glanced at Noah.

Noah immediately slapped himself in the face. "Look at me running my mouth. Mr. York, I'm sure Ms. Whitaker will be fine. Good people get rewarded. Heaven will protect—"

Sebastian stared at him.

Noah shut his mouth immediately.

The police chief watched them with interest, shaking his head and sighing. "Thinking about all that won't help. What matters now is finding them as quickly as possible."

Sebastian's voice was low. "I will find her."

The chief and Noah exchanged a glance. Neither said anything. This wasn't the time to pour cold water on hope.

Everyone pressed forward through the pouring rain.

---

On the other side.

Leopold and Lisbeth were also trapped in the rain. Neither of them had expected the evening downpour to hit so suddenly. They'd been walking along the forest's edge, looking for shelter, when Lisbeth's foot slipped and she fell.

Leopold tried to save her and ended up sliding down with her.

They tumbled head over heels, completely disoriented. When they finally scrambled to their feet, they found themselves in an unfamiliar environment surrounded by towering trees.

They couldn't find their way back.

The rain only got heavier. Leopold pulled Lisbeth along until they found a cave to take shelter in.

The cave was damp and dark. Lisbeth leaned against the stone wall, watching the flickering flames in front of her.

Leopold had gone through hell to get the fire started. Looking at the small flame, he said self-deprecatingly, "Good thing there was some dry wood in here. Otherwise we'd freeze to death."

"I'm sorry. I dragged you into this."

Lisbeth's voice was soft.

Leopold smiled. "Maybe I should thank that criminal instead."

"…Are you serious?"

Had the rain waterlogged his brain?

If it weren't for chasing that criminal, they wouldn't have ended up deep in these mountains, soaked to the bone, huddled in a cave shivering from the cold.

"If we hadn't chased him, we wouldn't have this chance to be alone together." Leopold pretended to look up at the ceiling. A water droplet gathered on the rocky surface and fell to the ground.

"You usually won't even see me." Leopold was half-joking. "But now it seems you have no choice but to look at me."

Lisbeth didn't know how to respond. She rubbed her cold arms. "Then you should be even more grateful that criminal isn't here right now."

Otherwise, murder wouldn't be out of the question.

Leopold thought about it. "Fair point. The rain hasn't stopped yet. Why don't you get some sleep? I'll keep watch at the entrance."

"I'm not tired."

Leopold hung his jacket on a branch. By now it was mostly dry. He draped it over Lisbeth's shoulders and wouldn't let her refuse.

"You don't want to catch a cold or a fever, do you? I can carry you, but I can't find the way out. So you can't get sick. You have to stay well."

Lisbeth didn't refuse again. She really was cold. The jacket was still a little damp. The moment it touched her, the chill seemed to wrap around her.

But soon, her body heat drove away the cold, and the jacket became purely warm.

She looked at Leopold. "I'm a little tired. I'll rest for a bit."

Leopold nodded. "Okay."

Before long, Lisbeth had fallen asleep.

Leopold gazed at her sleeping face and sighed softly. "And you said you weren't tired…"

She'd fallen asleep in less than a minute.

He stayed at the cave entrance keeping watch. The rain outside never stopped. In fact, it seemed to be getting heavier. Meanwhile, the fire in the cave grew smaller and smaller. The wind carried rain into the cave.

It didn't reach them directly, but the cold brought by the rain and wind was enough to drive away the hard-won warmth.

Leopold gritted his teeth, stood up, and sat down beside Lisbeth, blocking the wind blowing into the cave.

It was freezing. He was so cold his teeth chattered.

Suddenly, Leopold thought he heard a sound outside. The sound was hidden in the rain—not very clear. He wasn't even sure he'd actually heard it.

He stared at the cave entrance for a while, then decided to go check.

He grabbed a stick from nearby. He'd broken it off a tree earlier. It was thick and hard—good for self-defense.

He walked to the entrance. The rain outside was torrential. It was hitting the ground so hard it was creating a white mist.

Looking out from the cave, he couldn't see anything.

He glanced back at Lisbeth, still sound asleep. After a moment's hesitation, he stepped out of the cave.

---

Night had fallen. The rain poured down. Only the occasional flash of lightning lit the path ahead.

Sebastian followed the officers, stumbling forward through the uneven terrain.

Noah shouted over the rain. "We've come so far and still haven't found them. You don't think they already left, do you?"

The group's vision was blurred by the rain. The chief finally found shelter under a rocky overhang. He pulled off his hat, wiped the rain from his face, and pulled out a cigarette from his pocket—only to find it was already soaked through.

He cursed under his breath and tossed it to the ground.

"Not likely. Before we came into the mountains, I called Mr. Hearst."

"What did he say?"

Noah asked urgently.

The chief shot him a look. "If I could've communicated with him, we wouldn't be stumbling around in here blind."

The call hadn't gone through at all.

But that also meant they hadn't left. If they'd left, they would've found a way to notify them.

Sebastian wiped the rain from his eyes. "Let's keep looking. The rain doesn't seem as heavy now."

The chief held out his hand to check. Earlier it had been a downpour, but now it seemed more like moderate rain. The wind had died down too. He felt encouraged. "That'll make it easier to search. But we can't stay in here too long. Who knows what dangers are lurking. We'll search for another hour. If we still don't have any leads, we'll call in a rescue team."

Sebastian nodded.

The group stepped back into the rain. They walked for what felt like ages. Suddenly, Sebastian stopped.

The chief followed his gaze. Up ahead, there seemed to be firelight.

Firelight in a place like this meant people!

Sebastian took off running toward it. Rain pelted his face, stinging, but he didn't care. When he got close, he realized the light was coming from inside a cave. And it was extremely faint—about to go out.

Lying beside the dying fire was a person.

"Lisbeth. Lisbeth?"

Lisbeth heard that familiar voice and thought she must be dreaming. How could she hear Sebastian's voice in a cave?

Her phone was gone. He couldn't contact her. There was no way he could know where she was…

Then someone pulled her into their arms. A familiar warmth and familiar scent surrounded her.

Lisbeth's eyes flew open. She met Sebastian's gaze. She looked a little dazed. "You… how are you here?"

When she spoke, she realized her throat was hoarse. She was thirsty. She hadn't had any water since entering the mountains.

Sebastian pulled a bottle of water from his pocket and had Lisbeth drink a few sips before answering her question. "I came home and you weren't there. You weren't at the office either. Then the chief told me you'd called the police. I knew something must've happened, so I came with them to find you."

Lisbeth listened and felt something was off, but she was so cold her whole body was stiff. Her mind was slow. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. Then she heard voices from outside.

"Who's there? Stop!"

Then came the sound of a scuffle. The chief left two officers behind and rushed out of the cave with the others.

Sebastian helped Lisbeth to her feet. Lisbeth looked around the cave. She didn't see Leopold anywhere. Immediately, she knew something was wrong.

"Let's go see."

She hurried outside. When she reached the cave entrance, she saw two officers grappling with a man in the pouring rain. She couldn't tell if it was Leopold.

"Leopold, is that you?"

The person didn't answer.

Just then, one of the officers pinned the man to the ground, revealing his shoes.

Lisbeth's whole body shook. "That's him! He's the criminal! Catch him!"