Amid the anxious anticipation of the Hawkins and Spencer families, the grueling divorce cooling-off period finally came to an end.


    That morning, Thorne left on schedule, heading straight for city hall.


    Halfway there, however, his phone rang.


    Whatever the person on the other end said caused his usuallyposed


    expression to shatter. "I understand. I''ll be right there."


    Meanwhile, Charlene arrived at city hall right on time.


    After waiting for nearly half an hour without any sign of Thorne, she frowned and dialed his number, only to get a busy signal.


    She tried two more times, getting the same infuriating busy tone.


    Charlene pressed her lips into a thin line, a dark cloud settling over her features.


    Ten more minutes ticked by. Just as she was about to dial again, his name shed across her screen.


    She answered, her tone cial. "I''ve been waiting for over half an hour. Where the hell-"


    Thorne cut her off before she could finish. "I''m sorry. My parents were in an ident."


    Charlene froze.


    "I just finished notifying my grandmother and handling the immediate fallout," Thorne continued. "This is the first second I''ve had to call you back."


    Lloyd and udia were Jasmine''s grandparents, as well as Irma and Neal''s son and daughter-inw. Beyond that, Lloyd had always treated her fairly. Hearing that they were in danger sent a sharp pang of worry through Charlene''s chest.


    She opened her mouth to ask what happened, but Thorne was already exining the grim details.


    They had been caught in a devastatingndslide. Rescue teams were still searching for them, and it was unclear if they had survived.


    He hastily added that they would have to reschedule the divorce, hanging up before she could even utter a response.


    Charlene stared at the dead screen, standing rooted to the spot in stunned silence for a long time.


    When she finally snapped out of it, she headed back to PrimeStar Technologies.


    The moment she stepped into the office, Stewart called. "Did the paperwork go through smoothly?"


    "No."


    Stewart sounded utterly bewildered. "No?"


    Charlene quickly exined the horrifying situation with Lloyd and udia.


    A heavy silence stretched across the line before Stewart sighed. "Under the circumstances, you''ll just have to wait."


    "Yeah."


    With a tragedy like this unfolding, there was simply no other option.


    After ending the call, Charlene debated whether to reach out to Irma.


    If the worst had truly happened to Lloyd, the elderly woman would be shattered.


    But Irma was likely already out of her mind with terror; a phone call right now would only add to her unbearable anxiety.


    After a moment of internal conflict, Charlene decided against it.


    As the hours dragged on, she desperately wanted to ask Thorne for an update on his parents but she held herself back. Instead, she dialed Jasmine''s number.  fo


    If the search and rescue teams had found anything, Thorne would definitely inform


    his daughter.


    Jasmine picked up almost immediately. "Mommy."


    Before Charlene could even ask


    where she was, the little girl volunteered the information. "Mommy, Dadely and..


    Great Grandma and I are all at the hospital. Grandpa and Grandma got hurt really bad. They''re in the Emergency Room right now."


    Hearing that, a massive weight lifted off Charlene''s chest.


    If they were in the Emergency Room, they were alive. There was hope.


    "Okay, sweetie, Mommy


    understands," she said softly. "You stay right by your Great-Grandma''s going to ha


    side right? im up now."


    "Okay, I will," Jasmine replied, her tiny voice fraught with worry.