?Chapter 126:


    Through the haze of pain, she saw a shadowy figure step out of the car. The man’s face twisted into a sinister grin as he approached, his footsteps slow, deliberate.


    “Noah really is an idiot,” the man said, his voice dripping with malice. “Did he seriously think he could protect you?”


    Sadie’s mind reeled. Noah? What did any of this have to do with him? She tried to speak, to ask the questions swirling in her fading consciousness, but the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth. Her strength ebbed away, and the world around her dissolved into darkness.


    In the distance, the shrill wail of an ambnce siren pierced the night air.


    Ky on a stretcher, clutching her chest, her face contorted in pain and ghostly pale.


    Noah stood beside the ambnce, his eyes shadowed with worry as he watched the medics load K into the vehicle.


    His brows furrowed, his expression clouded with a mix of confusion, frustration, and something he couldn’t quite name.


    K reached out with trembling fingers, clutching Noah’s sleeve. Her voice was barely audible, a fragile whisper. “Noah…”


    But Noah didn’t respond. His eyes drifted past K, scanning the entrance of the hotel. Where was Sadie?


    Where had she gone?


    A sudden, sharp unease coiled in his chest. Without another thought, he jerked away from K’s grasp and strode back toward the banquet hall, his steps quick and purposeful.


    “Noah! Noah!” K’s voice rose, tinged with panic and desperation. But she was too weak to follow, her pleas fading into the background as Noah disappeared through the door.


    His face was set, grim and determined, his mind racing with worst-case scenarios.


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    He grabbed the first person he saw, a startled waiter, his voice dropping to a cold, dangerous tone. “Where’s Sadie?”


    The waiter’s eyes widened in fear. “I don’t know, Mr. Wall…” he stammered, his words trembling in the tense air.


    Noah shoved him aside, his unease now morphing into full-blown dread.


    He moved swiftly, his long strides carrying him through the hotel toward the back entrance. As soon as he pushed through the door, the stark contrast hit him—the quiet, almost haunting stillness outside felt miles away from the banquet hall’s lingeringughter and music.


    Then he saw it. Under the flickering streetlight, a dark red stain smeared across the pavement, standing out vividly against the concrete.


    Noah’s pupils constricted, and a heavy, suffocating weight dropped into his chest.


    Noah’s body trembled as he crouched beside the chilling pool of blood, his fingertips grazing the surface. A shiver surged from his hands, coursing through him with icy dread.


    Just inches away, Sadie’s handbagy discarded, its contents spilled out like silent whispers of the chaos that had unfolded.


    “Damn it!” Noah hissed, a storm of emotions swirling within him. In a sudden burst of fury, he stood and mmed his fist against the wall. Pain exploded through his hand as his knuckles split and blood mingled with the paint, a sharp contrast to the pale barrier.


    Taking out his phone, he dialed with unsteady hands.


    “Find Sadie immediately! I need to see her, dead or alive,” hemanded, his voice a rough whisperden with barely contained rage and a tremor of fear.


    “Hmmm…” A faint groan pierced the silence. Sadie’s eyelids fluttered, fighting against the weight of her weariness.


    As her eyes cracked open, a harsh white light assaulted her senses, forcing her to squint against the brightness.


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