?Chapter 1170:


    He caught up to her, raising the umbre to shield her from the downpour. “The rain ising down in buckets, and you’re soaked to the bone. Let’s head back to the hospital, okay?” He reached for her arm, his touch gentle but firm.


    “Let me go!” Hadley wrenched herself free, her head snapping up to meet Eric’s gaze. Her eyes zed red with fury. “What’s a little rain? Does it matter if I’m drenched?”


    Her face, tilted to the sky, shimmered with water, blurring the line between raindrops and tears. “I trailed her all afternoon! She visited Astrid, stopped at the supermarket. Why didn’t she go to Brady? Why?!”


    Eric paused, the pieces clicking into ce—Hadley was shadowing Noreen, desperate to uncover Brady’s whereabouts.


    “I’m not budging!” Hadley’s eyes brimmed with defiance, her voice trembling as she teetered on the brink of copse. “I’ll camp out here! She can’t hide Brady forever. She won’t! I’ll wait her out!”


    “Hadley!” Eric’s chest tightened, aching for her pain.


    With the umbre steady in one hand, he cradled the back of Hadley’s head with the other, drawing her into a tender embrace. “You don’t have to stay out here. Let me handle the situation.”


    “You?” Hadley stiffened, pulling back to study Eric, her eyes clouded with confusion.


    “Yes,” Eric said with a nod, his voice resolute. “Joy is my daughter, too. I’m just as torn up as you are. Trust me. I’m on it.” His phone buzzed, cutting through the moment.


    Eric tensed. It could be Cordell with news.


    “Hadley, one second.” He stepped back, fishing the phone from his pocket. They stood so close that Hadley caught the name Linda glowing on the screen.


    A soft, bitter scoff escaped her lips, her gaze icing over with quiet despair.


    A tide of desperation surged within her. “Eric, we’re worlds apart. We’ll always be.”


    Eric froze, silencing the call and reaching for her. “Hadley—”


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    “Hadley!” From a distance, Denver’s voice rang out as he hurried toward them, umbre in hand, battling the rain. “Sorry, I’mte!”


    “Denver!”


    Eric’s expression hardened as his phone rang once more.


    The call came from Cordell this time.


    “What do you find? Speak!” Eric demanded.


    “Mr. Scott, we’ve caught a scent,” Cordell replied. “A lead.”


    Eric’s brow creased. “Where is he?”


    “Possibly Dresse Town. We’re still pinpointing the exact spot.” Dresse Town?


    The name struck a chord. It was the quaint hometown of Hadley’s grandmother, where her mother’s gravey.


    “Understood. I’m on my way,” Eric said, ending the call with a decisive click.


    Lifting his gaze, he spotted Denver gently sping Hadley’s hand, offering her an umbre. With a tender gesture, Denver slipped off his suit jacket and draped it over her shoulders, shielding her from the chill.


    A pang gripped Eric’s chest. He took a steadying breath, cloaking his feelings behind a stoic mask, and strode forward.


    With a subtle nod to Denver, he said, “Would you mind escorting her back to the hospital?”


    “I’m not leaving,” Hadley dered, her voice resolute, echoing her earlier defiance. “I’m staying right here.”


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