?Chapter 2852:


    With a snarl, he swung again. The stool mmed into Eric’s shoulder.


    “Ugh!”


    The blow was meant to knock him off, but Eric gritted his teeth, refusing to release his grip. Even as his face went pale, his eyes stayed pinned to the bundle.


    “Just let me see—let me see if it’s my child!”


    “Enough!” the man roared, panic sharpening into rage.


    He raised the stool and rained down blow after blow, striking at Eric’s arms.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!


    “Agh…!”


    Each impact sent pain ripping through Eric’s body, his vision smearing at the edges. His strength was fading fast.


    Then—a faint cry rose from the bundle.


    Eric’s heart seized.


    “Joy!”


    Bang!


    Another strike mmed into his shoulder.


    His fingers finally gave way. Darkness swallowed his sight.


    The truck lurched sharply, and Eric’s body was flung off, crashing onto the roadside.


    Far behind, Hadley ran with everything she had, legs burning as the scene unfolded in the distance. She watched helplessly as Eric clung to the truck and pulled himself up. From where she was, he was little more than a shrinking silhouette—until, in the next heartbeat, his body arced through the air and mmed down by the road.


    Hadley’s eyes went wide with horror.


    “Eric!” she screamed, her voice tearing through the cold air.


    She clenched her jaw and forced herself faster, sprinting with everyst ounce of strength in her legs.


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    “Ah… ah…” Each breath came out ragged, her lungs on fire, sweat chilling against her skin as tears blurred her vision.


    “This is it…” she whispered, skidding to a stop.


    The truck was long gone. Only the empty road remained.


    “Eric!” Hadley stumbled to the roadside, her eyes darting wildly, searching.


    When she reached the edge, her stomach dropped.


    A sheer cliff yawned open before her.


    There was no trace of Eric—no movement, no sound.


    He must have gone over the edge.


    “Eric, Eric…” Tears streamed down Hadley’s cheeks as she leaned forward cautiously, trying to peer into the darkness below. The drop was too steep, the depths swallowed by shadow. If Eric had fallen down there… could he still be alive?


    “Eric! Can you hear me?” she cried into the void, her voice trembling. Only the mountain wind answered, cold and indifferent.


    Her fingers fumbled for her phone. Desperate, she dialed his number.


    No connection.


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