?Chapter 2857:


    Suddenly, she grabbed her phone.


    “I’ll call for help—”


    But the moment she unlocked the screen, she froze.


    No signal.


    Of course. That was why she hade down here in the first ce—she hadn’t been able to reach Eric’s phone either.


    “Eric.” Hadley pocketed the device, lips pressed tight, standing still for a long moment.


    Finally, she lifted her gaze.


    “Tell me how to open it. I’ll do it.”


    “No.” Eric gave a faint smile and shook his head.


    “I saw the photo. We don’t have the tools. Even if I exined it to you, you don’t have the strength to force it open.”


    “Then…” Her eyes burned, tears gathering.


    “So we just leave it like this?”


    “Yes.” Eric nodded, unnervingly calm.


    “It’s lodged in my shoulder de. The bone’s holding it—keeps it from going deeper.”


    Hadley stared at him, anger and fear twisting together in her chest.


    “Do you think I’m a three-year-old—or an idiot?”


    If the bone was what stopped it, that meant the trap’s teeth were biting into it.


    “Injuring bone is worse than flesh, isn’t it?” Her voice shook.


    “And the bleeding is getting worse.”


    “You…” Hadley swallowed hard, frustration trembling in every word.


    “You never tell me the truth. You always hide it!”


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    She turned away, refusing to meet his eyes.


    “Hadley?” Eric’s tone softened, uncertain. His shoulders tensed.


    “Are you… crying?”


    He couldn’t see her properly from where he sat.


    He leaned forward, trying to catch a glimpse.


    “Let me see. Please.”


    “See what?” Hadley snapped, spinning back around.


    “You want to see? Fine—look!”


    Her eyes were red and glossy, tears clinging to hershes as she red at him.


    “Happy now? Satisfied?”


    Eric blinked, stunned.


    Hadley was really crying.


    Was it because he was hurt? Because she saw him as… family?


    “We can’t just sit here!” Hadley wiped at her tears and stood abruptly, her gaze sweeping the wilderness.


    “We need to find a way out!”


    There was no signal.


    She had already left a marker by the roadside and informed Phillips and the bodyguards before she climbed down the slope, but who knew how long it would take them to find this ce?


    While waiting, their only hope was to save themselves.


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