?Chapter 2869:


    Fear wed at her chest, her breathing uneven as she whispered shakily to the man she carried, “Eric, I’m not afraid… not if you’re with me. You’ll keep me safe, won’t you?” Her words were nothing more than a fragile shield against her terror.


    “Mmm…” A weak groan slipped from Eric, faint but just enough to sound like a reply.


    For a moment, Hadley stopped in her tracks, a nervousugh escaping her lips.


    “So you heard me? Then it’s a promise. I trust you. You wouldn’t deceive me…”


    To keep the fear from swallowing her whole, Hadley forced herself to keep talking.


    “Grandpa, Grandma, Mom… please, guide us. Don’t let anything happen to Eric or me. Bring us through this safely.”


    Every step with his weight pressing down on her drained what little strength remained. Her arms trembled, her back screamed, and she knew her body was nearly done.


    She had no spare hand to check her phone, yet she understood—if there had been a signal, Phillips would have reached out by now.


    “Eric,” she whispered gently, her voice trembling.


    “Am I right?”


    No reply came this time.


    “Eric?” she called again.


    Eric’s head tilted sideways, pressing lightly against her neck, and his scorching breath brushed her cheek. Heat radiated from him, far worse than before.


    Perhaps that was why he couldn’t answer her.


    “Eric? Stay with me! Joy is waiting for us…” Panic wed at her chest, dragging her heart down like sinking lead.


    “She’s your little princess, Eric. You wouldn’t leave her behind. You’ll hold on for her, won’t you?”


    Tears clouded her eyes as panic and dread swept through her.


    “No… nothing bad will happen.”


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    Hadley clenched her teeth as she bit her lip, shaking her head.


    “This can’t be…” she muttered under her breath.


    They had survived far too much to end like this.


    So much had already been ovee; Eric hadn’t fought through all of it just to fall here.


    And Hadley? She had faced her mother’s death, her father’s abandonment, and her grandmother’s passing. She had even scraped by in the, caring for Joy.


    Two people forged by hardship like them couldn’t be trapped here.


    “No way,” she said firmly to herself.


    Suddenly, her foot slipped.


    In the darkness, she stumbled over a hidden stone.


    Terror seized Hadley’s chest.


    She could endure the fall, but if Eric’s battered body suffered more, the cost would be unbearable.


    Catching him wouldn’t matter; she already knew her strength would fail if she had to lift him once more.


    The realization mmed into her mind in a single heartbeat.


    “I can’t go down!” she said through clenched teeth.


    Bracing herself, she widened her stance and sank her weight low, her knees buckling as she fought to stay upright.


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