?Chapter 2894:


    “Ugh…” He clenched his jaw, swallowing the groan.


    “Does it hurt?” Hadley asked softly, guiltcing her voice.


    “I shouldn’t have let youe.”


    “I’m fine…” Eric forced a smile, though sweat beaded on his brow.


    “Ernest is bringing Locke. Joy… she needs her father too.”


    Hadley’s eyes stung, tears threatening as her throat tightened.


    “Okay.”


    They pushed forward.


    Then, piercing the silence, a woman’s desperate cries rang out.


    “It’s not my fault! Please!”


    Almost at once, Locke’s panicked voice followed.


    “Daddy! Uncle Ernest! Uncle Phillie!”


    Joy’s frightened sobs echoed through the dark.


    Hadley’s grip on Eric’s arm tightened. They broke into a run, voices rising together.


    “Joy!”


    Hadley’s cry fractured as tears spilled down her cheeks.


    A faint glow appeared ahead.


    Clustered shlights revealed Ernest clutching Locke, while Phillips held Joy in his arms. Both children wept bitterly, fear spilling over after days of torment.


    “Joy!”


    At her mother’s voice, Joy startled. Slowly lifting her tear-streaked face, she spotted her parents. Her lips trembled.


    “Daddy! Mommy!” she wailed, her small voice breaking with relief.


    “Joy!” Eric forgot his pain, stumbling forward before dropping to one knee. He gathered his daughter into his arms, crushing her against his chest.


    “My sweet girl… my brave girl,” he whispered, his heart flooding with relief and love.


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    “Hadley!” He reached out a hand toward Hadley.


    Without hesitation, Hadley rushed forward, wrapping her arms around Joy. The three clung together desperately, as if nothing in the world could tear them apart again.


    “Joy, my baby… my darling girl!” Hadley wept into her daughter’s hair.


    “Daddy! Mommy!” Joy sobbed, clutching them both with trembling little hands, unwilling to ever let go.


    “Mr. Flynn, Mr. Scott, let’s get out of here first,” Phillips said. The bunker felt far too dark and tight, and it was no ce for a proper discussion.


    Still holding on to their relief after finding the children, Hadley and the others quickly snapped out of it and followed Phillips’s advice. With the children in their arms, they made their way toward the exit.


    “Dad.” Locke clung to Ernest’s shoulder and pressed his small face against his father’s neck. He knew he had done wrong, and his timid posture showed it.


    Ernest looked down at his son.


    “Yes. What is it you want to tell me?”


    Locke’s lips curved into a pout before he said, “I made a mistake.”


    Understanding flickered in Ernest’s eyes. He turned to Hadley and Eric, who stood nearby, and said gently, “You did that because you were missing your mother, didn’t you?”


    “Yes.” Locke’s head dipped low.


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