But Sophia told her no one else had been injured.


    Noreen was confused. She had clearly smelled the thick scent of blood and heard the man''s pained grunt. As she reyed the sound in her mind, a flicker of familiarity made her hesitate. It was so familiar that she didn''t dare believe it. It had to have been a hallucination. The situation was so chaotic; her mind must have been ying tricks on her.


    Noreen tried to push the strange thought away.


    She received a message from Jude, confirming that he had prepared all the documents and asking if anything was missing. Noreen nced at the list, saw it wasplete, and replied with a simple "OK." She should have closed the chat, but she paused, a question forming in her mind.


    She typed out Seth''s name, then stopped, a sudden rity washing over her. She quickly deleted the text and exited the app. Twenty-four hours earlier, Jude had posted a new update: a heartfelt congrattions to Seth and Bianca on their engagement. The photo showed Bianca beaming with happiness, Seth''s gaze on her filled with deep affection.


    Noreen closed WhatsApp, thest shred of doubt vanishing from her mind. It was just as she thought-she was overthinking things. How could she possibly have imagined that the man who saved her was Seth? She really needed to stop being so sentimental.


    That afternoon, Mrs. Joyner came to visit again. She looked even more frail, her face etched with exhaustion. With her was a little girl, about seven or eight years old, withrge, round eyes that held a timid gaze. The girl clung to Mrs. Joyner''s clothes, never straying from her side. When she noticed Noreen looking at her, she quickly hid behind Mrs. Joyner.


    Mrs. Joyner exined that the girl was an orphan she was sponsoring, who had autism. She had been at the charity g when Mrs. Joyner copsed, and the incident had frightened her so much that she hadn''t left her side since.


    The mention of the g reminded Noreen of her disappointment at having missed it.<fnb18a> Find the newest release on find?novel</fnb18a>


    "Don''t worry about it," Mrs. Joyner said kindly. "There''s always next time, and the time after that. We hold it every year, and I n to keep it going for a long, long time." She stroked the little girl''s hair, and the child buried her face in Mrs. Joyner''s side. It was clear she trusted herpletely.


    Mrs. Joyner was still weak, so Noreen urged her to go back and rest. As they were leaving, the little girl nced back at Noreen from the doorway. Noreen offered her a warm smile. The girl paused for a second before quickly turning away and following Mrs. Joyner out.


    Noreen had been ordered to stay in bed, but after two days, her bones ached from lying still. She couldn''t stand it anymore. While Sophia, the little chatterbox was away, she carefully got out of bed to th walking around. The world still felt like it was spinning, and she had to brace herself against the wall to stay upright.


    The hallway was quiet. Rain pattered against the windows. In a corner Noreen saw a small figure huddled on the floor. It was the title girl with autism.


    Leaning on the wall, Noreen slowly made her way over and crouched down beside her. The girl nced at her but said nothing Noreent didn''t speak either, she just smiled and continued to crouch.


    The two of them, one big and one small, sat there in silence.


    After a while, Sophia came rushing down the hall. Seeing Noreen on the floor, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Noreen, what are you doing here?"


    "Shh," Noreen whispered.


    Sophia''s curiosity grew. "What are you two doing?" she whispered back, crouching down to join them.


    The little girl bit her lip and said softly, "We''re about to turn into mushrooms."


    Sophia was speechless.


    Noreen tilted her head. "What kind of mushroom are you?"


    ***