"What do you mean by that?" Soren asked.


    Evangeline briefly exined their situation-how they''d survived and the conditions on the mountain.


    When she was done, she asked, "What about you? What''s the status of the rescue effort?"


    Throughout the conversation, Evangeline''s tone was calm andposed.


    She spoke of life and death as if it were a trivial matter, like forgetting to prepare dinner.


    For a moment, Soren wondered if she was deliberately trying to scare him.


    The woman who had once cried a river of tears just from being kicked out of the Whitmore family, who would burst into tears at the slightest criticism from him or the Fawkes family-could she really be thisposed when discussing matters of life and death?


    Soren was momentarily stunned.


    The Evangeline before him was so familiar, yet somehow, aplete stranger.


    Soren didn''t answer, and Evangeline didn''t press him.


    She had likely already guessed the truth. If the rescue were simple, they wouldn''t have been waiting this long. And the fact that the person who finally arrived was Soren—thest person who would ever engage in a personal rescue-spoke volumes about the difficulty of the operation.


    Meanwhile, on the clifftop, Glenn waited until the early hours of the morning. When Soren didn''t return, he knew something was wrong.


    The rock face was still slick from the recent rain. Glenn sent a team of professionals to rappel down. They found Soren''s first-aid kit, and a few meters below that, signs of a slip and fall.


    But the terrain further down made rescue operations significantly more difficult, even life-threatening for the rescuers themselves.


    With no other choice, the team had to turn back.


    “The pack was ced carefully on a steep slope. The scuff marks look like he


    suddenly lost his footing, but there are signs of a struggle..."


    Listening to their detailed description, Glenn began to form a theory.


    Soren must have found something Evangeline had left behind.


    He didn''t know whether to consider this lucky or unlucky. Lucky, because it confirmed they were searching in the right direction. Unlucky, because the conditions below made further rescue impossible. ''


    Even if Evangeline was right beneath their feet, he couldn''t risk more lives in such a dangerous operation.


    Glenn walked slowly to the edge of the cliff, staring down into the bottomless, immeasurable abyss. The hope that had sustained him for days shattered, and in an instant, his heart turned to ash.


    An eerie silence fell over the group.


    Seeing Glenn at the cliff''s edge, the rescuers worried he might do something


    reckless. They exchanged nces, preparing to intervene.


    But just then, Glenn turned and walked back.


    The Carlisles only cared about profit.


    His father, Kearney Carlisle, had


    allowed him to use the family''s resources only because Glenn was usefunto them if he died, the


    stea


    Carlistes wouldn''t waste a singl additional resource on Tessa or


    Evangeline.


    And they were waiting for him to bring them home.


    Glenn''s expression returned to its previous coolposure. “Abandon this rescue


    point," he said. "Move to other locations."


    The lead rescuer and his team had


    no objections. They had initially


    focused on this spot because the point of the fall was clear, and they believed Evangeline and Finn might have survived on a ledge halfway down But Soren''s ident had a but confirmed their location. The cliff face below where Soren fell was sheer, with virtually zero chance of finding a foothold.


    Staying here would be a waste of time. It was better to try to reach the bottom of the


    cliff from a different angle.


    “But, about the Fawkes family..."


    "Soren!"


    Just as someone was about to ask how they should handle the Fawkes family, a voice called out from a distance.


    Flora Fawkes and Poppy Yates ran towards them, followed by a retinue of Fawkes family bodyguards.


    They had heard about Soren''s disappearance early that morning and had rushed over immediately.


    Flora scanned the area before rushing up to Glenn, her voice fraught with anxiety. "Is Soren back yet?"


    Before Glenn could speak, one of the rescuers answered, “We''ve already searched. Mr. Fawkes slipped and fell. We believe he''s at the bottom of the cliff.”


    "Then what are you all standing around for?" Flora cried out.