Chapter 1889


    “Yasmine, what about you?”


    Yasmine confirmed that the rope was tied tightly and wiped the rain off her face. “Me? What about


    me? You have no idea how important you are around here. If anything happened to you, Boyd


    would skin me alive. You can''t die on my watch.”


    Saying these words, Yasmine couldn''t help but shiver all over, feeling an unexpected chill in her


    heart amidst such a situation.


    “I’ll lead the way. You follow.”


    Serana nodded vigorously, her earlier trepidation reced by a semnce of relief. “Okay, okay.”


    She nced at the rope around her waist, then lifted her eyes to look towards the mountain through


    the rain. Confirming that her rope was in their hands, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. Compared


    to the earlier nervousness and caution, she now appeared much more rxed.d2


    A single rope brought about a profound psychological transformation in her. It was precisely this


    change that caught her off guard when the unexpected happened.


    Serana’s movements, once cautious, had grown careless.


    Since she refused to climb by herself, Jasmine had to move closer, bringing them both near the


    precarious branch.


    A sudden gust whipped through the trees, and the branch began to sway violently.


    Jasmine’s face turned a shade paler. Gripping the branch for dear life, she bellowed, “Don’t move!”


    The wind raged, the branch thrashing even more fiercely.


    “Yasmine...”


    Serana watched as Yasmine''s body swayed violently, knowing there was a rope on herself, she


    freed one hand to grab onto Yasmine. In an instant, Serana also lost her bnce and let out a


    scream.


    Those holding the rope felt a sudden tug and, instinctively, they pulled with all their might. A


    resounding crack split the air as the branch snapped.


    When they finally pulled the other end of the rope back, only a nearly catatonic Serana remained.


    The broken branch was still hanging there, but there was no figure upon it. A buzzing filled Bryson''s


    head, his body swaying as he screamed, heart-rending, "Yasmine!!”


    Serana jolted from Bryson’s agonized cry, snapping back to reality only to find nothing but the rain


    before her.


    The fear of this very disaster had cast a shadow over the day’s hopes. And as fate would have it,


    their worst fears materialized.


    “Quick! Get down the hill and find help!”


    “Yes, sir!”


    “Yes!”


    Panic ensued among them.


    Despite their best intentions and this being the most viable rescue method given the circumstances,


    they had allowed a young girl to take a risk, and now disaster had struck.


    Unable to justify their actions to her family, their superiors, or the public conscience, the weight of


    their failure was crushing.


    Darkness had fully descended. The rain grew heavier, the sound of wind and water ominously clear,


    echoing the emptiness of an abyss.


    Serana was rooted to the spot, her face ashen, her body shaking uncontrobly.


    A police officer, frustrated and furious, brushed back his hair and paced before barking orders, “You


    take her down the mountain. The rest of you, get your asses down there and find the missing girl!”


    They sprang into action, Bryson dropping to the ground, supporting himself on his hands and


    stretching out his legs, inching his way down the hill.


    “Hey!”


    “Don’t worry about me. Please, I’m begging you, find Yasmine!”


    His voice seemed to carry all his strength. With a heavy sigh, he leaned further down the slope.


    --


    As Serana was escorted down the mountain, Ava, uneasy and d in a raincoat with a shlight in


    hand, was making her way up.


    Upon seeing Serana, Ava paused, stepping aside to let them pass. She had questions but was


    intimidated by the uniformed figure carrying Serana.


    Belongs to (N)?vel/Drama.Org.


    After they passed, she continued her ascent, following the faint noises to the scene of the incident.


    Her shlight swept the area,nding on the rope on the ground and the broken branch. Ava froze,


    then took a few steps forward, hearing noises from below.


    Serana''s pale face shed in her mind, and she gripped the shlight tighter.


    Something terrible had happened.


    After a moment of hesitation, she turned and raced down the hill.


    --


    Back at the orphanage, Serana was settled in the infirmary when the director came to check on her.


    Boyd was there too, with a bandage wrapped around his forehead.


    Serana, still not fullyposed, was curled up under the nkets, shivering with every breath. Now


    in dry clothes, with her hair dried and her wounds treated, she burst into tears at the sight of Boyd.


    “Boyd...”


    He approached, his brow furrowed at the sight of the bruises on her face. “Did he hit you?”


    The floodgates of Serana’s fear and pain burst open as she recounted her ordeal to Boyd.


    Boyd inhaled deeply, trying to keep his voice calm. “It’s over now. I saw the guy being taken away.


    The details wille out after the investigation, but you should be safe from now on. Stop crying,


    okay?”


    As Serana reached up to wipe her tears, she winced in pain from her wounds.


    The directorforted her gently, “Thank goodness nothing worse happened. You''re safe now.


    That''s what matters.”


    Nodding weakly, Serana agreed.


    The director continued, “Can you tell the police what happened? Start from how you were taken.


    The more we know, the easier it’ll be for them to help.”


    Serana cringed at the memory, her fear palpable.


    Boyd intervened, “She’s still shaken. Can''t this wait until she’s rested?”


    The officer hesitated, then conceded, “Rest up, I''ll wait outside. Whenever you''re ready.”


    Boyd was visibly irritated. “Does it have to be today?”


    The officer gathered his notebook and pen, sighing, “It could be today, tomorrow, or the day after.


    But that doesn''t mean I can''t wait outside now.”


    “You''re burning the candle at both ends. Tough break.”


    “For this case, no matter how hard we slog, we''re in for a scolding.”


    After all, letting a kid barely in her teens take a risk to save someone and then things going south?


    They might as well kiss their badge goodbye.


    Boyd didn''t quite grasp the full weight of his words, nor did he care to. All that mattered was that


    Serana was safe now.


    The director let out a weary sigh, looking at Serana with a mix of regret and pity, “I dropped the ball,


    got too caught up in cooperating with the investigation. I was worried that the perp might have


    aplices, that something like this could happen again.”


    “It won''t,” Boyd suddenly cut in, “Today was a fluke. Yasmine doesn’t hang around here every day.”


    The cop turned to the director, his gaze inquisitive. “Yasmine?”


    The director nodded as a response.


    The officer looked down at Boyd, a frown creasing his brow, “So, you think this little friend of yours


    got nabbed by the bad guy because of Yasmine?”


    Boyd’s expression was stony, “All I know is she can’t stand Serana. She was practically okay with


    Serana being taken by the perp, even seemed to get a kick out of it.”


    The cop snorted with a chuckle, “Kid, don’t talk out of school. How crushed would the girl be if she


    heard that?”


    Boyd let out a scoff as if the officer had told a bad joke, “From where I’m standing, you’re the one


    shooting the breeze. In this world, everyone can get hurt, everyone but Yasmine. She wouldn’t know


    hurt if it bit her. How could someone so cold-hearted ever understand pain?”


    “Cold-hearted?” The officer didn’t want to stoop to a kid’s level, but Boyd was pushing it. “Ask this


    little friend of yours why she’s lying here safe and sound?”


    Boyd frowned and looked over at Serana. The moment their eyes met, Serana shuddered, clutching


    herself tightly and retreating to the corner of her bed.


    Seeing her reaction, the officer continued, “She climbed up a tree on the cliffside during the storm,


    too scared to climb back down. The branch was too frail for an adult, and it was that ''cold-hearted''


    girl you mentioned who climbed up and rescued her.”


    Boyd was taken aback. He then looked back at Serana, who bit her lip and nodded, “It was... it was


    Yasmine who saved me.”


    Boyd’s tense face rxed slightly. He’d been yed by Yasmine’s stubborn lies again.


    “Where is she now?”


    Serana didn’t speak.


    But the officer went on, “She gave her rope to this kid. On the way back, the branch snapped. She


    was saved, but the girl fell. Now, we don’t know if she’s alive or not. Given how steep that mountain


    is, even if she survived, she could be crippled. Poor thing, just turned ten and risked her life to save


    someone, only to be branded cold-hearted by a ''friend''.”


    “Boyd...”


    Boyd leaned on Serana’s hospital bed, his pale face a mixture of shock and rising anger. “What are


    you yapping about?!”


    The officer squinted down at him, “What did you think happened? Why do you think none of the


    other guys came back from the mountain? We left all our manpower to search for that girl who fell


    off the cliff. Looks like I’m about to lose my job over this. The case can wait a bit longer. Let the


    patient rest, and let me know when she’s feeling better.”


    Boyd’s head spun, his stance unsteady, but he bolted out the door anyway.