?<strong>Chapter 405:</strong>


    Stephen, shaken by the sudden turn of events, leaned heavily on his son and daughter-inw for support.


    “Dad!” Fred eximed, his voice strained with fear.


    “I’m alright. Go! Help them!” Stephen urged.


    The backyard house had three floors and was connected to the front yard by a corridor. But the ten-meter-high mes were already engulfing the backyard building.


    “Dunn!”


    Gracie’s frantic eyes locked onto the second floor, already engulfed in mes. Her motherly instincts unraveled with each passing second. Panic surged through her veins, and without thinking, she bolted toward the fire, her rationality slipping away.


    Fred seized her before she could get too far, intent on going in himself. But the household staff immediately blocked their way.


    “The fire’s too wild! Going in would be a death sentence!”


    “Is Dunn inside? Is he in there?” Gracie’s voice trembled, panic overtaking her.


    The servant hesitated, her voice cracking with emotion. “Not just Dunn… Aurora and Rnd too…”


    Joelle, who had just arrived, went pale. Her knees buckled, and for a moment, she nearly copsed under the weight of those words.


    Fred’s roar cut through the chaos. “How could you let this happen? Weren’t you watching them? How the hell did this fire even start?”


    Gracie reached desperately toward the ze, tears spilling down her face. “Dunn!”


    All eyes were on the Finch couple, none of them noticing Joelle in the background. With quiet determination, she ripped the hem of her gown, soaked it in a nearby water tank, and slipped off her shoes. Without another thought, she darted straight into the burning house.


    Adrian sprinted in right behind her. Both of them vanished into the mes.


    “Joelle! Adrian!”


    The onlookers outside had divided into groups—some frantically trying to douse the mes, others frozen in horror and helplessness. The sound of crackling wood mixed with frantic calls to the fire department.


    The heat, even from a distance, was overwhelming. Up close, it felt like stepping into an oven. Thick, acrid smoke filled their lungs, making it nearly impossible to breathe. Joelle and Adrian barely made it through the door before it gave way, copsing in mes.


    There was no time for words. Their only focus was the children.


    A movement near the stairs caught their attention. Instincts kicked in as they rushed toward it.


    Upstairs, Dunn was cradling Aurora, barely conscious. Each step he took was a battle against his body’s limits. Joelle and Adrian raced toward them, but before they could reach him, Dunn’s legs gave out, and he tumbled down the stairs, his grip on Aurora slipping.


    “Dunn!”


    They both crashed down the burning staircase, their bodies scraping against the splintered wood. Joelle’s heart twisted painfully as she reached them, wrapping them both in the wet fabric of her dress.


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