?<strong>Chapter 406:</strong>


    “Dunn, where’s Rnd?”


    Dunn, on the verge of passing out, slurred his words. “I didn’t find him…” His eyes closed, and he went limp in her arms.


    Joelle’s breath hitched in her throat. The fire upstairs roared louder, and debris rained down like hellfire. “Adrian, take them outside!”


    “Joelle, I’ll go find Rnd.”


    Her lungs already burned from the smoke. She wasn’t sure she had the strength to keep going, but Rnd was still in there.


    Even if it killed her, she would find him.


    Joelle started to move up the stairs, but Adrian’s hand on her arm pulled her back. His eyes, filled with urgency and pleading, locked onto hers through the smoke.


    Suddenly, Gracie and Fred burst in, their voices frantic, “Dunn! Dunn!”


    Adrian handed the two children over and stumbled up the stairs.


    “Adrian!”


    Fred’s voice rang out, sharp with concern, but Adrian didn’t stop. His focus was unwavering. Gracie, acting quickly, pressed a towel to Dunn’s mouth. “Joelle,e with us!”


    Joelle hesitated, her gaze lingering on Adrian’s fading silhouette. Then, with a deep breath, she made her choice. She followed him upstairs.


    Fred and Gracie, left with no choice, hurried the children outside, seeking fresh air.


    Adrian reached the second floor, guided only by fragments of memory.


    Dunn’s yroom stood before him, but it was no longer a room—it was an inferno. mes licked at the walls, devouring everything in their path. The heat was oppressive, turning the air into something thick and unbearable.


    Adrian froze, his eyes locking on the small, ckened figure on the floor. “Rnd!”


    Joelle’s scream tore through the thick, smoky air. A burning beam crashed down between them. Adrian acted instinctively, pulling Joelle back as she struggled against him.


    “Joelle, Rnd’s gone. We can’t save him.”


    His words hung in the air, cruel and final. Adrian couldn’t let Joelle throw herself into the ze for something already lost.


    In the distance, the faint wail of sirens promised help, but for Rnd, it was toote.


    With thest of his strength, Adrian dragged Joelle from the mes.


    By the time they reached the doorway, the fire at the entrance had been pushed back. As soon as they stumbled outside, the cool night air hit them, and they copsed onto the grass, their strength drained, consciousness slipping away.


    Stephen’s voice cut through the chaos. “Go help them!” In a cruel twist, fireworks stored for the evening’s finale began to explode, sending sparks and colors into the sky, a grotesque mockery of celebration. The people scattered, panicked, like ants whose hill had been set aze. It wasn’t until the firefighters arrived that the chaos found some semnce of order.


    After the mes were finally subdued, three charred bodies were found. Two were servants of the Finch family. The other was Rnd.


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