?<strong>Chapter 436:</strong>


    She looked tranquil, as if she had finally found the sce she had long sought. “Joelle!”


    Shawn and Katherine arrived just then, having heard the news a bitte. “How is Joelle?”


    Adrian clutched his chest, the biting wind from earlier cutting through him with a cruel sharpness. He remained silent in response to Shawn’s question, instead staggering toward the ambnce.


    Katherine quickly eximed, “Shawn, let’s follow them to the hospital!”


    In the ambnce, Adrian was so tense that he felt physically nauseated. He gripped Joelle’s hand tightly, his bloodshot eyes filled with desperate intensity. “Please, save her.”


    “Please calm down, sir,” the doctor said, trying to soothe him.


    Adrian’s vision blurred again, the thought of Joelle’s potential death churning his stomach.


    When the ambnce arrived at the hospital, both Joelle and Adrian were carried inside. After receiving urgent treatment, Joelle narrowly escaped death, though she remained deeply unconscious, her body marked by numerous injuries. Adrian, on the other hand, was in a more stable condition. The doctor administered a sedative to help calm his frazzled nerves.


    As soon as he awoke, his first instinct was to inquire about Joelle’s condition.


    Can, everposed, offered his support. “Mr. Miller, Ms. Watson is no longer in danger. You need to rest. Her friend and brother are by her side.”


    Adrian coughed repeatedly, his fists tightening in frustration, utterly exasperated by the weakness of his own body.


    “Find out why Joelle jumped. We need to know who pushed her to confront those disparagingments online.”


    “Understood,” Can replied. “Mr. Miller, the authorities stopped by earlier as well.”


    “What did the police say?” Adrian asked.


    Can answered truthfully. The police wanted to question Adrian about Wade’s whereabouts, but since Adrian had been unconscious, Can had stepped in. His ount matched Joelle’s—they didn’t know Wade. The police had told him that Rnd could still be alive. The coffin had been empty, so a DNA test couldn’t be performed. Whoever was behind this must be hiding something. Why take a body unless there was a reason to keep it concealed?


    Adrian clung to the hope this could offer Joelle some sce. Maybe the idea that Rnd wasn’t truly gone would ease her pain, even if just a little. But he couldn’t afford to believe too much, not without risking fueling a hope that mightter be shattered.


    That night, Adrian stayed by Joelle’s side, holding her hand. He didn’t move, didn’t eat or drink, his gaze fixed on her peaceful face.


    Shawn had endured many ups and downs throughout his life. One after another, he had weathered the storms, but he still couldn’t fully process everything. He had already lost so much—his mom and dad, and now his sister had jumped off a building. What was the point of everything he’d done all these years?


    Was he destined to watch his family fall apart, piece by piece, until only ghosts remained?


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