Chapter 396

The smoke was suffocating. Tears blurred Madeline's vision, and a cough escaped her, accidentally dialing Trevon's number. She held her breath, not hanging up.

The phone rang insistently, a grim soundtrack to the chaos.

Then, silence. No answer.

A wry smile flickered across Madeline's face.

Madeline was in a tough spot, staring down the barrel of disaster but still clinging to a sliver of hope. It was almost laughable.

A stone's throw away, the Yates family was in the middle of a heated argument, but the thick smoke quickly overcame them, silencing their quarrels.

Madeline tried to tell them, "Conserve your energy and duck down," but the words would not come out. If she dared to remove the damp cloth from her face, the smoke would send her into a coughing fit.

...

It was pitch black outside, and only when the Yates family's house erupted in flames did the villagers notice the fire.

By the time the crowd arrived, the blaze was raging.

"Get water, quick! Put it out!"

Everyon