Chapter 439
[ 478 words ]
Chapter 439:
“So, Caroline,” he said, his voice low in the stillness. “What brings a woman like you to a place like this? What are you fighting so hard for?”
She hesitated for a moment, then decided on the simple truth. “My husband,” she said softly. “He’s here. Somewhere.”
The word “husband” landed in the space between them. She saw the smile on his face freeze for a fraction of a second, a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes, before his composure snapped back into place.
“Ah,” was all he said.
He was about to say something else when the floor beneath them lurched. It wasn’t the gentle rolling of the previous aftershocks. This was a violent, brutal snap. The entire building groaned, the sound of tortured metal and cracking concrete filling the air.
Dust and debris rained down from the ceiling as a spiderweb of cracks spread across it.
Caroline cried out, instinctively dropping to the floor and covering her head.
Sterling was already moving, his reaction instantaneous. “The building’s coming down! We have to get out!” he yelled, grabbing her arm and hauling her to her feet.
He dragged her toward the doorway, toward the stairs, toward a chance of survival. But it was too late. With a deafening roar, a huge section of the ceiling directly above them broke free. A massive concrete slab, tons of it, began to fall.
𝘘𝘶a𝘭𝗶𝘁y 𝘵r𝘢𝗇𝘀𝗅а𝗍i𝘰n𝗌 𝗈𝗇 𝗀𝘢𝗅ո𝗈𝘷е𝘭s.𝗰𝗼𝗺
Caroline’s mind went blank with terror. This was it. This was how it ended.
In that final, frozen moment, Sterling did something she would never have expected. He didn’t try to pull her clear. But before he moved, she reached out and gripped his arm. “Go without me,” she said, her voice urgent and steady even as the building screamed around them. “You’re faster alone. Get out. Find help. I’ll—”
“Shut up,” he cut her off, his voice a raw snarl. There was no hesitation in his eyes—only a fierce, unyielding refusal. He used the last precious second to plant his feet, gather all his strength, and shove her with all his might.
“Go!” he roared.
The force of the push sent her flying out of the office doorway and onto the landing. She hit the ground hard, the air knocked from her lungs. Behind her, she heard a sickening, final crunch.
“Sterling!”
The scream was torn from her throat, a raw, ragged sound of pure horror. She scrambled to her feet and turned.
The doorway was gone, blocked by the slab of concrete. And pinned beneath it was Sterling. His legs were trapped, crushed under the immense weight. A dark pool of blood was already spreading out from under the slab.
His face was a ghastly white, beaded with sweat, but when he saw that she was safe, he managed a weak, pained smile.
“Looks like… my luck finally ran out,” he gasped, his breathing shallow. “Go, Caroline… Get out of here. The rest is going to come down.”
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