Only then did Arthur realize how weak his legs had become. They couldn’t support his weight at all. The world spun around him, and he nearly collapsed. Wind had already handed Renee and the others over to the arriving police. He rushed forward and caught Arthur just in time. “Sir!” Arthur watched as the ambulance doors slammed shut and it sped off with Ashley and Taylor. His hands trembled as he pointed in the direction it disappeared. “Go! Follow them!” “Yes, sir!” Wind didn’t waste a word. He helped Arthur into the car, shut the door, and took the driver’s seat. The car shot forward like an arrow and vanished in an instant, leaving only the shocking, bloody trail at the entrance of Governance University. At the emergency room, Arthur stood in a daze, staring at the tightly closed doors. His entire body was covered in blood—all of it belonged to the people he loved. The best doctors had rushed in. Every piece of top-level medical equipment was being used, but no one brought back any good news. One after another, critical condition notices were issued. Both of their hearts had stopped. Everyone kept their eyes locked on the doors. They hoped to see them open, but feared the news that might come with it. Nancy and Natalie had already passed out crying. When they woke up, they refused to rest and insisted on staying outside the ER. Taylor’s parents had arrived as well. He was their only son. They had cried the entire way to the hospital and collapsed the moment they arrived. But even in their pain, all they could do was sit outside and wait. Wind brought a warm towel, hoping Arthur would wipe the blood from his hands and body. Arthur didn’t take it. He stared blankly at his stained hands. “Wind… do you think I’m cursed? Everyone who gets close to me ends up dying.” Wind froze. “Don’t say that!” He wanted to comfort Arthur, but he wasn’t good with words. In the end, he didn’t know what to say at all. Arthur’s eyes were empty, his former brilliance gone. He turned and saw the Gibson and Sutton families sobbing uncontrollably. He slowly stood and walked over to them. Then he dropped to his knees. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault. It’s because of me. If it weren’t for me, they wouldn’t have—” He couldn’t finish. He couldn’t bring himself to say “got shot” or “might die.” As if saying the words out loud would make them real. As if naming the horror would make it permanent. Both families collapsed with him, sobbing as they held him. They wanted to comfort him, to say it wasn’t his fault, that he hadn’t wanted this to happen. But they were crying too hard to speak. Arthur’s vision kept going dark. The overwhelming sorrow made him feel like he was going to pass out again and again. But he didn’t want to lose consciousness. He had to stay. He had to see them come out with his own eyes. Every time the darkness crept in, he bit the tip of his tongue hard to stay awake. Wind stood to the side, looking at the people curled up on the ground in despair. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. He hadn’t told Arthur yet that the first attacker—the woman with the knife—was Renee, Zac’s biological mother. And the other two, the ones who had hidden by the wall with guns, had also been identified. Wind sighed quietly and chose not to report it—at least not yet. He knew Arthur couldn’t take another blow. Wind had already summoned every top-tier doctor he could reach. They had all gone inside. Time dragged on, excruciating and slow. Every second felt like a century. Day turned to night, and then to day again. Three full days passed. The doctors rotated in and out of the ER. Every time one came out, they only shook their head with a sigh. The people waiting outside grew more desperate with every hour. Ashley and Taylor had lost too much blood. The Gibson and Sutton families had given everything they had—donating as much blood as they could to keep their children alive. Arthur’s eyes were empty. His face was covered in unshaven stubble, and the blood on his clothes had long dried and turned black. He sat on the bench like a block of wood, surrounded by the thick, suffocating weight of grief and despair. He didn’t know what he’d do if something really happened to Ashley. His life had already been hard enough. He didn’t have the strength to face a future filled with loneliness, pain, and hardship. He didn’t know how to live without her. He didn’t know how to keep going. He didn’t know how to survive the rest of his life.