Chapter 272

Before he could finish, Clifford bolted out the door. Ziven ordered two men to stay behind while the others ran off to find Latisha.

...

After walking for half an hour, Latisha reached the edge of a high cliff. She held a lamp, but when she looked down, she could see nothing but inky blackness.

The wind echoed through the valley, sounding like the roar of a wild beast. She was surrounded by waist-high weeds that rustled in the wind.

Latisha stood on the precipice, holding the lamp. Its glow was small, and from a distance, it looked like a single, luminous pearl in a sea of grass. She glanced down at the bomb on her ankle. Eight hours left on the timer.

After standing there for a long while, she finally remembered what she had come to do: kill herself. She placed the lamp on the ground. That way, when Clifford came looking for her, he would know she was already dead and wouldn't waste any more time.

Latisha closed her eyes and took a step toward the edge of the cliff.

"Latisha!"

A voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Don't!"

Latisha whipped her head around and saw a dark figure moving swiftly toward her through the tall grass. Though she couldn't see clearly, she could sense the panic in his movements. His voice was trembling. Her gaze flickered. As the man drew closer, she closed her eyes and leaped off the cliff.

"Latisha!"

Clifford was a second too late. He reached out, his hand grasping only empty air. "Mr. Lambert!"

Ziven, who had caught up from behind, watched in horror as Mr. Lambert jumped right after her.

"No, no, no!" Ziven scrambled to the edge, his heart pounding in his chest. He stretched out his hand but couldn't reach Clifford, just as Clifford hadn't been able to reach Latisha.

But Ziven didn't have the courage to jump. He collapsed at the cliff's edge, his legs giving out from under him. He stared down into the black abyss, his eyes vacant with shock and disbelief.

Mr. Lambert... jumped?

How much do you have to care about someone to follow them off a cliff without a moment's hesitation? Even if it meant death?

Wind roared in Latisha's ears, so strong she couldn't open her eyes. The faint light

of the lamp on the cliff above shone like a distant star, growing smaller and smaller.

Then, just above her, she saw a familiar silhouette, so close.

Tears streamed from her eyes, and she reached out, trying to grab him.

She was wrong. She was so wrong to have believed Santino. If Clifford was willing

to give up his life, what did a company even matter...?

Latisha had never dared to hope for anything more from him, but now, his actions were showing her just how much he cared. And just how catastrophically wrong she had been.

Latisha opened her mouth, trying with all her might to force out the sound trapped in her chest, to shatter the shackle that had bound her fonso long The cold wind ushed into her mouth as she focused all her breath, all her will, in her chest.

"Cli..."

A hoarse, unfamiliar syllable escaped her lips. For a moment, she didn't even know where the sound had come from. A thousand thoughts flashed through her mind in just a few seconds.

When she came to, an icy coldness enveloped her as water flooded her nose and mouth. The freezing water blinded her. Her heavy down jacket, now waterlogged, dragged her deeper and deeper. She struggled, but the more she fought, the faster she sank.

In that moment of despair, a hand grabbed hers. She clung to it like a lifeline,

holding on with all her remaining strength.