Willow leaned on the stone b, and the sounds got clearer by the second. She could almost hear the sound of the crackling mes as they consumed everything in a frenzy.

    She almost seemed to hear Grace’s weak voice. Thetter was uttering the same luby that she used to sing when she was putting her to sleep.

    “The sky is bright, and the moon is so high. And precious Willow’s sleep drew nigh.

    “The sky is bright, and the moon is so high…”

    Eventually, Grace’s voice faded.

    Willow pushed against the stone b with everything she could. She wanted to get out, but Grace put her weight on it, preventing her froming out. The basement might’ve been cramped, but it gave her a fighting chance at survival.

    Willow pressed against the stone b with both her hands as blood trickled downward and fell to the floor, drop by drop.

    She wasn’t sure when it started, but tears were already streaming down her cheeks.

    Eventually, the sky turned dark. It was like one of the summer evenings, with a hint of coolness and the hum of cicadas. She sang quietly.

    “The sky is bright, and the moon is so high. And precious Willow’s sleep drew nigh.

    “Morpheus, will you spare her from your woes? Precious Willow sleeps below.

    “Soon she’ll rise, into a tall girl will she grow.”

    Willow heard it. She could finally hear it. Leaning against the stone b, she hummed the luby Grace used to sing her when she was a little girl.

    Meanwhile, an olddy let out blood–curdling screams over and over above the basement.

    An hourter, the fire was finally put out. The firefighters discovered Grace at the basement entrance. She was still stiffly blocking the holes in the stone b.

    Timothy and Heather entered the house as well. The moment she saw Grace, she threw herself at thetter, yelling, “Madam Harper!”

    The me consumed Grace and took her away from the rest of the world.

    Heather cried so much that she couldn’t even sit upright. Then, she anxiously searched for Willow.

    Shortly after, they heard a thumping noise from the basement. The firefighters lifted the stone b, finding Willow inside. Her palms were covered in blood, and she had scratches all over her, giving rise to a gruesome sight.

    Willow pushed everyone out of the way and slowly took steps toward Grace. She lifted the piece of cloth from thetter’s face and carefully brushed the gray hair aside.

    She didn’t dare to shed tears, fearing that they would drop on Grace’s cheeks. Thest thing she wanted was for her sadness to bind thetter to the mortal world.

    Willow wiped Grace’s face clean with trembling hands as she kneeled next to thetter. Then, she gently sang the luby bthat /bGrace used to sing to her all the time.

    “The sky is bright, and the moon is so high. And Grandina’s sleep drew nigh.

    “Morpheus, will you spare her from your woes? My Grandma sleeps below.

    “Soon she’ll rise, into a new form will she grow.”

    Much time had passed. Willow was still down on her knees, and her body was still bent down as she hugged Grace, who had given her a shot at life.

    Heather kneeled next to Willow. She med herself for the tragedy. She should never have left Willow and Grace alone at home. Instead, she should have thought of all the possibilities.

    The door at the rear of the basement was locked. That was proof that someone was after Willow’s life.

    However, Willow was sure of one thing. Something like this would only happen once. She wouldn’t let it happen again.

    A white cloth was draped over Grace’s skinny frame. Willow got down on her knees and bowed deeply, saying her farewells to

    thetter.

    “Mom, I have to head somewhere now. You need to stay back and look after Grandma.”

    Heather was immediately stunned. Did Willow hear what they said?

    Before she could ponder it, Willow had walked out of the smoking ruins. It used to be a ce where she and Grace called home, but she was robbed of it now.

    Someone would pay a heavy price for this. She would make sure of it.

    Heather shoved Timothy and cried out, “I’m going to stay here, but you have to follow Willow and make sure nothing happens to her.”

    He needed no further prompt and immediately took off after Willow.

    The night was dark, and a ck limousine was tearing through the streets, heading for Heartwell Hospital.

    Aliciay on a hospital bed in the VIP ward. The doctors had just narrowly wrestled her from the Grim Reaper’s clutches.

    Julian was taking her back to the hospital, but she had a sudden asthma attack when she was getting out of his car.

    He couldn’t have just left her at the side of the road. So, he had no choice but to take her to the nearest hospital, and that took two hours of his time.

    Now that Alicia was fine, Julian pulled out his phone and checked the time. To his surprise, it was already 10:20 pm. Grace and Willow would have gone to sleep by now.

    Julian said to the Burkes nonchntly, “If that’s all, I’ll be taking my leave now.”

    Charlie and Nancy thanked him, but he responded with the same nonchnce he demonstrated a minute ago, “It’s no problem.”

    Then, Julian stared at Alicia. “Take good care of yourself.”

    She anxiously got out of bed and immediately embraced him. Her voice was trembling when she spoke.

    “Julian, I know our rtionship has etched itself in your heart. There’s no way you’ve forgotten about it, right?”

    He frowned and was about to push her away when he suddenly looked at the door and got petrified.

    Willow was standing right there. She wore mourning clothes and was covered in blood. When she walked toward bhim/bb, /bbher /bbeyes /bwere brimming with iciness.

    There wasn’t any emotion on her face. She merely raised her hand and pped him in perfect calmness.

    “I stopped caring about who you love a long time ago, but your youthful love has finally cost me the person closest to bme/bb./b”

    Willow pped Julian once more. She broke the skin on her palm this time, but she didn’t feel any pain at all. All she knew was that she had lost Grace.

    Grace was the most important person to her, and she had lost her

    Willow’s lips trembled. Then, she sprang into action maniacally, intending to skin Julian alive.

    He did everything he could to pull her into his arms, but he couldn’t subdue her. She had snapped and was overwhelmed by iher /iemotions.

    Julian’s heart clenched. Did Willow get her hearing back? Was she wearing mourning clothes because Grace had moved on to a better ce? How did this happen?

    Willow wept and sneered. “Are you thinking about how something like this could’ve happened?”

    Alicia chimed in gently, “Willow, could this have been a misunderstanding?”

    Willow pped Alicia hard and yanked thetter’s hair before mercilessly throwing her to the floor.

    “It’s one unexpected incident after another. Don’t even try to tell me those were just coincidences either!

    “There’s the abduction, leukemia, and kidney failure. Then, Leonard just had to rush to Grandsburg, and Catherine died out of nowhere. Lastly, there’s my grandma’s death.

    “Are you going to tell me that you have nothing to do with all of these? I’m going to look into the bottom of all these. “Alicia, I know you’ve applied for a visa, but I sent someone to make a police report. You won’t get away, and you won’t be able to get back to Grandsburg. If you die, you’re going to die here at Brindley!”

    Julian’s voice was hoarse as he asked, “Do you suspect that Alicia is behind all of those?”

    Willow knew that he wouldn’t believe it. After all, he used to love Alicia when he was younger. He would suspect the entire world before he suspected her.

    She turned around slowly and faced Julian, asking softly, i“/iAre you feeling heartbroken? If you are, feel free to p me for her sake. I’m standing right here, and I won’t fight back. This is your chance to show your undying loyalty to her.”

    “Willow Harper!”

    She raised her head, suppressing the sorrow in her heart. Tears were streaming down her face as she pped him mercilessly. “Julian Ziegler, from here on out, I want you to stay the hell away from me. I do not want to see you again for the rest of my ilife/i, as well as in my afterlife. You’re the person I hate the most!”

    At the inext /imoment, a stream of fresh iblood /iflowed down her feet staining her dress and her calves.