The Abandoned Wife Dumped Him First (Victoria and Elias) novel Chapter 114

The forest was silent. Dark clouds obscured the moon, plunging the surroundings into pitch-black darkness.

To save her phone's battery, Victoria navigated by feel, slowly making her way uphill in the dark.

Whether it was the cold of the rainy night or just her imagination, the silence felt unnervingly deep. The chirping of insects seemed sharper and louder than usual, drilling into her ears.

The higher she went, the more difficult the path became; a single misstep could send her slipping.

Victoria forced herself to concentrate, checking her phone for a signal every few minutes.

She had no idea how far she'd walked when the searing pain in her ankle intensified. She clung to the branch until it might as well have been the only thing keeping her alive, bending over as a sharp breath tore out of her.

Beads of cold sweat dripped from her forehead.

Victoria stood still for a long moment before taking out her phone again. As the screen lit up, two bars of signal appeared.

A small smile touched her lips.

Her efforts hadn't been in vain. She finally had a signal.

Not daring to waste a second, she found Sunny's number and called. The line rang only once before it was picked up.

"Victoria? Victoria, is that you? How are you? Are you okay? I heard there were landslides everywhere! Is it safe where you are? I couldn't reach you, I was so scared! I..." Sunny's frantic voice echoed clearly in the quiet night.

"Sunny, I'm fine," Victoria said, taking a deep breath to make her voice sound as normal as possible.

Sunny's eyes welled up with tears. "I'm so glad you're okay. By the way, do you know Mr. Shawn? He seemed really worried about you. When he found out you were in the village, he didn't even wait for the helicopter. He drove straight in this afternoon. I think he was coming to find you."

Mr. Shawn?

Elias?

Victoria froze, but quickly dismissed the idea.

The Havenport project was large, but not so large that it would require Elias himself to oversee it. Besides... Elias would never be worried about her. He wasn't the only person with the surname Shawn.

With that in mind, she asked, "Are you talking about Justin Shawn, the younger Mr. Shawn?"

But before Sunny could answer, her phone vibrated, a low battery warning flashing on the screen.

No time!

Pushing all other thoughts aside, Victoria didn't care who this "Mr. Shawn" was. She spoke quickly and clearly.

"Sunny, listen carefully. There have been landslides all over the village, and the water is rising fast. I helped the villagers evacuate to a hut on the mountain to wait out the storm. Most of them are elderly or children, and we had to leave in a hurry, so we don't have much food or extra clothing. Can you contact the rescue team and see if they can—"

Before she could finish, her phone screen went black and shut down completely.

She frowned and held down the power button, but the phone wouldn't turn on again. Perhaps water had gotten inside and damaged the battery.

She wondered if Sunny had heard enough.

Victoria's eyes dimmed. She turned to head back.

Suddenly, a rustling sound came from the bushes nearby. Her heart raced. She suddenly remembered what Mr. Jenkins had told them before they climbed the mountain.

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