Chapter 739: The Last Glimmer of Hope

Chapter 739: Chapter 739: The Last Glimmer of Hope

How she wanted to escape. But as she bled more and more from her lower abdomen, her body grew weaker. Coupled with the contractions, she couldn’t move at all.

When she looked back again, the flames were climbing up the wooden staircase, gradually spreading toward the kitchen.

The air grew hotter and hotter.

"COUGH! COUGH! COUGH..." She broke into an uncontrollable coughing fit. She couldn’t afford to just sit there anymore. ’No matter how much it hurts, I have to crawl out of here!’

The moment she turned, the old-fashioned crystal chandelier on the living room ceiling suddenly came crashing down, landing right on her left shoulder, of all places.

"Ahhh—" Ivy Tanner screamed. It felt as if her left arm had been hacked off, the pain so intense she was about to pass out.

Dazed for a few seconds, she looked up at the ceiling. A large chunk of the plaster had fallen with the chandelier, and its wires now snaked across the floor. She could clearly see that part of the wiring had been chewed through by rats.

’This house is truly ancient,’ Ivy Tanner realized, but it was too late.

She couldn’t lift her left shoulder. Shards of glass had peppered her legs, leaving countless cuts. ’Is this it? Am I going to die here today?’

’I really don’t want to die...’

’My baby hasn’t been born yet. I don’t want to die.’

’What do I do???’

Growing more and more frantic, Ivy Tanner struggled to lift her hand and grab the phone.

She tried calling Ethan Kingsley, but all she got was a busy signal.

All she could do was leave another message. "Ethan Kingsley, the fire is getting bigger! I’m hurt and I can’t move. Please, just pick up the phone, okay?"

"Tell me where this place is... I can call for an ambulance..."

"If you won’t answer, then forget it. I’ll find someone else."

She hung up and dialed the emergency number again.

"Hello, this is the pregnant woman who called earlier. There’s a fire where I am! Can you see the black smoke from my location? There’s a fire—BEEP—"

The call had suddenly dropped.

Ivy Tanner froze for a moment before realizing the phone line had been burned through.

’It’s over. I’m finished.’

Despair washed over Ivy Tanner. She stared helplessly as the fire roared like a cackling demon. She was so, so desperate.

Just then, another contraction hit her, accompanied by a strange sensation... the urge to push...

’Is the baby coming?’

Ivy Tanner looked down at her belly as a faint idea sparked in her mind. ’Since I can’t crawl out, why not just have the baby here?’

’Yes, I’ll deliver the baby first, and then I’ll figure out a way to get the baby outside to safety.’

The last sliver of hope ignited in Ivy Tanner’s heart. ’Before the fire gets here, I have to try!’

–

In the same neighborhood, abandoned villas stood everywhere. Ever since Ethan Kingsley bought this plot of land, the community had been deserted.

But for that very reason, the place had become a temporary base for Orion Osborne to contact his subordinates.

Half an hour ago, Orion had just finished a meeting with his men. They had all dispersed, leaving only him and Shadow behind.

Orion sat on the sofa, a laptop in his lap, his attention fixed on the live broadcast of today’s Aridian presidential election.

Shadow stood guard by the window. Seeing smoke rising from a villa not far away, they said, "Orion, that villa over there is on fire."

Orion glanced up and said in a low voice, "Prepare to evacuate."

"Yes, sir!" Shadow immediately came over and began methodically packing their things, leaving nothing behind.

Orion packed his computer away into a casual backpack and strode out of the villa.

As the pair passed the burning villa, they suddenly heard a baby’s cry: "WAAAH! WAAAH! WAAAH..."

Orion stopped in his tracks. An image of Claire Sinclair’s face flashed through his mind. ’That woman is still in the hospital, having a difficult labor,’ he thought. ’I wonder how she’s doing.’