I watched his steps halt abruptly. He turned toward her.
Not even a second of hesitation.
He ran back to Victoria, leaving me standing there alone, completely frozen.
The chaos intensified. The crystal chandelier overhead groaned with the shaking ground. The next second, it tore loose and came crashing down—straight toward me.
My pupils shrank. My mind went white.
At that critical moment, a dark figure rushed forward and shoved me hard.
With a deafening crash, the chandelier smashed into the spot where I'd just been standing. Fragments exploded everywhere.
I staggered, caught myself, and finally saw who had saved me—Marcus, Richard's personal bodyguard.
He stood up and turned to me. "Miss Ye, it's dangerous here. The chairman asked me to escort you out—and to give you this."
He handed me a document.
I took it. A divorce agreement. The one Richard had prepared in advance.
Following his gaze, I looked toward the main seat. Richard was being escorted out by several bodyguards.
I bowed deeply in his direction. "Chairman, thank you for looking after me these seven years—and for saving my life today."
Then I followed the bodyguards out of Gilbert Mansion.
On the other side, Ethan had escorted Victoria to a safe clearing outside. Only after confirming she wasn't seriously hurt did he let out a breath.
But before he could even catch it, the scene in the banquet hall came flooding back.
Unease coiled around his heart like vines, tightening. The more he thought, the more panicked he became.
Like something important was slipping through his fingers.
"No. I'm going to find her."
He stood abruptly. Victoria grabbed his sleeve. "Ethan, my stomach hurts—maybe the earthquake scared the baby. It feels awful…"
Before, he would've checked on her immediately. Now, he shook her off. "Have an assistant take you to the hospital. I have something to do."
He turned and ran toward the mansion without waiting for her response.
He burst into the banquet hall, shouting my name. "Alex! Alex!"
Only the wreckage answered.
He grabbed a servant cleaning up the mess. "Where is Alex Simmons?"
The servant flinched. "Miss Ye left with the chairman's bodyguards… She said she and the Gilbert family don't owe each other anything anymore."
"Left…?"
His pupils contracted. Panic crashed over him like a wave.
