Filed to story: The Regretful Billionaire: An Unpredicted Reunion >>
“Why are you standing there? Save him!” the village chief roared at the onlookers, and everyone immediately went to work. Still, the collapsed classroom was further buried under the rubble after falling rocks from the aftershock piled onto it. The villagers could not move the rocks by hand and would require the help of larger machinery.
Even when the villagers had stopped digging, Danika continued working on the rocks until her fingers bled. She went on as though she couldn’t feel the pain at all.
“Dr. Zellweger, you…” The village chief went up to comfort her but was at a loss for words.
“He’ll be fine,” she muttered while digging. How could anything happen to the invincible Eustace Quincey? “That won’t happen. That’s impossible,” she thought.
The village chief felt sorry for her and attempted to hold her back. “Dr. Zellweger, please don’t go on. The chances of survival are very slim given this situation.”
Even if they assumed that the victims in the rubble were not crushed by the rocks, without heavy machinery to clear them, one could only wonder how long the victims could hang on.
“Chief, I believe he’ll be fine. Please don’t stop. Let’s save the victims, alright?” She shot a pleading look at the village chief. At that moment, she had no idea why she was overcome with sadness. Tears almost rolled down her cheeks.
Feeling touched, the village chief nodded furiously. “Sure, sure. I’ll ask them to continue digging.”
Although they were constrained in many ways, they couldn’t possibly sit back and do nothing.
“Eustace Quincey!” Danika suddenly bellowed at the rubble despite not knowing if the victims could hear her. “I thought you said you wanted to pursue me. If you come out alive, I’ll give you a chance.”
Her voice boomed across the area. The villagers had tears in their eyes when they glanced at her.
When the satellite phone rang again, she quickly took the call as if she were clutching a life jacket. “Where are you?” she yelled at Vincent. “Do you have excavators with you?”
Vincent paused in surprise because he had never seen her in such a distressed state. “Y-yes.”
“How long will it take you to arrive?” she questioned calmly.
“We’re at the entrance to the village, but we don’t know your exact location. That’s why I called.”
Although Clearwater Village wasn’t huge, it still covered considerable land space. Blindly searching for Eustace would be a meaningless task and lead to more delays. Therefore, Vincent decided to call and ask for their location.
Joy was written over Danika’s face, and she turned to the village chief. “The rescue team is here. They have excavators with them. Quick, get someone to bring them here from the village entrance.”
“Okay!” With that, the village chief and another young man dashed toward the entrance without wasting more time. Danika stared at the running young man and looked at the rubble underneath her. She believed Eustace must have heard her promise because she yelled at the top of her lungs.
At the entrance, Vincent met up with the village chief and the young man; he was briefed on the latest development from the two. He almost went crazy when he learned Eustace was buried under the rubble.
“Dear Mr. Quincey, how can! answer your grandfather if something happens to you?” he gasped silently.
He quickened his pace and arrived at Clearwater Elementary soon. He didn’t greet Danika and went straight to the point. “Miss Zellweger, where is he?”
“Here!” She pointed at the collapsed opening that was sealed by the rocks. Vincent hurriedly got someone to drive the excavator over. Danika started feeling nervous. “If they keep digging, will they cause further collapse?”
“Don’t worry, Miss Zellweger. They’re professional,” Vincent replied. She went silent and waited by the side. Although she appeared calm on the outside, she was going through a storm inside as she was afraid that she might not find Eustace alive.
The professional rescue team moved fast to remove the rocks and rubbles, revealing a semblance of the original look of the school.
“He’s here!” someone shrieked, and everyone flocked over to the location, including Danika. She soon realized that she couldn’t be of help and could only wait silently on the side, watching as people brought Eustace out from the rubble.
“Miss Zellweger!” Vincent shouted in great panic when he saw Eustace unconscious.
Danika hurriedly went over and instructed, “Move him somewhere spacious.”
Eustace had been moved to the side. To everyone’s surprise, a few kids were discovered along with him, and they were all safe.
“A man protected us,” the kids claimed. Everyone felt conflicted after learning about Eustace’s heroic actions.
Danika was surprised by his action because she had always thought he wasn’t the type to sacrifice himself for others. The situation clearly proved her wrong, and she was lost. “Have I misunderstood him all along?
she wondered.
Despite having many thoughts about Eustace, she started performing first aid on him. After some checks, she sighed in relief. Although he suffered extensive physical injuries, his life was not in danger. He was temporarily unconscious but doing fine otherwise.
Hearing that, everyone collectively sighed in relief. Vincent was on the verge of tears. He couldn’t imagine the consequences if something horrible happened to Eustace at Clearwater.
The unconscious Eustace was placed in the tent as he recovered. After Danika tended to the kids’ wounds, she sat beside his bed to look after him. She couldn’t explain the reason behind her decision, but she was adamant about keeping watch until he woke up.
Other rescue teams arrived at the scene, and all the villagers were finally accounted for. Sadly, many had been found dead or injured, and most houses had collapsed. The remaining villagers fretted about their livelihood down the road. 1
Two days later, Eustace finally regained consciousness.
“Miss Zellweger, why is he still unconscious? I thought you said he’d be fine.” Vincent was talking to Danika outside the tent with worry. Someone had leaked the news of Eustace’s presence at Clearwater Village, down to the detail that he got buried underneath the rubble. Rumors started circulating that Eustace Quincey was dead.
As a result, the valuation of Quincey Group plunged over the two days and breached the drop limit twice. The shareholders were busy calling the management to get hold of the situation, but Vincent was unable to offer an answer. He hadn’t updated anyone about Eustace’s situation except Old Mr. Quincey. It would be fine in the short term, but he would expect the scheming parties to make a move on Quincey Group if this murky situation were to last longer.
Danika was confident about her skills and assured him, “Don’t worry. He’ll be fine.”
“How about I watch over him? You’ve been with him for two days now. Don’t overexert yourself.” Vincent was worried that Eustace would scold him if he learned about this later.
Still, Danika shook her head and insisted, “It’s okay. I’ll watch over him.” She wouldn’t be relieved until she witnessed him waking up.