A rapid, free fall!

Bang!

……

On the other side, not long after Julian left the manor in a fit of pique, he was caught up by Nina.

She grabbed his arm, her eyes red like a rabbit's: "Julian, what did you mean just now?"

Julian was suppressing a fire inside his heart.

Yet, even he himself didn't understand why this fire had ignited.

He turned his head away, his voice cold and stern: "The timing wasn't right today. Clara is still ill, she..."

"Clara Ke, Clara Ke!" Nina suddenly raised her voice to interrupt him, "Ever since she got that brain tumor, you’ve had eyes and heart for only her! You even went as far as wanting to marry her just to make her happy!"

"Then what do I count as? Julian, do you really like me?"

Julian froze abruptly.

He should have said "I like you."

But for some reason, those words were stuck in his throat, and he couldn't get them out no matter what.

This reaction made Nina’s heart sink deeply.

After a long silence between them, Julian took a deep breath, easing his emotions: "Nina, can we talk about us in a few days?"

Nina was unwilling, just about to force Julian to make a choice.

But his phone suddenly rang.

Looking at the name "Skydiving Base" on the screen, Julian felt a sudden, inexplicable panic.

He answered quickly: "Hello?"

The staff member on the other end spoke politely: "Hello, Mr. Julian. You booked a forty-person skydiving session with us yesterday, but only Ms. Ke arrived today, so I'm calling to refund you for the thirty-nine people."

Julian was a bit surprised: "She went alone?"

"Yes," the staff member replied, "Just a moment ago, Ms. Ke chose to skydive solo..."

Before he could finish, someone on the other end of the line shouted, "Something’s happened!"

Julian’s heartbeat stopped along with that shout, and his feeling of unease grew stronger and stronger.

He gripped his phone tightly and pressed: "What happened?!"

But no one on the other end answered.

Julian was anxious, so he simply pulled open the car door and got in.

Nina watched from the side, looking somewhat dazed: "Julian..."

The only response to her was the roar of the car’s engine as it sped away!

The hour-long drive was cut in half by Julian’s sheer force of will.

When he arrived at the skydiving base, the site was in complete chaos.

The sirens of police cars and ambulances intertwined; everyone’s face was filled with worry, yet there was no sign of Clara Ke anywhere.

Julian’s heart tightened fiercely, and he grabbed a staff member: "Where is Clara Ke?!"

The staff member’s lips trembled: "Ms. Ke, she..."

Before he could finish, two police officers walked up: "What is your relationship to Clara Ke?"

Julian felt as if he were being roasted on a fire, restless and anxious: "I am her... friend."

"What exactly happened? Where is she?"

The police officers exchanged glances, their tones heavy: "We are sorry to inform you, but we just found Clara Ke's body in the valley."

"She did not open her parachute during the descent, resulting in her death."

Julian’s head felt as if it had been struck by a heavy object: "How is that possible! She skydives often, how could she forget to open her parachute?!"

"Is there something wrong with the parachute?!"

The police officer shook his head in denial: "We have checked; there is nothing wrong with the parachute."

"Therefore, our preliminary conclusion is that Clara Ke... committed suicide."

Chapter 11

Suicide!

These two words were like a clap of thunder from the sky, crashing heavily into Julian’s ears.

His brain went blank, and his ears were buzzing.

"Impossible..." Julian shook his head with vacant eyes, "This is impossible."

As he spoke, he started to walk toward the valley.

The police officers and staff behind him grabbed him simultaneously: "Sir, please calm down."

"Mr. Julian, it’s dangerous over there, you can't go!"

Julian ignored them, trying to break free from their restraint: "Clara would never commit suicide. She promised she would get her treatment properly; why would she commit suicide?"

The police officer frowned: "What kind of illness did she have?"

"Brain tumor..." Julian answered subconsciously.

But after answering, it was as if he suddenly understood something.

He stopped struggling and instead took out his phone to message the head of the neurology department who was in charge of Clara Ke.

The person on the other end answered quickly: "Julian, what's wrong?"

Julian gripped his phone tightly, not realizing his voice was shaking: "Clara Ke... how is her illness progressing?"

The head of neurology was silent for a moment: "Dr. Ke originally didn't want me to tell you, but since you are friends, I thought you should be by her side during these final days."

"Half a month ago, Dr. Ke’s cancer metastasized. She gave up surgery and chemotherapy. She doesn't have much time left."

"Thump!"

Julian’s phone slipped from his palm, crashing onto the ground as the screen shattered instantly.

Half a month ago—that was exactly when Clara Ke had told him she wanted a birthday party.

Did she know back then that she wouldn't live long?

Why didn't she tell him?

Why did she suffer through everything in silence without saying a single word?

Julian’s mind flashed back to the lonely look in Clara Ke’s eyes a few hours ago when he had gotten angry at her and walked away.

That was their last meeting!

How sad must she have been after he left?

Today was clearly her birthday; he had hosted this party just to make her happy, but what had he done instead?

On the other side, the staff members were being questioned by the police.

"Ms. Ke had an 'A' license for skydiving. She and Mr. Julian were both regulars here. Ms. Ke had skydived alone before, which is why we felt comfortable letting her jump by herself."

"Ms. Ke signed the high-altitude skydiving waiver every time, just like today... We didn't notice anything unusual about her, other than the fact that she didn't look well when she arrived."

Listening to the staff, Julian’s heart felt as if it were being sliced by a knife.

He could even imagine the expression on Clara Ke’s face when she decided to embrace death in such a way.

She was already feeling down because of her illness, and he clearly knew that... he clearly shouldn't have left her alone!

Julian bent down deeply, his chest aching as if he could vomit blood.

He desperately needed to find an outlet for his emotions and raised his hand, wanting to punch the ground with all his might.

But at the moment it fell, he remembered his profession.

He was a surgeon; his hands could not afford even the slightest injury.

And so, even that small outlet for his emotions was gone.

Just then, medical personnel carried over a stretcher covered by a white sheet.

There were several spots on the white sheet stained by blood. Without lifting it, many people already couldn't bear to look away.

The police officer turned to Julian: "Mr. Julian, please come over and identify the deceased."

Julian’s feet felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead.

He walked over step by step, and as he got closer, he almost lost his footing.

The medical staff lifted the white sheet.

Julian’s lusterless eyes widened suddenly when he saw the face, half-covered in blood.

"She... she is not Clara!"

Chapter 12

This sudden turn of events stunned everyone present.

Several police officers were the first to regain their composure and stepped forward: "What did you say?"

Julian stared intently at the distorted, disfigured face, something surging from the depths of his heart: "She is not Clara. Clara is not dead yet..."

The staff members looked at each other in confusion.

Clara Ke was the only customer who had arrived today, and they had witnessed with their own eyes that she hadn't opened her parachute until she was well past the minimum altitude, falling straight down.

Now that the police had lifted the body from the valley, the person who died wasn't Clara Ke.

Then who could it be?

How could there be another person dead in the valley?

The situation suddenly became serious, and the police ordered everyone at the base to come and identify the body one by one.

But everyone claimed they had never seen this woman before.

Julian grabbed the arm of a police officer, his tone urgent: "She is not Clara Ke, which means Clara Ke is still alive. Aren't you going to send people to look for her?"

"Mr. Julian, please calm down." The police officer removed Julian’s hand, "We have already searched the valley just now; there is no second body."

"Ms. Ke might have fallen into the water. We will send people to look for her in a moment."

"But Ms. Ke did not open her parachute during the descent, so the impact of hitting the water would be significant. Even if she didn't die instantly, I’m afraid she wouldn't have had the strength to swim to the shore afterward."