?Chapter 819:


    “Understood, Mr. Noel.”


    Before the call ended, Nichs burst in, his face marked by panic.


    He was so distressed that he lost his usualposure, his voice quivering.


    “Mr. Noel! Ms. Burgess—she… she took sleeping pills to end her life!”


    What?


    Noah stood, shocked, his eyes wide with disbelief.


    Meanwhile, at Myrtlewood Estate, Sadie stood motionless in the cavernous living room, the silence pressing in around her like a second skin.


    Her chest rose and fell in shallow breaths, as if trying to contain a storm brewing inside her.


    The news of Hailey’s pregnancy echoed in her mind, sharp and cruel—like a splinter lodged deep in her ribs.


    Her eyes drifted to the corner of the room, where the trash bin stood half hidden in shadow.


    Moving as if in a trance, she stepped toward it, crouched down, and gently retrieved the photo she’d tossed away hours earlier.


    A snapshot from three years ago. Noah was beside her, his arm wrapped loosely around her waist.


    No smile, but his eyes… his eyes told a different story.


    They had once looked at her like she was the only thing that mattered.


    Her fingers brushed over his face in the picture, slow and cautious, as if she were afraid the memory might shatter under her touch.


    A lump formed in her throat. She couldn’t tell if it was sorrow, longing, or something moreplicated—something unnamed.


    The silence broke with a sudden buzz.


    Her phone lit up. Samuel.


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    Sadie closed her eyes and exhaled a shaky breath.


    “What is it?”


    “Ms. Hudson!”


    Samuel’s voice crackled through the speaker, tight with urgency—far more anxious than usual.


    “There’s been an incident at Mr. Noel’s vi in the suburbs.”


    Sadie’s breath caught. A flicker of dread coiled in her chest.


    “What kind of incident?” she asked, already fearing the answer.


    “Our guy—the one keeping watch—just reported seeing Mr. Noel carrying Hailey out of the vi. It didn’t look good. He rushed her to Jazmah Hopevale Hospital.”


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