Chapter 6

Zachary flipped through the pages of his calendar. Only three days remained before his departure.

Today was also Naomi's 29th birthday.

For the past eight years, he had celebrated every birthday with her, just as she had planned.

But this year, Vincent had bought her a birthday cake and prepared a special meal for her.

When Zachary came downstairs, the two were singing "Happy Birthday" together. Naomi even cradled one of the babies in her arms and rocked it gently. The four of them looked like the picture of a happy family.

Zachary stopped beside the table and asked coldly, "Who kidnapped the children?"

Naomi paused, a complicated expression flickering across her face. "It was a misunderstanding. It's all in the past. There's no need to bring it up again."

"What if I insist on knowing?" Zachary enunciated each word.

Vincent shuddered, his face deathly pale. "Mr. Brooks, it was all my fault. I-It was two of my relatives. They wanted to use the children to threaten Ms. Cole, so they..."

Zachary couldn't help but laugh, his eyes full of mockery. "So, Naomi, I went to jail for nothing?"

"What do you want from me?" Naomi shot to her feet, her brows tightly furrowed. "Vincent is innocent. He didn't know anything about it."

"He didn't know anything?" Zachary let out a cold laugh. "Then how did his relatives manage to get into a mansion with top-tier security?"

Vincent's expression changed drastically, and Naomi froze.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Brooks! This is all my fault! I'll go accept my punishment right now..." With that, Vincent turned and rushed upstairs.

Naomi immediately moved to chase after him.

But she had barely taken two steps when a deafening explosion rocked the house!

A maid screamed, "Oh no! There's a fire!"

Vincent's panicked voice rang out. "Naomi, help me!"

Meanwhile, the chandelier above Zachary swayed dangerously, on the verge of crashing down on him.

"Naomi!" Zachary instinctively screamed her name.

She was right beside him. All she had to do was pull him aside, and she could save him. Yet she didn't even turn her head. Instead, she raced upstairs after Vincent!

With a thunderous crash, the entire chandelier came down on Zachary.

In the final moments before he lost consciousness, he saw Naomi, the woman who had always remained composed even in the face of disaster, clutch Vincent desperately in her arms, her eyes red with panic.

"Vincent, wake up! You'll be fine. Nothing will happen to you. I'm here. I won't let anything happen to you..."

Zachary closed his eyes. A single tear slipped from the corner of his eye.

...

Zachary gradually regained some awareness through the haze of unconsciousness.

But his head felt unbearably heavy, as though he were trapped in a dream. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't open his eyes.

He could still hear the loud conversations around him and the rumble of machines.

And so he remained trapped in darkness, with no idea how much time had passed.

Then, suddenly, he heard a familiar voice.

It was Naomi. "How much longer until he wakes up?"

An unfamiliar male voice answered, "Mr. Brooks is in stable condition. He hasn't suffered any serious physical injuries. He's simply unconscious.

"As for how long he'll remain that way, we can't say for certain. He could wake up at any moment, or it might take several more days."

Silence fell around Zachary.

Just as he felt himself slipping back into unconsciousness, Naomi spoke again. "Then give him a few more injections of anesthesia.

"Vincent won't be able to accept even a single burn scar on his body. Use Zachary's skin for Vincent's skin graft surgery."