𝑼𝑵𝑬𝑿𝑷𝑬𝑪𝑻𝑬𝑫 | 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑑𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡

𝑇𝐻𝐼𝑆 𝐼𝑆 𝑁𝑂𝑇 𝑇𝐻𝐸 𝐸𝑁𝐷

A/n: this chapter only will be written in Chase's P.O.V.

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　　 ❛𝐍𝐎!❜ 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐑𝐈𝐏𝐒 from my throat like it's tearing something out of me. My voice cracks, raw, desperate. I thrash against Adam's grip, nails clawing at his arm, legs kicking at the ground. 'Let me go, Adam! Now!'

He holds me for one more second—his own face breaking, torn between reason and mercy—before he finally lets me go. I hit the floor hard, knees slamming against the rough concrete, but I don't feel the pain. There's only one thought in my head, one burning, frantic need: Addilynn.

I throw myself at the rubble, hands already bleeding as I rip stone after stone away. My breath comes in harsh, shallow bursts. The dust burns my throat, stings my eyes, but I can't stop. I won't stop.

Adam joins me, then Bree, then Leo—each of us clawing and dragging at the wreckage. Davenport too, his face set in grim determination, though I can't stand to even look at him. Time feels like it's slipping away, mocking me, and with every second I don't see her face, something inside me tears wider.

Then—God—there she is.

Her skin pale under the dust, lips parted but not moving, eyes closed as if she's only sleeping. But she's not breathing. She's not moving. She looks so breakable, like one wrong touch will shatter her completely.

I feel the sound before I hear it, a howl breaking out of my chest, louder than the crumbling ruins around us. 'No! No! No! This can't be happening!' My vision blurs with hot tears that pour faster than I can wipe away. My body shakes, my hands trembling as I reach for her face, brushing the dirt away like it might wake her up, like she'll open her eyes and smile at me the way she always does.

But she doesn't.

Bree falls apart behind me, her sobs sharp and jagged. She clutches Adam's shirt like she'll fall without him, and he holds her tight, but I see his eyes too—wet, red, glassy. He's breaking just like me, just quieter.

'She's gone,' Davenport says softly, his voice weighted with finality. I want to claw the words back into his mouth, force him to swallow them. 'I'm sorry, you guys.'

'I could've saved her.' The words are barely audible, just a ragged whisper, but they feel like fire in my veins. My tears turn to rage, burning hotter, blinding me. I whip my head toward them, my fists clenching so tight my nails dig into my palms. 'If you guys hadn't stopped me!'

'You would've been crushed, Chase!' Davenport's voice is firm, rational, but it only fuels the fury boiling inside me. 'There was no way you could've saved her.'

'She's dead, Mr. Davenport.' My voice is eerily calm now, but every syllable is dripping with venom. My tears are still streaming, but my tone cuts like glass. I turn fully toward him, my chest heaving. 'She's dead because of you. Adam, Bree and I could've saved her. She would've still been alive. Does her life have no meaning to you?!'

His face falters. For once, the man who always has answers, who always has a plan, looks utterly powerless. 'You're my son, Chase. I had to choose you over Addilynn. There was just no way.'

I shake my head violently, the word tasting like acid as it falls out of me. 'I'm not your son.'

The silence that follows feels louder than a scream.

I bow over Addilynn, my body folding in on itself as if trying to shield her from the world, even now, even though it's too late. My arms wrap around her cold body, pulling her against me like I can will the warmth back into her, like I can force my heartbeat into hers.