There was no sign of Estelle Lockwood, and her calls went unanswered.

Nathaniel Sloan’s heart pounded.

The wail of fire engines arrived, and people nearby started complaining. "How could a fire start here? Just my luck!"

"Are you hurt? Oh my God, the textile market is on fire! With all that fabric, they’ll never get this blaze under control quickly... What the hell happened?!"

"I heard it was arson! Supposedly, someone wanted to commit suicide because they couldn’t go on."

"Fucking psycho! If you want to die, can’t you just find a quiet place to do it?!"

Nathaniel Sloan clenched his fists. The flames were devouring everything, and it was as if time had rewound five years. He couldn’t find Estelle Lockwood then, either. His wife was in the fire, and he was held back, helpless, forced to stay outside.

All around him were the complaints of doctors, nurses, and patients’ families.

’What’s the situation with that patient in room 204...’

’Supposedly she was jealous of the superstar Noelle Lockwood and tried to kill herself over it.’

’If you’re going to kill yourself, couldn’t you have picked somewhere else to die?! This is a hospital!’

’I think that pregnant woman who tried to kill herself... her husband never once came to visit her. He was always by Noelle Lockwood’s side.’

’Serves her right, if you ask me...’

Nathaniel Sloan’s eyes snapped open. ’I failed her once. I absolutely will not fail her a second time!’

The deeper he went, the more ferocious the flames grew. Nathaniel Sloan pressed forward, step by step.

He remembered the room where Estelle Lockwood was meeting her client was just ahead. All he had to do was—

"Nathaniel, is that you?"

A figure rushed out. Noelle Lockwood’s face was covered in tears, her crying a picture of delicate beauty. "Nathaniel, you came to save me... I knew you would come for me. Let’s get out of here, quickly."

She had already arranged for reporters to be outside. As soon as Nathaniel Sloan carried her out of the fire, the story would explode on the trending charts.

Then, everyone would know: she had been trapped in the fire by Yara Lockwood, and Nathaniel Sloan had charged into the blaze, disregarding his own safety, to rescue her!

Nathaniel Sloan’s expression darkened. He shoved her aside and continued deeper into the building.

"Nathaniel!" Noelle Lockwood grabbed his sleeve, her eyes shimmering with tears. "It’s so hot, I can barely breathe. Please, get me out of here. There’s no one left inside..."

"Nathaniel, don’t go any further. It’s too dangerous. I just came from in there. There’s really no one else, I swear. Let’s go, please. You can’t get hurt..."

"Shut up!" Nathaniel Sloan snapped.

Noelle Lockwood trembled, tears streaming down her face. "Nathaniel, you won’t save me? Are you really just going to let me die?"

"Where is Yara Lockwood?" Nathaniel Sloan demanded, his voice thick with menace, spitting out each word.

He knew there was a fire, that Estelle Lockwood was trapped, and now he saw Noelle Lockwood at the scene. The memories of five years ago came flooding back!

But time was running out. He didn’t wait for Noelle Lockwood to answer, instead turning and heading deeper inside.

"Nathaniel, Nathaniel! How can you be so cruel? Why don’t you care whether I live or die? You’re going to save Yara Lockwood, so what about me?!"

"We’re childhood sweethearts! If you don’t save me, I’ll die right here! Nathaniel, if I die, do you have any idea how the public will crucify Yara Lockwood?!"

In that instant, Nathaniel Sloan’s loathing for Noelle Lockwood peaked. He tapped his phone a couple of times, and moments later, firefighters rushed in and dragged Noelle Lockwood away.

Then, amidst a field of debris, he saw Estelle Lockwood lying on the ground.

Her eyes were shut tight, and she was motionless.

Nathaniel Sloan’s heart leaped into his throat.

His body moved before his mind could think. He scrambled over the debris and pulled the woman he loved most into his arms.

It was a hug five years overdue.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he carried her and rushed away.

...

At the same time, trending topics, national news media, and all major social platforms instantly blew up.

A deliberately set fire had instantly whipped up a massive storm online.

And with superstar Noelle Lockwood among the injured, public opinion went into a frenzy. The topic shot to the top of the trending charts and stayed there.

[The arsonist is a monster! Punish them to the fullest extent of the law!]

[If the firefighters hadn’t been so quick, I can’t even imagine the death toll!]

[Who sets a fire in a textile market? Do they have any conscience at all?]

These comments were still relatively sane. But on any post related to Noelle Lockwood, her fans were acting like a pack of rabid animals.

[Noelle was hurt! Which goddamn bitch did this! That bitch needs to die! Die! DIE!]

[Someone was trying to kill herself and trapped Noelle! She wanted to take Noelle down with her!]

[A few fans were with Noelle! The woman who started the fire is named Yara Lockwood!]

[Someone dox her!]

[Yara Lockwood is some kind of psychologist? How can a person like that be a doctor? Why didn’t the bitch just die sooner! If you want to die, go hang yourself! Why’d you have to drag Noelle down with you? What’s your fucking game?!]

[Our Noelle is royalty! Her life is worth ten of Yara Lockwood’s pathetic lives! How dare she! Such a low-class person! Gutter trash! The Lockwood Group needs to blacklist Yara Lockwood immediately!]

[This reminds me of five years ago, when another bitch set a fire to kill herself and dragged Noelle into it. Can all these bitches just die already?]

[If the police don’t act and sentence Yara Lockwood, I’ll kill myself and my whole family!]

[Same here! I’m a teacher. If Yara Lockwood isn’t sentenced, I’ll kill all my students and then join them!]

Occasionally, a bystander would quietly leave a comment.

[Hey, Noelle Lockwood’s fans, don’t get so worked up. Didn’t the official statement say they’re still investigating the cause of the fire? That Yara Lockwood woman is still in a coma, and the police haven’t even said she’s the one who set it. You might be yelling at the wrong person.]

[You’re using your own lives and the lives of your families and students to threaten the police into convicting someone? Are you for real? What if it wasn’t Yara Lockwood? It’s like you’re just looking for an excuse to condemn her.]

Soon, this bystander’s comment was swarmed by Noelle Lockwood’s fans. Many even sent the user abusive private messages, telling them to go die.

[Why are you sympathizing with an arsonist? Are you one too? You’re scum! Utter scum! Die, die, DIE!]

[Anyone who hurts Noelle should die! Who the hell do you think you are, even daring to compare yourself to Noelle? All the lives in the world combined aren’t as important as Noelle!]

[It was Yara Lockwood! It was her! Anyone who defends her can burn to death with her and go to the eighteenth level of Hell!]

The bystander was slammed with over ten thousand replies, and his private messages were flooded. In the end, he could only silently delete his post.

But... he had a point.

If Yara Lockwood had really set the fire, the police would have announced their findings immediately. Instead, even after investigating her, their statement remained unchanged: the cause of the fire was still undetermined and under investigation.

But there’s no reasoning with the rabid fans of a superstar.

Estelle Lockwood’s studio was boycotted. Noelle Lockwood’s fans fell back on their old tricks: slander, vitriol, and sending people to block the studio’s entrance and splash paint on the doors.

This made it impossible for the studio’s employees to get to and from work, and the Star Group was once again caught in a storm of controversy.

Henry Kendrick had no choice but to give all employees a few days off.

The online abuse never stopped; it only grew more intense. Even the hospital where Yara Lockwood was admitted was besieged by fans, disrupting the other patients’ treatment and rest.

Two days passed, and Estelle Lockwood still hadn’t woken up.

Nathaniel Sloan kept a quiet vigil by her hospital bed.

He worried she would wake up and see the online furor, so he had removed all phones, computers, and similar devices from the room. But two days had passed, and she showed no signs of waking.