Kenneth had just reached the top when he saw Denise at the mouth of the cave. She was holding on to the stick that seemed like it was about to fall out of her grip anytime soon.
“Denise!” Kenneth exclaimed in both shock and delight. With one last push, he climbed onto the top.
Natasha, who had been climbing behind Kenneth, heard him calling Denise's name. She instantly knew that Denise had been found and quickly climbed onto the top as well.
Denise, however, was sitting against a stone. Her eyes were on the verge of closing when she heard Kenneth's voice. She slowly opened her eyes again.
Thinking that it was just her imagination, she told herself that she couldn't sleep. I can't fall asleep...
She continued to shake the stick in her hand.
“Denise!” Kenneth quickly ran toward Denise. When he noticed how pitiful and helpless she looked, his heart ached terribly.
Denise looked at the man standing in front of her. “Daddy... No. It's just an illusion. I can't fall asleep. I can't fall asleep...” she muttered, thinking that Kenneth was just a figment of her imagination.
Kenneth's heart nearly broke into a hundred pieces when he heard her call him that.
He quickly swept her into his arms and patted her small face lightly. “Denise, this is not an illusion. It's me, Daddy! I'm here to rescue you—
Denise, wake up!”
Kenneth's words seemed to have jolted Denise awake, for she seemed more alert than before.
She squinted at the man in front of her. “Daddy... Daddy, is it really you?”
Kenneth nodded. “Yes, It's me. I'm so sorry for coming so late.” He caressed the young girl's head as his heart wrenched in pain.
Denise's eyes soon welled up with tears as she reached out to hug Kenneth. “You're finally here, Daddy.
I've been waiting for you for so long...”
Right at that moment, Natasha finally reached the top.
She instantly saw Denise crying as she hugged Kenneth.
“I'm sorry, I'm sorry,” Kenneth
frantically apologized as he wrapped his hands around Denise.
“I was so afraid, Daddy. I was so cold, so hungry, and so tired. I probably won't be able to hold on much longer if you hadn't come sooner,” Denise said as she sobbed. Anyone could clearly see how dependent she was on Kenneth.
Natasha was watching them from behind as an indescribable look crept up her cold eyes.
It was not jealousy, but rather a look of relief.
“Daddy, I'm tired. I want to sleep...” Denise trailed off as her voice became weak.
“Denise, Denise!” Kenneth called her name, but Denise had already fainted.
Natasha quickly walked over when
she saw that. “Denise!”
She reached out to touch her daughter, and her eyebrows instantly knitted into a tight knot. “She's burning up!”
Kenneth's eyes reddened as he looked down at the frail figure in his arms.
He instantly carried her up and said, “We have to take her to the hospital!”
At the foot of the mountain, Anthony and Benjamin saw Kenneth carrying Denise down.
The both of them quickly rushed up.
“Denise, Denise!”
“What happened to Denise?” Anthony asked worriedly as he stared at Denise.
Benjamin's eyes had also turned red-rimmed as he watched from the side.
“She's having a high fever. We need to take her to the hospital now,” Kenneth said as he contacted the helicopter using his walkie-talkie. The helicopter was the fastest way to the hospital at that moment.
The helicopter descended and landed on a flat ground surface. Kenneth quickly boarded it with Denise in his arms.
He noticed that Benjamin and Anthony were still on the ground and called out to them, “Let's go!”
“Go on ahead and take Denise to the hospital. Benjamin and I will come afterward. Thalia is on the way here. Someone has to stay here to take care of this,” Anthony said.
Kenneth nodded at Anthony's words.
He then looked at the pilot and made a gesture. Soon after, the helicopter
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