The Abandoned Wife Dumped Him First (Victoria and Elias) novel Chapter 111

"Daddy..." Daisy mumbled, snuggling deeper into Victoria's arms as she drifted off to sleep, her dreams clearly troubled.

Victoria gently patted her back until Daisy's furrowed brow relaxed. Only then did she stop, quietly slipping out of the room.

She stood under the eaves by the door, gazing into the distance.

The rain hadn't stopped. The muddy path was riddled with puddles, and the water had already crept up to the doorstep.

Victoria pulled out her phone and raised it slightly, but the signal icon in the top right corner remained stubbornly blank.

"Victoria, dear, still can't reach your colleagues?" The old woman, bent over her cane, shuffled slowly out of the house.

Victoria nodded. "The landslide last night must have taken out the power lines. The signal's completely gone."

The old woman sighed. "I wonder when this rain will ever stop."

Victoria pressed her lips together, dread clawing up her spine as she stared at the rain hammering down like it meant to drown the whole village.

If this kept up... the village was nestled in a basin, surrounded by mountains. With no proper drainage system, the water would just keep rising. It wouldn't be long before the houses were flooded.

They had to get everyone to higher ground while it was still light out.

With that thought, Victoria's brow furrowed. "Ma'am, where's the village hall?"

The old woman assumed Victoria was looking for help contacting the outside world. "You won't find anyone there. As soon as they heard this place was slated for development, they took the money and ran."

Victoria was taken aback. "Then is there anyone in the village people look up to?"

It was only then that the old woman understood. "You're not trying to contact your colleagues, are you?"

Victoria shook her head and quickly explained her fears and her plan. "I'm a stranger here. Even if I went door-to-door, no one would listen to an outsider like me."

The old woman hesitated. "Do you really think it's that serious? But if we leave... what about our homes?"

"Ma'am, if we wait until something happens, it'll be too late," Victoria said, her tone growing serious. "This rain isn't letting up anytime soon. We need to start moving up the mountain, slowly."

The old woman wasn't unreasonable. She'd lived a long life and knew that rain like this was a bad sign.

After a few seconds of silence, she glanced back into the main room. "This house... Daisy's father and my late husband built it, bit by bit. I'm afraid if I abandon it, they'll blame me."

"Ma'am, you still have Daisy," Victoria urged gently. "Houses can be rebuilt, but if you lose a person, they're gone forever. Besides, I'm only talking about the worst-case scenario. It might not happen. Maybe when the rain stops, the house will still be here."

The mention of Daisy made the old woman waver.

Victoria took the map and agreed.

They left the house and went their separate ways.

The houses on her list all had younger family members living with the elderly, so it wasn't difficult for Victoria to convince them. But the rain was heavy and the paths were treacherous. By the time she had visited every home, it was already past three in the afternoon. The sky was dark and overcast.

Without taking a break, Victoria turned and headed back to the old woman's house.

A bolt of lightning tore across the sky, momentarily illuminating the world in a deathly pale light.

"Miss Sanger!"

As she stepped into the main room, she saw Daisy sitting alone; the old woman was likely packing. Daisy's eyes lit up when she saw Victoria, and she stood up.

Victoria smiled, about to respond, when a deafening roar filled the air. The wall behind Daisy suddenly buckled inward, smashed by a torrent of mud and rock cascading down the mountain.

"Look out!"

Her pupils constricted. With no time to think, she lunged straight for Daisy—