The Love I Begged For Was Never Real novel Chapter 353

Nora stood in the shadows at the edge of the banquet hall. Her gaze cut through the mingling crowd as she watched Giselle set down her champagne flute, dodge the socialites trying to strike up a conversation, and walk alone toward the VIP elevator at the back of the hall.

Nora lingered for a moment. Once she confirmed the elevator numbers had stopped on the top floor, she turned and headed for the quiet stairwell nearby.

She had just stepped onto the final landing leading to the roof and pushed open the heavy fire door.

The night wind violently blasted inside, whipping her dress into a frenzy.

Before she could even make out what was happening on the roof, a tall, shadowy figure rushed frantically from the other side of the door and slammed right into her.

The person was moving in such a blind panic that their shoulder collided viciously with Nora's right shoulder.

The impact sent Nora stumbling back two steps, her back crashing heavily against the solid doorframe.

Frowning in pain, she clutched her throbbing shoulder, turned sideways, and instinctively glanced at the retreating back of the figure rushing down the stairs.

But before Nora could utter a single word of confrontation, the very second the person brushed past her and vanished.

A sickeningly heavy thud echoed from the bottom of the building.

"Bang—!"

Immediately after, from the crowd of guests gathered outside the first-floor lobby of The Southview Peninsula Hotel to watch the fireworks, a blood-curdling scream of pure terror erupted.

"Ah—!"

"Someone fell—!"

"There's so much blood! Help! Someone fell off the building—!"

The elegant, luxurious birthday banquet instantly devolved into absolute chaos. The deafening shouts and the frantic clatter of heels sprinting across the pavement surged upward like a tidal wave, echoing through every floor.

Standing at the edge of the roof, listening to the fragmented, terrified screams carried by the night wind, a suffocating wave of dread seized Nora's heart.

She forced her stiff legs to move, stepping slowly toward the roof's railing. With trembling hands, she gripped the freezing edge and leaned her body over to look down.

A blinding splash of pink stood out glaringly against a rapidly spreading pool of dark, crimson blood.

Her mind went entirely blank.

She shook her head frantically.

It wasn't her. She hadn't even seen Giselle's face.

Completely ignoring the rapidly growing crowd below, she pushed through the fire door and sprinted down the emergency stairwell as fast as her legs could carry her.

Her high heels struck the steps in a chaotic, desperate rhythm.

The sensor lights in the stairwell flared to life level by level as she ran, plunging back into darkness behind her.

Along the coastline of The Southview Peninsula Hotel.

Gideon was listening to the final report from the head of the fireworks team.

In less than two hours, the meticulously planned pyrotechnics would launch right at midnight, illuminating the night sky of The Metropolis as the grandest birthday gift for Giselle.