The Wife You Buried Is Back from Hell novel Chapter 1457

"I'm going up to take a look," he said casually, as if he were just going for a stroll around the block. "If he was here, he definitely left traces."

"No!" Danielle's voice pitched an octave higher. "Alex, look at the weather! It's a torrential downpour, the mountain roads are slippery, and visibility is zero! It's way too dangerous for you to go up there alone!"

"I know what I'm doing."

"What do you mean you know what you're doing?" Tears welled up in Danielle's eyes. "Your injuries haven't even healed! Rebecca said you can't be exhausted, you can't be triggered, and you definitely shouldn't be running around in a storm! Did you forget? We came out here to relax, not to hunt someone down!"

She reached out and gripped his wrist, refusing to let go. "The rain is too heavy. Even if there is something up there, let's wait until the rain stops. We can call the police and come back another time, okay? Let's just treat this like a normal family trip. Put it out of your mind and let's go back."

She was practically begging.

She wasn't afraid of Harold Chapman getting away again. She was terrified of something else.

She was terrified that the man standing in front of her, who had finally started to show signs of healing, would dive headfirst back into his toxic obsession and shatter himself completely.

Alex looked at her, his eyes a storm of conflicting emotions.

There was guilt. There was heartache. But overwhelmingly, there was an unquenchable obsession.

"Danielle," he said softly, yet with stubborn resolve, "this is our chance."

"I don't care if it's a chance!"

Danielle's voice trembled violently. "All I know is that you cannot go right now! Your body can't take it, and the weather is a death trap!"

"Alex, even if it's just for me, for Niki, for Raffy—please don't be so reckless, okay?"

Beside them, Niki, terrified by the adults' intense emotions, began to cry softly. "Mommy... I'm scared..."

Raffy kept his head down, his little hands clenched tightly into fists, completely lost on what to do.

Alex's gaze swept over the two frightened children, then settled back on Danielle's red-rimmed eyes.

His Adam's apple bobbed.

He wanted to say, I'm fine. I can do this. I have to go.

But looking at the pure despair and worry in her eyes, the words died in his throat.

Seeing his silence, feeling his stubborn resistance, Danielle's heart ached with a bitter, agonizing sorrow.

She knew him too well.

If he took one step up that mountain, he would be pushing himself back into the abyss.

If he stayed, he would be giving up what might be his only chance.

Danielle just stood there, unmoving, not looking at him, not speaking—like a silent silhouette dissolving in the rain.

She was waiting for him to make a choice.

Alex's fingers slowly curled into a fist.

His nails dug into his palms, the sting nothing compared to the violent tearing in his chest.

He looked at the wet ends of her hair, her pale face, and the exhaustion and terror she couldn't hide in her eyes.

Suddenly, he remembered her sitting on the edge of the bed last night, gently brushing his forehead and whispering:

"I don't need you to be invincible. I just want you safe, relaxed, and happy."

"Just having our family together, safe and sound, is enough."