Three Years Forgotten, Why Go Crazy When I Say Goodbye? novel Chapter 63

Twenty minutes dragged by. It was past closing time, and the employee was still a no-show. Shivering, Willow dialed the number again. This time, it went straight to voicemail. No matter how many times she called, no one answered.

A knot of dread tightened in her stomach. Night had fully fallen, the temperature was plummeting, and a heavy snowstorm had begun. Her legs were shaking uncontrollably.

Relying on the dim glow of the streetlamps, she made her way to the resort's main gate. It was chained shut, secured with a heavy-duty padlock.

She rattled the freezing metal bars, pushing with all her might. Nothing. Dropping her gear, she screamed into the night, "Is anyone there? Hello!"

She yelled until her throat felt raw, but the only response was the howling wind.

The snow fell harder, a biting blizzard tearing through the valley.

Willow huddled against a wall to block the wind. It finally dawned on her—this wasn't an accident. Someone had planned this.

But there was no time to play detective. She had to figure out how to survive. If she spent the night out here in the storm, she would freeze to death.

Her phone was glitching from the extreme cold. It took several tries to turn the screen on, and when it did, she saw the battery was at five percent. She had one call left.

Her mind raced. She couldn't call Martha, and Jade was out of town. She needed someone who knew the resort's location and had the power to get her out immediately.

Back in the warm SUV, Julian scoffed and tossed his phone into the cup holder. "She's really pulling out all the stops to get my attention. Trapped at a ski resort? What a joke."

Vivienne glanced at Seth in the rearview mirror, noting his panicked evasion, before softly saying, "Don't be mad, Julian. Maybe she really is still there. But it's fine, the resort hasn't officially closed yet. The staff will help her out."

"With her track record?" Julian sneered. "She's lying."

The car fell into a heavy silence. They kept driving until they stopped for gas. Before getting back in, Hugo suddenly announced he had some business to handle and split from the group.