While My Husband Cheated I Married His Powerful Brother novel Chapter 134

Chapter 134: Chapter 134 The Ambush

The local authorities officially called off the search on the eighth day, claiming there was nothing left to find.

Dorian completely ignored them.

He flatly refused to leave the Silvermist Mountains. He set up a makeshift base camp on the frozen ground right at the foot of the high cliffs, spending his own money to hire experienced local guides who knew every inch of the rough terrain. Day after day, he sat in the cockpit of his helicopter, flying back and forth through the treacherous mountain passes, refusing to stop scanning the white landscape below.

The police had told him repeatedly that it was completely hopeless. The plane had shattered on impact, spreading wreckage over miles. The survival rate in this freezing weather was zero, and the chances of finding his brother alive did not exist.

Dorian did not care what they thought.

He clung desperately to a tiny sliver of hope. As long as there was no body, it meant Percy could still be out there somewhere. He could be severely injured, trapped under debris, or freezing, just waiting for his brother to come get him.

Dorian had to find him. He could not leave him behind.

Days quickly dragged into weeks, and the weather only got worse. Thick snow fell constantly, burying their old tracks, while brutal winds howled through the deep stone valleys.

Still, Dorian pushed himself and his team to keep searching.

Then, on the seventeenth day, a local guide came running through the snow toward the base camp tents, gasping for air.

"Mr. Thorne!" the guide shouted, his voice hoarse from the freezing air. "We found something! A body! Over near the eastern ridge!"

Dorian’s heart stopped dead in his chest.

He dropped the heavy paper map he was holding straight into the snow and took off running toward the ridge as fast as his legs could carry him.

The body was lying facedown in a deep snowbank near a jagged rock wall.

It was wearing a dark, heavy suit that was torn to shreds from the crash. The arms were stretched out awkwardly in front of it, half-buried in the snow, but one wrist remained visible.

Dorian fell to his knees in the icy dirt beside the body. His hands were shaking so violently he could barely move his fingers.

He reached out, his breath hitching in his throat, and gently turned the cold, frozen wrist over to see the underside.

A sleek silver watch rested against the pale skin.

Dorian felt the air leave his lungs all at once.

He recognized that watch instantly. He had bought it himself and given it to Percy for his thirty-second birthday. He knew every tiny detail of it, including the deep engraving on the back: To my brother. Always.

The last tiny piece of hope inside Dorian completely vanished, leaving him entirely hollow.

He sat on his knees in the freezing snow, staring down at the cracked glass of the watch face. The metal hands were frozen in place, forever marking the exact second the plane had hit the mountain.

He had been so wrong. Percy had not been waiting for him. He had been dead from the very beginning, and Dorian had just been too stubborn and blind to accept the reality of it.

Dorian slowly lowered his head, pressing his forehead against his trembling hands.

CRACK!

A sharp gunshot shattered the quiet air.

The bullet whistled right past Dorian’s ear with a terrifying hiss, slamming into the hard ground just inches from his knee.

Instinct kicked in immediately. Dorian threw his body to the side, rolling across the snow and scrambling behind a massive granite boulder. His hand flew to his belt, yanking his heavy pistol from its holster.

A second shot rang out, even closer this time, chipping fragments off the rock above his head.

Over near the landing pad, Kaelen was standing beside the helicopter. Suddenly, his body jerked violently backward. His hand flew to his chest, blood spurting between his fingers, and he collapsed onto the frozen ground without a sound.

Dorian’s eyes went wide with horror. "Kaelen!"

Kaelen did not move. He lay still in the snow, the red puddle expanding rapidly around him.

Dorian’s blood ran ice-cold. He forced himself to push the grief out of his mind and focus on staying alive. He pressed his back flat against the rock, his eyes scanning the dense line of pine trees across the ridge.

A tiny flash of light caught his eye, a quick glint of glass reflecting the dull sunlight.

A sniper scope. Someone was hiding up in the high tree branches about twenty meters away.

Dorian’s grip tightened around the handle of his gun until his hand hurt.

He did not hesitate.

He broke into a sprint, diving from boulder to boulder to keep his head down as more bullets kicked up ice around his feet. His heavy boots crunched loudly against the hard ground, his chest burning as he sucked in the freezing air.

Within seconds, he reached the thick trunk of the massive tree.

Looking up, he could see the long dark barrel of a rifle sticking out between the branches. The shooter was already moving, trying to pack up his gear and climb down to escape into the woods.

Dorian raised his pistol, aiming high, and pulled the trigger.

BANG!

The bullet smashed right into the thick tree branch just inches from the sniper’s hand, showering the man in wood splinters.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify