"I'm waiting for you.”

His voice, hoarse and strained, came through on the other end of the line. Ariana was dumbfounded, her voice trembling as she asked, "What do you mean? Are you still in the private room?”

Then, tears streaming down her face, she implored, "Are you out of your mind? The place is on fire. Please, come out!"

He tried to console her, "Don't cry. I'm making my way out now. Wait for me outside

Before she could utter another word, the line went dead. Frantically, she dialed his number again, only to be met with a busy tone.

What was she supposed to do now? The thought of something happening to Theodore and him being unable to escape weighed heavily on her. After all, he relied on a wheelchair for mobility. It couldn't be easy for him to make his way out of the burning building.

Fear gripped Ariana, making it difficult for her to think clearly. Nevertheless, she couldn't stand idly by. Ignoring the trembling in her limbs, she hastened to the cordon and was about to enter the manor.

"Stop her!" came the urgent command. The policemen, taken aback by her audacity, swiftly pulled her back.

"Please, let me through! My husband is in the restaurant on the second floor, confined to a wheelchair. I must go up and save him!" Ariana pleaded, struggling to break free from their grasp and make another attempt to rush inside.

An elder policeman stepped forward, blocking her path.

"Calm down. The fire is too fierce. We should wait for the professional team to arrive. If you go up now, you'll risk your life. The firefighters will be here soon."

Just then, a voice erupted from the crowd, shouting, "The firefighters are here! But there are cars blocking their path at the intersection. We need help moving them!"

The chaos intensified. People cried out, shouted, and children frantically searched for their parents.

The attention of the policemen wavered, some rushing to aid in moving the obstructing vehicles while others attempted to maintain order. In that momentary distraction, nobody paid attention to Ariana. Seizing the opportunity, she rushed into the fire.

In the blink of an eye, the policeman realized what had happened but it was too late. Ariana had run past him into the burning manor.

The manor was engulfed in roaring flames, a cloud of smoke burning through Ariana's lungs. She coughed violently, doubling over in pain. The building was basically empty as most of the people had run out in a craze.

The fire hadn't reached the first floor yet, but Ariana could barely see through the thick smoke.

She tried her best to distinguish which direction she needed to go in and stumbled her way to the front desk. She rifled through the contents that littered the desk until she found what she was looking for. With trembling hands, she held onto a water bottle and picked up two towels. In a hurry, she removed the cap and wet the towels before covering her face with the damp towel. She immediately felt relief in her lungs as she shoved the other towel into her pocket.

It was the standard that such a luxurious manor would be equipped with fire emergency devices on every floor. Ariana looked around frantically until she found a sign that pointed to the bottom of the stairs. The fire extinguisher was nestled below the stairs and Ariana grabbed it before she rushed to the emergency access.

Fortunately, the fire had not engulfed the entirety of the stairs. Ariana made her way up, careful not to touch the burning hot banister. When she reached the second floor, she used the fire extinguisher to lower the flames. The piano in the middle of the room was charred black beyond repair. The chandelier on the ceiling swayed ominously as if threatening to crash onto the floor.