Their Four-Person Test, My Unopened Parachute Chapter 04

The storm kept getting worse.

The mood in the lounge grew heavier and heavier.

One hour.

Two hours.

Three hours.

The phone screen stayed black. No reply. Nothing.

Even Luca got to his feet, glancing out the window again and again.

“Damian, the temperature’s below freezing now. Even if she’s faking it, staying out that long will give her pneumonia.”

Nico set down his glass too.

“Damian, maybe we should send people up the trail to look for her? What if she twisted her ankle…”

Celeste sat on the couch, her nails digging deep into her palms.

“Damian, why don’t we head back to Manhattan first? Maybe Avery slipped home on her own?”

Damian said nothing.

He stood at the floor-to-ceiling window, an unlit cigarette pinched between his fingers.

For some reason, ever since Ethan had burst in, a dull ache had been pressing on his chest.

After a long moment, he finally turned and grabbed his coat.

“We’re going back.”

“If she’s not at the Moretti estate, I’ll drag her out myself.”

The four of them took the elevator down and walked toward the underground garage.

But the moment they reached the first floor, they heard a commotion in the lobby.

The entire underground parking lot was packed with police cars and ambulances.

Mountain rescue teams were hauling gear out of the base, while the head of Moretti family security coordinated with the police.

“What’s going on?” Luca shouted.

An officer hurried over, “Who’s Damian Moretti?”

Damian stepped forward. “I am. Who gave you permission to enter my private flight base?”

The officer didn’t waste a word. He flashed his badge.

“We received a report from the mountain patrol. Two hours ago, they found a woman’s body in Gorge Four.”

“Preliminary assessment: high-altitude fall. We’re working to confirm the victim’s identity.”

It was like a thunderbolt exploding in the cramped space.

All the color drained from Damian’s face in an instant.

“What did you say?”

The officer pulled a clear sealed bag from the evidence box behind him.

Inside was a lady’s bracelet caked with mud.

Damian recognized it at a glance.

It was the birthday gift he’d given Avery last year.

“Now please come with us to identify the body.”

Damian moved like a puppet with its strings cut, his legs jerking mechanically forward.

With every step, his breathing grew heavier.

Luca, Nico, and Celeste stood frozen in place. Not one of them dared to move.

Inside the coroner’s van outside the base sat a simple stretcher, covered with a white sheet.

At the sheet’s edge, dark-red bloodstains seeped through.

Damian stood in front of the stretcher, his eyes bloodshot, his teeth grinding audibly.

“It can’t be her. It can’t!”

He reached out and slowly pulled the sheet back.