Unexpected Marriage With Mr. Leighton: Rebirth of the Villain-Chapter 294: A HEAVY SILENCE

The traffic was crazy. There were heavy vehicles around the riverbank, where the accident happened. It had been two hours after the accident, and they were still trying to find one person who was still missing.

Rick was dead. Someone shot him in the head, which caused the accident, as the car swerved to the barrier and plunged into the river.

Cam survived; he was holding the unconscious Ashlyn, who was in critical condition right now, while Dunts was dead. He got the brunt of the impact from the car hitting the barrier, since it was on his side.

It meant that Hazel had the same fate as well. The left side of the car was a wreck. Dunts’s body was sucked out of the car because the window was broken, and so was Hazel’s.

But while they could find Dunts’s body a few meters away from where they found the car, they still couldn’t find Hazel’s.

Every second of it was very crucial.

At this moment, Ranon was still at the Aspen Bridge, overlooking the rescue team as they looked for his wife. He said nothing, aside from a curt answer about the process of evacuation.

Meanwhile, Ashlyn was in the hospital with Laurel. She learned what happened from Ares and immediately rushed to Aspen City.

Currently, she was there with Desgar and some of the men from Ranon’s side. Not even Arthur or his men could get closer. Ranon didn’t trust them, and Arthur wouldn’t argue with him about it. The present was not the right time and the right place.

Ranon said nothing; he was eerily silent as he followed the whole process, and it terrified all the people around him. Even Ares and Lucian were scared of him.

They would rather face Ranon’s anger and his chaotic outbursts, during which he destroyed everything around him in a fit of rage, than endure this unnerving silence.

At this moment, Ranon was self-destructing.

Greyson came to the site as well when he learned what happened to Hazel and his granddaughter. He met with Ranon, but somehow, he was reluctant to approach him.

There was something about his son-in-law that made him unable to bring himself to approach him; thus, he went to Lucian.

"Tell me everything that happened!" Greyson was furious. He rushed here when he got the news from his secretary about the accident. He couldn’t call Ranon or Hazel, which made his anxiety skyrocket.

He didn’t believe it at first, but the media had covered the news. Now, when Greyson was already on the site, it felt surreal.

"Ashlyn is in the hospital; you may want to go there." Lucian gave a vague answer. He was not sure how far he could tell the truth about what happened to Greyson.

"Where is Hazel? What happened to her? Is she in the hospital, too?" Greyson knew the answer, but he had this urge to ask. To solidify the truth.

His daughter must still be missing, or else Ranon wouldn’t be here. He had added more divers to dive down the river, but the result was still disappointing. They still couldn’t find her.

Aspen River was the biggest river in this country; there was a strong current under it, and if Hazel was washed away under the current, her body could be anywhere, far from the spot where the car fell.

That was why Ranon added more divers and expanded the scope of their searching area.

"We are still looking for her. Why don’t you go to the hospital to be with Ashlyn? She needs you there, too." Lucian tried his hardest to calm Greyson down so he wouldn’t add to the distress of the situation. "I will let you know if there is any news here."

Lucian glanced at Ares, who was trying to talk to Ranon. It was a good thing Ares was here, because Lucian didn’t think he would be able to face Ranon when he was like this.

Thankfully, Greyson stayed only for a while, since there was nothing else he could do here before he rushed to the Aspen Hospital.

Outside Ashlyn’s ward, at least four men kept on guard, but along the way here, Greyson could see several people who didn’t seem to belong here.

He was sure they were Ranon’s men.

"How is she?" Greyson asked Laurel, who was sitting beside the bed, accompanying Ashlyn. She held her little hand. Her eyes were swollen and red because of crying.

"She will be fine. She will be fine," Laurel replied absentmindedly. She then looked up to see Greyson. "How is it? Did they find her?"

Greyson shook his head. He sat down on the sofa and buried his face in his palms. He didn’t know what to think. He felt so numb.

And then silence fell inside the room.

Ashlyn didn’t wake up until the next day, and when she did, she looked around and started crying without a sound. This peculiar thing was concerning for Laurel.

"Did something happen with her? Did she hurt her vocal cord?" Laurel then requested additional tests for Ashlyn to find out why she wasn’t speaking.

However, after some tests, the result showed there was nothing wrong with Ashlyn. Everything was fine with her vocal cord.

"This might be a psychological problem. It can be caused by trauma."

That was the only explanation that the doctor could give Laurel about Ashlyn’s condition, which didn’t ease her worry at all.

Meanwhile, Ranon remained at Aspen River, standing in the same spot for hours before he finally moved to give additional instructions and broaden the scope of their search again.

"Ranon, you need to eat something," Ares coaxed him. He stayed there to accompany Ranon and had to sleep in the car. But when he woke up after two hours of sleeping, Ranon was still at the same spot. He overlooked the divers and all the people who were searching for his wife.

More people were deployed to fend off media coverage as the event unfolded. It quickly became a trending topic, and people discussed it in every conversation. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

But Ranon seemed not to care about the chaotic situation. He was as calm as a bomb, ready to explode anytime.

"Ranon, at least get some sleep. You have not yet slept for a whole day."

It had been forty-eight hours since the accident, and any chance for them to find Hazel alive was close to none. At the very least, they could retrieve her body and bury her properly.

"Ranon, at least think about your daughter. She needs you. Laurel said that she has not yet talked at all. The doctors had run tests on her, and they said it must be a trauma response."

Ares saw that a slight emotion flitted in Ranon’s eyes, and he chased after it. If there were someone else who could evoke emotion from Ranon aside from Hazel, it would be their daughter.

"She is confused, Ranon. She looks for her parents. At least, you should be there for her." Ares then added more. "I will stay here. I will inform you immediately if there is progress. I swear."

Ares had to utilize his ability for diplomacy to make Ranon leave the riverbank, and in the end, he finally budged.

"Wait, I will ask someone to drive the car. You have not been sleeping for days."

However, Ranon didn’t wait. He went to the car and drove straight to the hospital, where he saw Laurel coaxing Ashlyn to eat. Greyson was there too. He had been staying at the hotel nearby.

Meanwhile, Dylan visited today but left an hour ago to handle important matters.

As for Logan, he had been informed, but because of his condition, he couldn’t leave the hospital bed in Talbar City.

"Ranon!" Laurel was surprised to see him.

Ashlyn turned her head and immediately cried when she saw her father. She raised both of her arms, asking for a hug.

Just like what Hazel said on their last phone conversation, Ashlyn’s head was bruised, and there was a wound on her forehead from the first car crash.

Without a second thought, Ranon carried Ashlyn up and hugged her tightly. He could feel her body trembling.

"Leave it there; I will take care of it," Ranon said coldly, talking about Ashlyn’s food in Laurel’s hand.

Laurel wanted to say something, but she refrained herself from doing so and then put the plate down. She caressed Ashlyn’s head lightly before she left the room.

Outside, she saw Greyson was about to return to the room. He just had his breakfast.

"Why are you leaving her alone?" Greyson was about to rush in, but Laurel stopped him.

"No, Ranon is inside. Let him be with his daughter." Laurel blocked Greyson’s way; she didn’t budge at all until the old man relented.

Meanwhile, inside the room, Ranon fed Ashlyn her food as she clutched onto his front shirt, as if she were afraid that he would disappear too.

Ranon didn’t say much. He stared at his daughter; his expression was unreadable. The reality was there. No matter how much optimism you had, you couldn’t deny the fact that a miracle wouldn’t come.

Ashlyn patted his face, and tears streamed down her cheeks. She was looking for her mother, though she didn’t say it.

Just like what Laurel said, Ashlyn didn’t say anything. She couldn’t speak...

Right at that moment, Ranon’s phone rang. It was from Ares. He picked it up on the second ring. "What is it?"

There was a heavy silence.

"We found her body."