Chapter 782 If She Dies, I'll Die with Her!
Johnny couldn't sleep anymore.
He quickly sat up and got dressed. Ever since he hurt his leg, he hadn't moved this fast because it usually hurt. But he don't know if it's because people can push their limits in extreme situations, but at that moment, he felt no discomfort in his movements and not a trace of pain.
He buckled his belt and headed out, dialing Nola's number as he hurried downstairs.
Nola answered groggily, "I didn't go to Lumina Bay City."
Johnny entered the garage and got into his car, pausing with the phone in his hand. "Can you check her schedule for today?"
Nola answered, "Sure thing."
Nola checked and got back to Johnny within a minute. "Ms. Hawkins called in the evening to say she was going to the local opera house to investigate something related to the case."
Johnny said, "Send me the location! Stay in touch with the hotel where Lola is staying."
Johnny's voice was noticeably strained as he said the last sentence. He tried to stay calm but couldn't hide his worry. "Lola might be in trouble! Help me contact my parents. Arrange for a helicopter rescue if necessary, and find two doctors and a hospital with an operating room. Tell them Lola has a rare blood type."
He hung up and trusted Nola's capabilities.
Without hesitation, Johnny started the car. The doctor had advised him not to drive, but getting to Lumina Bay City by car was the best option.
The darkness cloaked all.
Johnny sped out of the garage in his black Range Rover, heading west at a speed he'd never driven before.
As he drove, the news he had just seen flashed through his mind.
A historic building in Lumina Bay City had collapsed in the middle of the night. Fortunately, there were no tourists inside.
Lola might be in there.
He got on the highway, the streetlights whizzing past. He gripped the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles turning white from the pressure.
Nola called him back.
She had arranged everything and was also driving to Lumina Bay City because they still couldn't reach Lola. Not just her, but Frederick, Charlotte, and Natalie, who were staying at their house, were all heading there too.
Johnny was the first to arrive in Lumina Bay City.
He reached the opera house at four in the morning.
The night was lit up by countless lights.
Hundreds of people were searching and rescuing, with search dogs sniffing around for signs of life. Johnny parked and jumped out of the car.
He dialed Lola's number, but although the phone rang, he couldn't hear anything.
"It's too deep," said an experienced rescuer.
Johnny stood in front of the collapsed building, surrounded by a dense crowd of people, both rescuers and onlookers whispering among themselves.
"I heard his wife is trapped underneath."
"He looks well-off."
"They must be very much in love. It's a shame. Buried this deep, she probably won't make it. Even the dogs can't find her."
Johnny listened in a daze.
He didn't argue or explain. All he wanted was to find Lola.
He kept calling her number.
He desperately hoped to hear even the faintest sound. After several attempts, someone shouted, "Over here! There's a light, it's a phone light."
Johnny ran over immediately.
There was a small arched space in the collapsed stairwell, about six to seven feet deep, where a faint light was visible. It was Lola's phone.
The search dogs had found it too, sniffing around the spot. The rescue team leader said calmly, "She's injured and bleeding!"
He began directing the crane to lift the debris.
Johnny said softly, "I have to go in! My wife has a bleeding disorder. It's been four hours. I have to go in."
The rescue team leader looked at him. "If you go in now and it collapses again, what then?"
Johnny replied, "Then I'll die with her."
The rescue team leader persuaded him, "Don't be ridiculous! You rich people have no regard for life. This isn't a joke."
Before he could finish, Johnny had already taken off his jacket.
He grabbed a flashlight from someone nearby, put on a safety helmet, and started crawling into the space.
The rescue team leader pointed at him. "Pull him out."
No one moved.
The rescue team leader was about to intervene when Johnny's voice came through clearly. "I said, if it collapses, I'll die with her! We have three kids to raise, but our parents are still around, and we have many siblings to help. But my wife only has me. I'm the only one who can save her now."
Johnny touched the hemostatic enzyme in his pocket.
He continued crawling inside.
The space was small and narrow, getting tighter as he went. His legs were almost pressed down against the ground, rubbing painfully as he tried to move forward. His left leg soon felt a burning pain from the friction, but he didn’t care at all. He just wanted to see Lola, to see her alive.
The smell of blood grew stronger, and his heart raced.
But his determination never wavered.
He believed Lola was still alive. They had plans to get married when she returned. She said she still needed to deal with him, see a therapist together, and show him her collection of lingerie.
The gap got narrower, and Johnny had to press himself against the ground.
Blood trickled from his thigh, staining the dark ground.
Outside, the rescue team leader's eyes reddened. He said, "Rich people are crazy!"
Then he said, "Hold on! Give him... give him a few minutes." Maybe, he could really save his wife. Maybe a miracle could happen.
A few feet felt like an eternity for Johnny.
He touched Lola's phone, and just a little further, he felt her finger, cool yet carrying a hint of warmth. When he felt her pulse, he was almost overwhelmed with joy.
Lola was alive!
However, he also felt the dampness on the ground; she had lost a lot of blood. She might be in shock.
It was dark inside, and Johnny fumbled to get the hemostatic enzyme from his pocket. He placed a couple of pills in Lola's mouth, pushing them down her throat when she couldn't swallow.
She coughed violently, waking up slightly. "Johnny."
He replied, "It's me! Lola... it's me."
Johnny touched her face, his voice trembling. "I'm here! Don't talk, I'll get you out."
Lola's voice was weak. "We can't get out."
Johnny fumbled and touched her cool lips. "We can. Trust me."
In the darkness, they couldn't see each other.
But when she opened her eyes, she felt his gaze. Lola tilted her head, her throat burning, her body weak. She whispered, "Johnny, I want to tell you, I..."
He wouldn't let her continue.
He leaned in and kissed her. If she wanted to say she loved him, he wanted to hear it later.
Right now, he didn't want to hear it. He was afraid that if she said it, she might fall asleep and never wake up.
"Lola, I'm getting you out of here. Don't make a sound."
He moved forward with difficulty, parallel to her, gently holding her body. Lola didn't have any severe external injuries. He held her and slowly moved them both out; it was already difficult for him alone, and now it was even harder with another person. If it weren't for sheer willpower, Johnny would have passed out every second.
Debris kept falling from above, hitting his face.
The old building was unstable. If it collapsed further, they could both be buried. He didn't dare stop. He held her and moved out at a slow pace. More debris fell.
Lola felt it too. She wanted to speak, to say those words, but she remembered Johnny telling her not to talk.
She suddenly thought that if they were going to die, they might as well die together and she didn't ask him to leave first.
She felt like she was about to run out of tears, but new ones kept coming.
Time passed by the second.
A piece of the building suddenly collapsed, blocking the entrance. Then more debris fell; sand and stones flew everywhere.
Everyone stood silently.
They witnessed a man going in to stay with his wife.
Tears streaked down the rescue team leader's face. He took off his hat and said quietly, "Clear the site immediately. We can't wait any longer."
The surroundings were silent.
Even the search dogs didn't move. After a while, they started to whimper... just then, a faint sound was heard.
The search dogs immediately ran over, frantically digging at the ground and barking. The rescue team leader was startled and said, "Move this stone from the left side carefully. Don't disturb the top, or the people inside will be in danger."
More than ten people came over. They were all experienced and took about ten minutes to move the stone.
When the stone was moved, everyone was stunned.
The man was tightly protecting the woman in his arms. His legs were covered in blood, which kept flowing. He was conscious and directed, "Doctor, give my wife a blood transfusion immediately. She has a rare blood type! I have the same rare blood type."
They were carried to a safe place on stretchers.
The doctor thought Johnny's condition wasn't suitable for drawing blood, but he insisted, "Draw one pint. I'll be fine. My father should be here soon. He has the same rare blood type."
Direct relatives couldn't donate blood!
Johnny held Lola, "He's the man who raised me, not my biological father."
The two doctors discussed it and decided that saving lives was the priority, so they drew the blood.
The rapid blood draw caused Johnny's legs to twitch continuously, but he gripped the bed sheets tightly. His vision went blank. He thought he had finally found Lola.
They were going to live happily together.
She had said she wouldn't leave them again, and she meant it.
He thought, 'Lola, I mean it too. Every year when the maple trees turn red, we'll watch them together... the world, blazing white.'
"Johnny, from now on, this is your home."
"Johnny, my mom is your mom too."
"Johnny, don't go abroad, okay? If you don't go abroad, we can be together forever. Aren't you happy?"
'Okay, Lola, I won't leave!'
When he woke up again, his head was heavy and foggy as if something was pounding on it.
He heard various voices around him.
"Doctor, when will he wake up?"
"In this condition, it won't affect his brain, right? Will he wake up and not recognize people?"
The doctor patiently explained, "Mr. Hawkins arrived just in time. Otherwise, it's hard to say. The situation was really dangerous. Mr. Flores is very brave. There aren't many men willing to sacrifice for their wives nowadays."
Johnny touched his head and groaned, "Mom, I'm fine! Where's Lola?"
Charlotte was overjoyed.
She quickly came over, holding the bed rail and gently touching his face, "Johnny, how do you feel?"
Johnny propped himself up and shook his head, "I'm fine. Where's Lola?"
Natalie chimed in, "Lola is doing better than you. At least she was conscious when we arrived. But Johnny, you were in bad shape, bleeding a lot and covered in wounds. We were really scared of you..."
She made a throat-slitting gesture.
Kingsley happened to walk in and heard this. He knocked on Natalie's head.
"Don't say such ominous things."
Natalie nodded and wiped her nose, "Johnny, it was really scary at that time! You guys were almost buried in there."
Johnny knew he had scared her, so he reached out and gently pinched her cheek as a way to comfort her.
Natalie hugged him and cried.
A few years ago, she really hated Johnny, but in the past two years, he has made her cry so much... Why is he so bad, yet at the same time, why is he so good?
Johnny, feeling helpless, said to Kingsley, "Why don't you cheer her up?
Kingsley sat down beside him and said, "She's your sister too. Her tears are for you; why don't you cheer her up?"
Natalie, realizing she was being annoying, wiped her nose and said, "I'll cheer myself up."
Kingsley chuckled.
Johnny also smiled. At that moment, Kingsley patted his shoulder hard, "Thanks again for saving my sister Lola."
Johnny looked at him seriously and said, "She's not just your sister, she's my sister too."
Kingsley: "Johnny, are you a pervert?"
Johnny rarely smiled, "How's Lola? Is she okay?"
Charlotte draped a coat over him and said softly, "You've been asleep for three days. Lola watched over you all night. She's getting checked up now and will be back soon."
Johnny, still weak, leaned against the headboard.
Just then, the door opened. It was Lola and Frederick. Lola had some minor injuries but was otherwise fine. Frederick was carrying a food box with freshly made chicken soup, the best nourishment.
Seeing Johnny awake, Lola hesitated at the door, her lips moving.
Johnny looked at her too.
After a moment, he reached out, "Come here."
She walked over slowly, half-kneeling by the bed, and then slowly buried her face in his lap. She didn't say anything, just leaned against him.
Johnny gently held her, speaking softly, "After the New Year, let's get married, okay?"
He touched her face, saying what he wanted to say.
"We still need to see a therapist, you said, and you have lingerie for me to see. If possible, maybe we can have another child."
No one spoke around them.
Lola felt embarrassed and whispered, "I'm willing, Johnny, but shouldn't you say these things in private?"
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