12 June.

It has been raining for a long time.

Ethan walks under the dark sky with his umbrella, accompanied by a tall girl, silent.

The hustle and bustle of the streets, the sound of rain and sirens, the honking of shopping malls, the scuffling of tyres on the ground as cars braked, all failed to make a dent in their minds.

The two of them walked through the busy streets, through the alleys where only the sound of rain remained, and eventually entered an old neighbourhood, stopping at the door of a building's unit.

"You go back, I'll stay put for now." Ethan held up his umbrella for her to walk through the door, but stopped himself, "There's still a bit of cargo to be delivered to the hotel today, and people have been waiting for two days."

The young girl's cool and delicate face couldn't see the slightest emotion, only her eyes were a little red and swollen, she stared at him, nodded, then faintly spat out a word, her voice a little muffled-

"Good."

"Did you bring the key?"

"Brought them."

"Hmm." Ethan held up his umbrella and turned to leave.

"You come back early too." The young girl stood inside the door watching his back, still with little expression, until he was far away, then she continued to turn and enter the building.

A small umbrella couldn't cover two people, let alone a gale force wind. In order to make Elaine less exposed to the rain, Ethan wet most of his body, but on this June day, at most, it was just a little bit cool, and he didn't feel cold at all.

On 8 June, seventeen-year-old Elaine finished her entrance exams, which was good news for the whole family.

With her incredible grades, it wouldn't be hard for her to get into Harvard University. Or if not, like Ethan, she could get into the Illinois Institute of Technology, the university where Ethan and Elaine's parents work.

But the worst thing that could have happened to Ethan was a tragedy.

On 9 June, Ethan and Elaine's parents were out shopping for window mats when they were involved in a car accident involving a large truck.

It was a bolt from the blue!

But the truth doesn't change by anyone's will. It's happened, and it can't be reversed. From disbelief to grief, Ethan and Elaine eventually came to terms with the accident, and with the help of their relatives and colleagues, they went through the process of the accident, cremation and funeral.

Walking to the entrance of the neighbourhood, Ethan stopped a taxi, put away the umbrella and shook out the water, sat in, and then rubbed his stiff face hard. His eyes were sore and bloodshot.

Soon, the taxi stopped at the bottom of a three-story building next to the Illinois Institute of Technology, and through the window he could see a brand-new hotel sign, Warm Heart Pavilion, hanging on the building.

Ethan's parents had recently invested in the hotel, and most of the rooms had already been renovated, and all the supporting facilities had been put in place, with only a few scattered decorative ornaments and the like, so it could be said to be ready for business soon. Ethan's parents' intention was to make the remaining rooms into bedspace rooms for travellers with limited financial means who need to stay in the university town for a period of time because of exams or business trips, and to compete with the day-rental rooms in the school's vicinity.

But then came the bad news.

There was a van parked in front of the guesthouse with the back seat removed and filled with goods. There was a young man in the driver's seat and a young man in the passenger's seat, waiting in boredom, gulping down smoke with a cigarette in his hand.

Ethan, dripping wet, apologised to the taxi driver before getting out of the car and walking towards the van, greeting the two men.

Ethan's parents' accident had delayed the delivery of the goods for two days, and the two men knew about it. They didn't sound impatient, put out their cigarettes, comforted Ethan, and helped him carry the goods upstairs. After Ethan settled the payment, the two men went downstairs and drove away in the rain.

Standing at the top of the stairs, examining the small coffee table, bed sheet covers and a bookcase that took up a lot of space, Ethan took a deep breath before he started to move.

He hadn't slept much in three days, but he had a lot of deliveries coming in the next two days, so he couldn't afford to rest.

The thing about life is that you have to go on anyway, unless you're weak enough to end it. So Ethan chose to take over the unfinished guesthouse, continue with the renovation, and then, as his parents wanted, open it before the college entrance exam scores came out, taking advantage of the fact that many high school graduates would be led by their parents to the university side to see their future schools and make a profit.

Just as well, it was time for him to graduate and make a career.

By mid-afternoon, he had placed everything where it should be, and took a taxi back, before finally squinting.

When he woke up early the next morning, he had to start dealing with the at-fault party and the insurance settlement.

Elaine is not yet an adult, but also got up very early, after washing up, she has been expressionless and followed him, pretending to be strong and mature.

There is nothing to investigate, the traffic police quickly issued a road traffic accident certificate, the other party is of course fully responsible. The total amount of compensation for death, funeral expenses, Elaine's alimony and moral damages, plus many other miscellaneous damages, was less than a million and a half.

Big lorry drivers tend not to be stingy with their insurance, and with their life savings, they can afford to pay this amount. And the family had sold their house and offered to increase the damages in the hope of getting a letter of understanding from Ethan and Elaine, a bargaining chip that went from $100,000 to $200,000 in the hope of increasing the chances of reducing the bastard's sentence in court.

Elaine was apathetic, and Ethan didn't agree.

Ethan's parents had always had personal accident insurance, and the payout for both of them added up to over a million dollars.

Their lives, in exchange for less than three million.

In fact, the salary and benefits of university professors are very good, Ethan's parents' salary has just been invested in a hotel, and there are still more than a million left. However, no amount of money can make up for the pain in Ethan and Elaine's hearts, especially for Elaine, who lost both parents before she was even a teenager.

15th.

The driver's wife has been grinding on the siblings for three days, and Elaine is still cold, hardly ever leaving the house.

But Ethan is a little shaken, seeing the haggard woman like them struggling to cope with two crying children. The crash had destroyed two families, and the woman and the two children she was holding were the third.

Of course it was the bastard's fault, he was a murderer in Ethan's eyes, but did the two children need to be added to the list of victims?

On the evening of the 16th, he wrote a letter of understanding.

Ethan's grandparents died young, and he still has a grandfather, but the old man waved his hand and said he wanted nothing, and left everything to the siblings to discuss amongst themselves.

Because Elaine is still a minor and still in school, the family left her two houses, one with a market value of nearly three million and one with a market value of about one million. Ethan inherited the nearly $3 million invested in the guesthouse and the $1 million or so that Ethan's parents had deposited in the bank, and at the same time he had to act as Elaine's guardian, providing her with all of her tuition and living expenses while she was in college.

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Once they had sorted everything out, the court judgement came down, and the compensation came in, and was divided equally between the two siblings as part of their inheritance. Elaine's portion, however, was held in trust by Ethan.

At their home near the university town, Ethan and Elaine ate their dinner in silence, no one talking, the atmosphere was a bit low.

Twelve days had passed since the accident, and the two siblings looked much better than when they were busy with the funeral, but they were still suffering from the shock inside.

Ethan finished his meal, put down his chopsticks, and broke the silence with his voice: "The results of the college entrance examination will be out tomorrow, right?"

Elaine raised her eyes and looked at him, gave a nonchalant hmmm and lowered her head to continue eating.

Ethan was a bit speechless, not knowing how to answer.

At this time, Elaine raised her head again, and asked in a cold manner, "Your hotel, it's almost time to open, right?"

"Almost, it will officially open the day after tomorrow." Ethan said, "I'll make another trip over there tonight to take care of some last minute things and check it again, if there's a problem, it can be solved tomorrow day."

"Well, I'll order you a flower basket to send over then."

"......" Ethan fished two hundred dollars out of his pocket and handed it over, "for the flower basket."

Elaine reached out and took the money without moving as she lowered her head and shaved her food, ignoring Ethan.

"I'll leave you to finish eating and wash the dishes then. Squeeze less detergent." Ethan said, standing up and heading out the door. He didn't get a response from Elaine until he went out and closed the door again.

That's to be expected.

The guesthouse was very close to the small north gate of the university, a ten-minute walk away, and by this time the guesthouse was completely ready, except for the few rooms that were to be used as hostels that hadn't been officially renovated yet. The facade on the ground floor was brand new and well-equipped.

Ethan firstly checked the equipment at the counter, switched on the computer, and opened the background pages of various internet and travel platforms to see if the opening audit had been passed.

After that, he went upstairs to check the rooms one by one, including all the electrical equipment and sofa beds and cabinets, carefully, not dare to be sloppy.

He had completed his financial independence through self-employment in his first year of college, and knew better than others the value of caution.

Suddenly, he heard a sound coming from the storage room at the stairway entrance - the

Click ......

The sound was soft, like someone tearing paper.

Ethan immediately frowned.

This building was a bit old, but it had just been renovated, so it wasn't so soon for there to be rats, right?

Ethan shook his head, feeling that it wasn't a good sign, and turned around to head towards the nearby warehouse.

With a click, he opened the door, clicking the lights on in the process.

Inside the warehouse were neatly folded sheets and towels, disposable toiletries were placed in boxes on the other side, this kind of environment if a mouse got in it was not really good to find it out, but it also had to be found out.

The warehouse wasn't as brightly lit as the guest room, it was a little dim, and Ethan, at least, didn't notice anything unusual or see any mice or anything like that.

It was tricky.

Just as he was about to rummage around a bit more, he suddenly heard another sound-

CRACK!

It was a much louder sound than the one he had heard earlier next door, as if the wall had been ripped open by someone.

Ethan turned his head and his eyes widened.

The wall was cracked!

Only to see a large piece of latex paint fell off the wall of the recently decorated room, the torn wallpaper was hanging in the air, and the wall had appeared fine cracks at some time, like a spider web.

Ethan's heart sank, then he turned and ran.

There was no earthquake now, and Chicago couldn't have had such a big one, it was just a simple cracked wall, but it wasn't like that hotel renovation company had hacked his parents' money either, because the building's walls had been built more than ten years ago.

But it was a fact that the wall was cracked, and he shouldn't be standing here anymore anyway. As for the reason, it wouldn't be too late to wait down and see what happened before pursuing it!

But he had just taken a step when the ground began to shake violently, the fine cracks on the walls widened steeply, and it was at this point that the characteristics of an earthquake began to manifest.

The whole house looked like it was going to be torn apart by a huge amount of energy!

Ethan quickly gripped the door handle and twisted it, then tried to pull the door open with all his strength, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't pull the door open.

"Shit!"

He cursed angrily and looked back, finding that the walls and ceiling behind him had been covered with hideous gaps at some point, and in the gaps was a deep black, like an abyss that could devour people. Wallpaper in the form of fragments fluttered in the air, fluttering, latex paint and putty powder gargled down, as if his end had come.

Suddenly, there was a loud boom, and a piece of the ceiling fell in front of him, smashing the dust!

"Ahem!"

Ethan pulled on the door as hard as he still could, using all his strength, but the door loomed as if it was stuck due to the deformation of the wall.

He finally gave up and quickly ran to a nearby corner and crouched down with his head in his hands, no longer harbouring any thoughts of running out.

Here is the junction of the second and third floors, since the tremor is so strong, the whole building is afraid that it can not be saved. I missed the beginning of the earthquake, so running out now is like sending myself to death.

He only hoped that Elaine would survive without any danger, and that his collapsed ceiling would form a triangle with the wall, and that he would be rescued after a period of starvation.

Suddenly, his eyes widened again in overwhelming shock.

By this time the entire room had filled with huge gaps through and through without collapsing, and the gaps were pitch black and nothing could be seen!

His senses told him that the building hadn't collapsed yet either!

The wallpaper fragments were still flying in the air, but gradually disappearing; some walls were surrounded by gaps, but it was as if they were being held by some kind of force, staying where they were; the door he had initially pinned his hopes of escaping on was also silently twisting, revealing a hole big enough for him to drill out, but there were clearly no shattered walls pressing against it, and behind the door there was still a pitch blackness in which he couldn't see the slightest ray of light.

"Zip ......"

The lights had not gone out completely until now.

The room went completely dark.

Ethan realised now that the darkness that had been in those gaps earlier was a darkness that even the light could not shine through.

He realised that he might have been caught in a situation he couldn't understand, maybe it was one of those paranormal events he had never believed in, or maybe it was just a dream.

Hopefully just a dream.

The darkness didn't last long, hinging on the falling ceiling, he lost consciousness with a bang.