Thanks to the firefighters' efforts, the blaze gradually began to subside.
Damien Valerius used his tall frame to block Aurora Sterling's view, while he himself stared back, brows tightly knitted, at the Sterling estate, now engulfed in a sea of flames.
Fire and water are merciless. The Sterling manor, which had stood so proudly just before, now teetered on the verge of collapse amidst the flames.
A car approached from a distance and pulled to a stop nearby.
The car door opened, and a stunned Timothy Sterling stepped out.
"Oh my god, what's happening?!" Timothy Sterling stared at the scene, devastated. "Everything was fine when I left!"
Timothy Sterling had left after dinner to attend a last-minute social engagement. The party didn't end until the wee hours of the morning, but Timothy had a habit of eating after drinking to keep his stomach from feeling upset. So, he made a point to grab a bite before heading home, which is why he was only just now returning.
