Derek Moss had walked into burning buildings two hundred and thirty seven times. He had never once hesitated at the door. Tonight was no different.The east wing of the Grandview Hotel was fully engulfed in flames. Black smoke poured from the third floor windows while bright fire crawled behind the glass. Guests fled past him, coughing and clinging to one another in pure terror."Dispatch to Engine forty two. We have two confirmed victims trapped in Suite three one eight. Do you copy?" The radio crackled loudly in his ear."Engine forty two copy. I am on my way up right now," Derek replied with a calm and steady voice.He pulled down his mask, checked his air tank, and went inside. He took the stairs two at a time, keeping one hand on the rail and the other gripping his heavy metal bar. The smoke thickened with every single floor. By the second landing, it had become a solid gray wall. By the third floor, it was nearly pitch black.He dropped low, moving fast on pure instinct and heav

The very first thing Derek saw when he stepped into his home was the wine. Two crystal glasses filled with deep red wine sat directly on the expensive coffee table, catching the soft and warm light of the living room lamp.The second thing he saw was Mike. The young heir was sitting comfortably on the leather couch. He was wearing Derek pajamas.They were the old gray ones with the frayed left cuff. Erin had always complained heavily about those exact pajamas. She always said she would throw them away, but she never actually did. Now, her wealthy lover was wearing them proudly.The third thing he saw was his own wife.Erin was standing gracefully in front of the modern stove. She had a cheerful little apron covered in cartoon kittens tied neatly around her thin waist. She looked incredibly comfortable. She looked perfectly at home.Derek stood there quietly and felt a deep ache inside his chest. This was the exact same woman who had once written him a very lengthy email before they go

The slap came before he even finished the word divorce.It was not a dramatic swing. It was just a sharp and highly efficient crack across his left cheek. Erin wore a heavy diamond ring. That expensive ring caught the corner of his mouth and left behind a sharp metallic sting."Do not," Erin whispered with a voice made of pure ice. "Do not you dare."He looked at her. For one foolish moment, a tiny trace of warmth crept into his broken heart. Maybe she still loved him deep down.Maybe this aggressive reaction meant she actually cared about saving their marriage. A quiet sigh of relief escaped his lips. But that brief warmth was quickly snuffed out by the very next thing she said as she opened her mouth."I have the Cambridge Ethics Forum in exactly three weeks," Erin stated, fixing her posture perfectly and smoothing her apron. "I am the keynote speaker for a major panel on modern family values. Do you have any idea what a messy divorce filing would do to that event? To the media cove

"Derek, are you watching the news broadcast right now?" Brett asked with a highly urgent and tense voice."I am looking at the television screen as we speak," Derek answered with a very calm and steady expression. "The sky looks completely orange and black on the screen. It looks like the entire mountain range is being swallowed whole by the flames.""It is much worse than it looks on television," Brett explained with a dark and serious tone. "The wildfire in Los Vangees has spiraled completely out of control. The winds picked up an hour ago.""Where is it heading?" Derek questioned with a tight jaw and focused eyes."It is jumping multiple ridges without slowing down at all," Brett stated with a heavy sigh and a grim face. "It is spreading directly into the main residential areas and the luxury mountain resorts. Thousands of people are trapped.""Do we have any confirmed numbers yet?" Derek asked with a professional and ready posture."Casualties have already been reported by the loc

The long and grueling drive to Los Vangees took six exhausting hours. The heavy fire engines rattled loudly as they navigated the winding mountain roads.Thick clouds of gray smoke rolled heavily across the asphalt, turning the dark night into a dusty and suffocating twilight.Derek sat quietly in the passenger seat of Engine forty two, staring blankly out the frost covered window. He felt an overwhelming sense of numbness, a strange and hollow peace that settled deep within his chest.When the convoy finally reached the primary command post at the edge of the county, the scene was absolute chaos.Bright red and blue emergency lights flashed frantically against towering walls of smoke and ash.Firefighters rushed back and forth, dragging heavy hoses and shouting urgent commands over the deafening roar of distant flames.Derek stepped down from the truck, his badly injured leg throbbing sharply with every step. He ignored the pain completely, squaring his shoulders as he joined his cre