The Day I Went Silent Chapter 08
Julian thought he was hallucinating.
A plane crash? Olivia’s flight crashed? That’s impossible.
Someone as stubborn as her, someone so full of life — how could she just die so inexplicably?
Julian’s heart pounded violently, waves of dizziness washing over his mind, yet he barely managed to keep his voice steady: “Stop joking.”
“Did Olivia tell you to say this? You’ve got nerve, taking bribes from her now.”
“I know she’s been upset lately, but she can’t just scare me like this…”
The assistant froze, looking at a loss.
Julian paid his salary, and he barely knew Olivia. Why would he lie for her?
If Julian were in his right mind, he wouldn’t have said such a thing.
But he clearly wasn’t thinking straight. His eyes were red as he reached for his phone, muttering to himself: “She knows I worry about her, yet she’s still being so unreasonable.”
“Forget it… she must just be really angry. I’ll just coax her a little.”
He dialed the number he knew by heart.
The phone rang a few times before a cold female voice answered: “The number you have dialed cannot be reached.”
Julian spaced out for a second, then suddenly stood up: “Right, you can’t answer calls on a plane. Book me a flight, I’m going to see her…”
Olivia had a bad temper. What if she actually did something stupid?
He had to go see her. He had to see for himself…
“Mr. Vance…” The assistant looked away, unable to bear it. “The plane really crashed. It’s already on the news.”
Seeing Julian act as if he hadn’t heard, even reaching to take Oliver’s hand to bring him along, the assistant gritted his teeth, pulled up the news, and shoved it in front of him.
“I’m… I’m so sorry for your loss.”
“I said book me a flight!”
Julian’s voice suddenly spiked, and he slapped the phone out of the assistant’s hand.
With a smack, the phone hit the ground, its screen shattering into pieces.
The assistant’s eyes reddened too: “Mr. Vance, please. We can’t bring the dead back. You have to make funeral arrangements.”
Julian clenched his fists, veins bulging on the back of his hands, a dark storm brewing in his eyes.
Of course the assistant wouldn’t lie to him for no reason.
He knew that.
He knew that better than anyone.
He just refused to accept the truth.
Not long ago, Olivia was standing right in front of him, perfectly fine.
It had only been a single day. How could she be gone?
A faint tug came from his shirt. He looked down to see Oliver staring at him timidly: “Dad, what happened to Aunt Sterling?”
“Is she coming back to cook for us?”
The young boy could already vaguely sense something, a hint of anxiety showing in his eyes.
The next second, that anxiety was replaced by sheer shock.
Because he saw his father — the usually stoic Mr. Vance — with red eyes, tears sliding down his face drop by drop.
Julian was crying.