The sky was already lighting up. The morning was all gray and misty, but you could still see around. Walter was right there with her, helping out with the search.


    He was wondering who those folks could be.


    After what felt like forever, she didn''t find Alexander, but she did find Sean.


    Sean was lying at the bottom of the slope, out cold and bleeding from a bunch of gunshot wounds.


    Quinn nudged his shoulder, but he didn''t budge. She flipped him over and checked if he was breathing.


    He was still hanging on, but just barely.N?velD(ram)a.?rg owns this content.


    "He''s still alive!" Quinn shouted.


    Walter nced over. "Lucky him," he snarked.


    Ignoring his sarcasm, Quinn tried to get Sean off the ground. She wanted to patch him up but had no clue where to start. "Walter, can you call an ambnce for him?" Quinn asked..


    Walter pulled out his phone, made the call, and gave their location.


    Then he looked at Quinn. "Aren''t you gonna look for Alexander?"


    Quinn paused, looked down at Sean, then stood up and said, "Then you keep an eye on him."


    She turned to leave, but Walter grabbed her wrist.


    "Don''t waste your time. Given what went down, you really think that guy would let him get away?" he asked.


    Quinn froze, staring at the emptyndscape ahead, her eyes nk.


    She yanked her wrist free and stubbornly said, "He will escape."


    "You can check for bloodstains. If he got away, there''d be bloodstains," Walter pointed out.


    Ignoring Walter, she kept searching further away.


    Walter watched her go, his expression getting moreplicated.


    Quinn searched everywhere she could think of, even the tall grass.


    From sunrise to sunset, she checked every corner but still couldn''t find Alexander.


    She went back to the original spot, following the bloodstains down the slope. The bloodstains stopped at the bottom, no more clues.


    Just like Walter said, if he really got away, there''d be bloodstains along the way. But there weren''t any. There was a big patch of blood here, but nothing ahead. "He was probably taken away," Walter''s voice came from behind.


    Quinn spun around, a flicker of hope in her eyes. "Does that mean he''s still alive?" she asked quickly.


    Walter looked at her, the sunset casting a cold light on his face, showing a hint of ruthlessness.


    He crushed her hope. "Then why did that guy shoot him instead of just taking him away?" he said.


    "What do you mean?" Quinn asked.


    "I mean, maybe he was taking his body back to report," Walter said harshly.


    Quinn stood there, her long-suppressed emotions finally breaking down at his words. She staggered back a few steps.


    Shaking her head, she murmured to herself, "No way. It can''t be."


    "You''re lying to me," she said, staring at Walter, her eyes red. "You always lie to me. I don''t believe you. You''re a liar. Why do you lie to me?"


    Walter sighed heavily, a hint of impatience in his eyes. "Then just think I''m lying," he said, not arguing with her.


    Suddenly, Quinn grabbed his clothes. "You set this up, didn''t you?"


    "It wasn''t me," Walter replied.


    "It was you. You always use these tricks. It must be you. Did you have that guy chase you too, to make me believe?" Quinn insisted. Walter stared at her without saying a word.