Blizzard, First Love and a Wife Who Finally Snaps novel Chapter 165

"Sir, there's no one inside," the firefighter said.

Adrian was about to breathe a sigh of relief when the firefighter handed him a charred cell phone. "We found some personal effects. Do you know the owner of this lab?"

Adrian took the phone. It was completely dead, and its design was generic; he couldn't be sure it was Isabel's. The other items were also badly damaged.

But when he saw the half-burned canvas bag, his heart stopped. He knew it was hers.

He carefully gathered her belongings.

The fire had been extinguished.

A short while later, someone shouted, "Chief, we've found something!"

The fire chief rushed back inside and saw the charred remains of a body.

"Why didn't we see this before?"

"The body was buried under a pile of lab materials, Chief," a team member explained. "There were likely no life signs when we arrived, so our thermal sensors didn't pick it up. And with the fire as intense as it was, it was impossible to spot among the debris."

"Secure the scene," the chief ordered. "Call the medical examiner."

He went back outside to find Adrian. "Sir, do you know who owns this lab?"

Adrian's throat felt tight, the words catching in his throat. "Did you find something?" he finally managed to ask.

"We've found a body. It's burned beyond recognition, so we can't identify it at the moment."

Adrian's tall frame staggered. "What did you just say?"

Seeing his extreme reaction, the chief asked, "Do you know the victim? If so, we'll need to run a DNA test to confirm the identity."

Adrian's eyes turned a deep, bloodshot red. "Impossible," he muttered.

Daniel quickly stepped in to explain the situation to the chief.

The chief nodded in understanding and offered what little comfort he could. "We can't be sure it's your wife. It's possible she wasn't here at the time. It could have been a colleague or someone else."

"Investigate."

There was little left to investigate, but he nodded. "Yes, sir."

The police had seen this kind of denial many times. It was always difficult for the family to accept at first.

He brought up the security footage from outside the lab. It clearly showed that no one had exited the building around the time of the explosion. The footage also confirmed that Isabel had entered the lab that morning and had not left all day. The only person who had left was Amanda, twenty minutes before the first blast.

"Isabel!"

Amanda rushed into the police station as soon as she got the call. Andrew had to support her; she could barely stand on her own.

"Officer, where is my friend, Isabel?"

The officer sighed heavily. "My condolences."

Amanda's legs gave out, and she collapsed to the floor. Andrew held her tightly.