Chapter 625

The lights in the hall had gone out, leaving everything pitch black. Dorothea could barely see without her reading glasses, which had been knocked off in the chaos. Panic clawed at her, and with the crush of people around them, she could hardly move, let alone run. Giselle covered her nose and mouth with one hand and gripped Dorothea's hand tightly with the other. "Dorothea, be careful!" "Oh, my God! It's really on fire!" Grace spotted flames spreading in a corner of the hall and inhaled another wave of suffocating smoke. Terror overwhelmed her. "Oh, God. We're going to die here. Why is it burning so fast? I can't breathe, I'm going to pass out…" She shook violently, rambling in fear. Shoving at Dorothea, she shouted, "Dorothea, hurry! Why are you so slow? Come on, move! We don't have time! We're going to die. Hurry up!" Under Grace's panicked urging, Dorothea tried to move faster through the frantic crowd, but her age betrayed her. As she stepped toward the stairs, someone bumpe