Ashfall: A Wife's Forbidden Stand

After Talia left, I ignored the pain in my face and sent the report to my superiors. I then hailed a taxi and headed straight for Bareyard Village.

I had to personally get Richard out of there and make sure he was safe.

Just as the car started moving, my supervisor, David Wagner, called.

His tone was sharp. "Joshua, what the hell are you doing? What kind of report did you just submit? A dormant volcano erupting?"

My heart sank, and I quickly explained, "Mr. Wagner, it's real—"

David shouted, "That's nonsense! Talia already told me everything. She's taking her uncle for a medical checkup, and you insisted on getting your marriage certificate today. That's why you made up this lie!

"Joshua, this is completely unprofessional. You're treating work like a joke, and you're even joking about a volcanic eruption. I've withdrawn your report. Go reflect on yourself!"

I explained helplessly, "Mr. Wagner, I'm not joking. The data is real! I ran the calculations several times! Canlis Mountain really is at risk of erupting tonight…"

"Hello?"

David had already hung up.

Unwilling to give up, I called the institute director, Julian Stone, hoping to convince him.

After hearing me out, Julian said coldly, "David has already briefed me. Joshua, this behavior is extremely irresponsible. You're fired!"

I was stunned. My phone slipped from my hand.

Fired? Just because of some words from Talia, all my effort and professional judgment were dismissed?

I never imagined that David and Julian would ignore my data analysis and blindly trust Talia instead.

Richard had worked his entire life providing for his family. He had always treated me especially well. I absolutely couldn't let him die in a sea of fire.

And this wasn't just about him. This involved more than a hundred lives in Bareyard Village.

There was no time to waste. I forced myself to calm down and called Richard. "Grandpa, Canlis Mountain, the one next to Bareyard Village, is going to erupt tonight. It's very dangerous! Please contact the village mayor and arrange an evacuation immediately!"

Richard sounded shocked. "What? Canlis Mountain is going to erupt? That can't be right, can it?"

I replied patiently, "It's true, Grandpa. Trust my professional judgment. Go find the village mayor right now and get everyone to evacuate!"

He agreed, but I still couldn't shake the unease in my chest.

…

Five hours later, the taxi pulled into Bareyard Village.

The villagers were working the fields as usual. Not a single person was evacuating.

Heart pounding, I rushed to find Richard and the village mayor, Vincent Donovan.

To my disbelief, the two of them were casually drinking at the village committee office. I stormed in and demanded, "Grandpa, why haven't you all started evacuating? I told you the volcano would erupt tonight! It's already afternoon!"

Richard put down his glass, shot me a sideways glance, and said with disdain, "Evacuate? What for? Stop spouting nonsense here. Talia called me and said you're lying and using this to scare us!"

Vincent snorted beside him. "Joshua, you shouldn't act like this. Just because you're jealous of Adam, you make jokes about something like this?

"You could've made the villagers panic and disrupted everything! Do you know how much manpower and money it takes to evacuate everyone? What you've done isn't right!"

Just like Julian and David, they didn't believe me either.

I was about to explain when Richard suddenly lifted his foot and kicked me hard in the calf. Pain shot through me, and I nearly fell.

Pointing at me, he thundered, "Get lost! Stop embarrassing me here!"