Stella was about to give up when she noticed a foot behind a table, slowly approached.
Severide was right, there really was someone.
When she finally got close to her cabinet, looking behind her she saw that there were not one but three people, two girls and a woman. They were terrified.
Immediately Kidd called Casey who came over and together they helped to get out of there.
Matt picked up the eldest child in his arms, he must have been more or less 10/11 years old, the woman followed him a little further back and Stella with the youngest child, she must have been no more than 4/5 years old, was still a short distance behind.
At one point something under Stella's feet opened and she fell down with the baby she was holding, they were almost close to her exit when it happened.
Casey was the first to go out with the baby, handing her over to one of the ambulances as paramedics from 61 approached the woman.
The captain turned to help Kidd and not seeing her behind him made to go back inside the building, when with a great roar, under the jets of water from the fire engine 51 the structure collapsed.
Casey was saved by a miracle, but Stella? She had remained under the rubble.
She couldn't have been saved, or at least it was difficult.
The woman began to scream, her daughter was inside her with the fireman, there were those who held their breath, those who were crying, those who were already moving to organize the removal of debris to try to save Stella and then there was Severide.
He was petrified, his mind was empty, only one sentence repeated itself in his mind:
- Stella is dead. -
He was still alone, he had lost the only woman he had ever truly loved.
He couldn't move, his breathing was labored, shallow, several people talked to him but he didn't hear anything.
- Severide, come on you'll see that we will find her - Tony said to the lieutenant before making himself available to move the debris.
Ritter touched his shoulder, but he didn't even feel it.
He stood there, his eyes filled with terror as he watched that terrible sight.
Time passed, minutes, hours, every moment that passed, the hopes of finding Stella alive were reduced.
Who knows where exactly she was, if she was hurt, maybe she was losing blood and was in agony, maybe she was even dead as Severide thought.
It was getting dark and the debris had almost all been removed, but no trace of Stella and the child.
Sadness made room in everyone's hearts.
It was not possible that she had run away, the only thing was that she had been burned alive. Was it possible that there wasn't something left of her? A bone, a part of the jumpsuit she was wearing ...
The pain was destroying the heart of Severide who had remained motionless since everything had happened, her eyes were fixed on the scene and did not show any emotion or feeling, as well as her face.
She had erected a wall around her, the same wall he had before he met Stella, the only person who had managed to break down those barriers and get to her heart.