“Hadley.” Eric enveloped her icy fingers with gentle warmth. “Would you prefer if I drove you home first?”

Ernest and his team maintained their vigil here. No purpose would be served by forcing Hadley to endure this additional suffering.

Hadley shook her head with quiet determination. She recognized that remaining here served no practical purpose. “I need to visit the hospital.”

Eric grasped her intention immediately—she felt compelled to see Savannah. “I’ll accompany you there.”

Eric directed Phillips to remain at the scene. Phillips would provide regular updates on any developments.

As they departed, Ernest remained locked in unconsciousness.

The ocean stretched endlessly before them, an impenetrable wall of darkness offering no glimpse of hope.

Savannah had finally awakened from her unconscious state. Her stomach had contained substantial quantities of seawater, which had caused her to lose consciousness after the near-drowning incident. Fortunately, comprehensive medical examinations revealed no life-threatening injuries. The earlier collision had resulted in minor abrasions and soft tissue damage, though nothing requiring intensive treatment.

Upon Hadley and Eric’s arrival, they found Savannah sitting upright in her hospital bed, taking careful sips of water while Neville provided gentle assistance.

“Hadley?” Savannah’s eyes found them the moment they entered the room. She placed the cup on the bedside table and waved Neville away. “Please, set that aside. Hadley has arrived. Hadley!”

“Mrs. Brown.” Hadley rushed to her bedside, scrutinizing her condition with anxious eyes. “You’re alive and recovering. Thank heaven for that.”

Without this small relief, her crushing guilt would have destroyed her completely.

“Managing…” Savannah’s voice carried barely above a whisper, her complexion ghostly pale, yet her maternal worry blazed in her eyes. “But what of Elissa? Have you received any word about my daughter?”

She had posed this same desperate question to Neville immediately upon regaining consciousness. He had skillfully evaded providing honest answers, terrified that the truth would shatter her fragile recovery.

gα?ησν?s? brings great stories

Confronted with this identical inquiry, Hadley found herself utterly speechless. “Mrs. Brown…”

“Yes?” The hesitation in Hadley’s tone sent Savannah’s heart plummeting into darkness.

Deep within her intuition, she had sensed something amiss during those chaotic moments of the collision. Her awareness had drifted between consciousness and oblivion as their vehicle careened into the churning waters.

Through every moment of terror, her maternal instincts had focused solely on Elissa, vulnerable in her pregnancy. What fate awaited her precious daughter? Resting here relatively unscathed, she had desperately nursed the hope that Elissa had somehow escaped similar harm.

.

.

.