Chapter 371
Chapter 371:
He went around asking the rest of the crew, but no one had seen her. A wave of pure dread hit him, and he reached for his phone to call Bobby immediately. Bobby gathered everyone together and questioned them again — but even after all of it, Kristine remained unaccounted for.
By now, even Bobby looked frightened.
He swallowed hard. “Mr. Yates, three of our people are still out there. Maybe Ms. Green is with that group p>
Colton felt his muscles tighten. The last time he had seen her, there were people everywhere. He couldn’t understand how she could simply disappear.
“Get me a suit,” he said sharply.
Bobby hesitated. “But p>
𝘉𝖾 𝘁𝗵𝘦 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘴𝘵 𝘵о 𝗋ea𝗱 𝗼𝗇
“Just do it p>
Bobby turned without another word to retrieve the gear.
Colton had just finished suiting up and was seconds away from jumping in when a shout rang out behind him.
“They’re back! All three of them p>
He stopped and turned. The crowd was pulling three men in scuba gear out of the water. Their masks still covered their faces, making it difficult to identify them at first.
“Did you find Ms. Green?” Bobby pushed through the group toward them.
One of the divers bent forward, hands on his knees, mask pulled off, struggling to catch his breath. “Ms. Green — we found her p>
“Where is she?” Colton’s voice came out cold as steel.
The diver looked up at him, still breathing too hard to speak properly.
Colton’s patience ran out. He grabbed the man by the shoulder. “Tell me everything p>
The man steadied himself, visibly shaken. “I saw her on a different cruise ship. She was surrounded by a large group of people. She appeared to be safe p>
Colton’s shoulders finally relaxed, just slightly. “What was the name of the ship p>
“The Horizon Voyager p>
Colton looked at Bobby, who already understood. He placed a call to the harbor authority immediately. A few minutes later, the answer came back: a ship by that name had indeed departed the pier that night — but thirty minutes ago, it had been forced to turn back due to engine failure. It was now docked at Dusk Reach Pier.
At that, Colton — who had been holding himself upright through sheer force of will — finally collapsed.
“Mr. Yates!” Bobby lurched forward and caught him. Only then did he notice that Colton’s body was burning with fever.
Colton woke the following morning in a hospital room. He opened his eyes and found Elyse sitting alone beside him. The sight sent a quiet wave of disappointment through him — he had expected someone else. The sunlight was too sharp, so he closed his eyes again, images from the previous night cycling through his mind.
Then it hit him: he still didn’t know exactly where Kristine was.
He sat up so quickly that Elyse startled.
She recovered with a bright smile. “Colton — you’re finally awake p>
He didn’t acknowledge it. “Where is Kristine p>
Elyse’s smile faltered for just a moment before she forced it back. “I think she went home p>
Colton was already out of bed and moving toward the door before she could say another word. Elyse ran after him, but he was through the door in seconds. His voice drifted back down the hall behind him.