Chapter 3

Vanessa only tossed it out as an offhand remark, and Caleb reacted as if the worst had already happened.

He gave the order without even conducting the most basic search.

"Nessa's right! There's a real chance another mudslide is coming. We withdraw now!"

But the team still couldn't let it go.

"We really did hear something, though. Pulling out without even doing a sweep—that's not how a rescue operation is supposed to work."

Caleb shot back.

"If we stay and another slide comes down and someone dies, are you willing to take responsibility?"

"We pull out!"

As the team turned to leave, a boulder above me broke loose from the earlier tremors and crashed down onto my back.

The blow drove me to my knees, and the tiny pocket of air around my daughter became even smaller.

Starved of oxygen, her face soon turned pale and bluish.

I arched my back, slowing my breathing to save what air there was.

My hand found the star bracelet on her wrist and pressed the emergency button on the inside.

My parents had it custom-made for her the day she was born, after a nurse nearly carried her off by mistake.

It was designed to be foolproof. Press the little bump on the inside and the chip will immediately send a distress alert to everyone connected to it, along with an alert and location sent to the nearest emergency services.

My parents did get the distress signal.

They didn't even glance at it before switching their phones off.

A minute later, the nearest station called Caleb.

"Captain Mercer, we received a distress signal and a location from your daughter's device. It matches your current position almost exactly—have you already found them?"

Caleb's brow furrowed. Vanessa quickly pulled a bracelet from her bag. It was the same design, only more refined.

"Tansy sent me a message earlier saying she was worried about me, so she tucked her own bracelet into my bag," she said. "She must have bumped it by accident and set the signal off."

"Caleb, I'm so sorry. I've caused you trouble again, haven't I?"

Caleb shot her a reassuring glance before telling the officer, "We haven't found Sabrina or my daughter Chessie yet."

"But we've decided to pull out."

The officer sounded uneasy. "Your wife and Chessie have already been missing ten days. Their odds of survival were low to begin with."

"If you pull out now, isn't that giving up on them completely?"

Caleb spoke with a righteous expression.

"I'm not only Sabrina's husband and Chessie's father—I'm the captain of this team!"

"They matter, but so do my men! Another mudslide is coming, and I will not send my people into that!"

"Besides, Sabrina received professional survival training in college. I believe she'll hold on to the very end!"

The officer tried to say something more, but Caleb hung up.

Then he ordered his men to carry Vanessa out on the stretcher and get moving.

The team hesitated.

"Captain, we really think we should do a quick sweep first."

"I've got the thermal scanner. It'll be quick."

Several of them carried the scanner toward the spot where my daughter and I were buried.

My parents rushed over, tore the equipment away, and smashed it hard against the ground.

"Sweep for what? Can't you see how swollen Nessa's ankle is?"

"She's a ballet dancer! Do you have any idea what this could do to her career?"

The team wavered. "But we still haven't found Caleb's wife and Chessie. Didn't the captain say a second slide was about to hit? What if—"