Chapter 3

I froze, my heart clutched by an invisible hand.

The phone screen was still lit, showing the ten-year-old boy smiling, his front teeth visible.

The exact same age as Sophia had been…

I closed my eyes. If Olivia hadn't unclipped her safety line back then, would everything have been different?

Suddenly, the commotion in the crowd pulled me back to reality.

A man in an expensive designer suit strode forward.

He didn’t even look at me. He just opened his wallet and started throwing stacks of cash at me.

“What’s the problem with going down?”

“You just want money, right? Come on! Name your price!”

“Is this the guy you found for me?”

Marcus turned his head, glancing at Hayes, his voice full of disdain.

He then looked me up and down, a mocking sneer on his face.

“So you’re the top underwater rescue diver now?”

“Well, I’ll be damned. This is quite a sight.”

“So-called rescue heroes, just holding another family’s child’s life hostage for a payout.”

He moved closer, pulling out his phone again.

“Still not enough? Name a number! I can transfer it right away. A hundred thousand? Half a million? Whatever it takes to save my son, any amount is fine.”

Everyone in the hallway gasped, marveling at his generosity.

I didn’t move. I just stared, lost in thought, at the medal pinned to his chest.

Ten years. The honor gained from my sister’s death, still displayed on him.

Following my gaze, he glanced at the design—two hands cradling a life—and chuckled contemptuously.

“What? Envious?”

“I’m not like a diver of your caliber. This medal, I earned it with my life.”

“Ten years ago, right here in Gale Creek Bay! Visibility underwater was almost zero, and my wife and I dove in without a second thought to start the rescue.”

He placed himself on a moral high ground.

“Unlike some people, who, just because they have some skill, exploit people’s desperation.”

I glared at him, only a few words escaping my throat.

“Did you save her?”

Marcus’s expression stiffened for a second, but he quickly assumed a defensive posture.

“In those conditions, no one could guarantee a hundred percent success…”

I let out a soft, bitter laugh. “So, you didn’t save her, did you?”

“I am indeed different from you. Without absolute certainty, I won’t just dive in. And I certainly won’t easily drag crying family members on shore from hope to despair!”

I forced him to meet my gaze, but it was clear he’d long forgotten that I was the man standing on that shore, waiting for Sophia to be brought up that day.

He grew enraged, grabbing my collar.

“Don’t care if I saved her or not, at least I wasn’t a coward! You don’t even dare to go in the water, what right do you have to judge me here?”

The murmuring around us grew louder.

“Mr. Marcus is right. At least he put his life on the line ten years ago. Ethan talks a big game, but when it matters, he’s just a greedy coward.”

Accusatory stares felt like needles piercing my back.

Everyone thought I was avaricious, selfish, and cold-blooded.

I ignored them, until a woman stumbled in.

Her hair was disheveled, her makeup streaked by tears.

Ten years had passed, and even now, in her disarray, time hadn't left many marks on her face.

The woman who had vehemently promised to bring Sophia back safely, yet personally pushed her into the abyss, stood before me.