They celebrated her rescue No one noticed novel

Chapter 6 At the hospital, Ethan checked his phone again.. And again. Still nothing. No updates from the bodyguards. His patience wore thinner by the second. He loosened his tie, jaw tight, irritation simmering in his chest. Then his stomach twisted violently, pain surging so hard it nearly doubled him over. He sucked in a sharp breath, his hands trembling as he reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small pill bottle, the label torn off completely. He didn't hesitate. He shook out several pills and swallowed them dry. The door suddenly flew open with a bang.

A bodyguard stumbled in, face pale, voice shaking. "Mr. Sterling! Something happened!" Ethan's head snapped up. The man swallowed hard, panic flashing across his eyes. "Mrs. Sterling... she got pulled under by the waves. It's been two hours. We still can't find her." His voice broke. "She might already be... gone." Ethan stood so fast his chair scraped loudly across the floor. His face went blank for half a second, like his brain refused to process what he'd just heard. "What did you say?" Vanessa's voice called from behind him, nervous and urgent, but Ethan didn't even turn around.

Chapter 6 5.26% He bolted out of the room. He drove like a madman, blowing through red lights, ignoring horns, ignoring everything. The only thing he could see was the ocean ahead. When he reached the shore, the weather had turned vicious. Rain poured down hard. Wind howled. The ocean that had been calm earlier was now raging, waves slamming against the coast like it wanted to tear the world apart. Rescue crews were climbing out of the water, soaked and exhausted. Their faces said it all. They thought it was over. Ethan's eyes were bloodshot as he stormed toward them. "No," he snapped.

"Don't you dare stop." He grabbed one of the men by the arm. "Get back in the water!" The rescue worker hesitated, clearly shaken. "Sir, the conditions are getting dangerous. If she's been out there this long, the odds are..." Ethan's voice exploded. "I don't care about odds!" He shoved the man toward the sea. "I'll pay you. I'll pay you as much as you want. Triple. Ten times. Whatever it takes." His voice cracked, raw with desperation. "You will find her. You will bring Evelyn back!" The rescue workers exchanged tense glances. Then, reluctantly, they turned and went back into the water.

Ethan ignored every warning, every attempt to stop him. Chapter 6 5.26% He grabbed an oxygen tank and waded in himself. The freezing water hit him like a punch. His face stung. His skin burned. But he didn't slow down. Again and again, he dove under. The sea was dark, violent, merciless. Each time he resurfaced, his lungs screamed, his heart pounded, but he forced himself down again. Over and over. Because he couldn't stop thinking. He couldn't stop remembering. He remembered the first time he saw Evelyn. Back then, he'd heard the rumors about the Vance family. The scandal.

The switched daughters. The real one and the fake one. It sounded like cheap tabloid drama, and he'd been mildly entertained. So when the Vance family threw a huge birthday party for the so-called adopted daughter, he showed up out of curiosity. The ballroom had been loud, crowded, suffocating. It annoyed him. He stepped outside to get away from the noise, wandering into the back garden. And that was when he saw her. Evelyn sat by the pool, curled into herself, wiping her tears with her sleeve. Her eyes were red, her lips trembling, like she was trying so hard not to fall apart.

When she noticed him, her whole body stiffened. Chapter 6 5.26% She looked embarrassed, furious that someone had caught her like that. Then she bared her teeth at him like a cornered animal. "What are you staring at?" she snapped. "Keep looking and I'll rip your eyes out!" Ethan should have laughed. He should have rolled his eyes and walked away. Instead, his heart slammed against his ribs like it had been struck. Loud. Violent. Uncontrollable. If anyone had told him he'd fall in love at first sight, Ethan would have called them an idiot. But it happened anyway.

It happened the second he saw her. After that, Audrey Vance showed up with a group of people, ready to humiliate Evelyn like it was sport. Evelyn was soft at her core, harmless, sweet. But she pretended she wasn't. She forced herself to act sharp, like a hedgehog raising its spines to survive. She stood there alone, taking their insults, refusing to let them see her break. And Audrey got worse. She deliberately set Evelyn up, manipulating her into pushing her into the water, just to play the victim and win their parents' sympathy. Evelyn should have been cherished by her family.

She should have been protected. Instead, she carried every injustice like it was her burden to bear. Ethan watched it happen, and something inside him twisted painfully, He wanted to get closer. He wanted to shield her from all of it. Chapter 6 5.26% But Evelyn had been hurt too many times. She didn't trust anyone. Not truly. She watched everyone like she was waiting for the knife. So Ethan came up with a plan. He used the idea of an engagement as bait, claiming he intended to marry one of the Vance daughters. And he deliberately got close to Audrey. He knew Evelyn would react. And she did.

Evelyn took the bait and came to fight Audrey for him. Ethan made it easy. The second she reached for him, he went straight to her. Like he'd been waiting for it. Like it was inevitable. But then he left on a business trip. Just one week. And when he came back, the woman he'd held above everyone else had been shoved into the ocean. The memory hit him like a blade. That moment, his heart nearly stopped. He didn't think. He didn't hesitate. He jumped in after her. That night, Evelyn cried in his arms until her voice broke.

And for the first time in his life, Ethan understood what it meant to feel true pain. 5.26% The kind that carved into your bones. Because you only understood how precious someone was.... After you'd almost lost them. And now, in the freezing ocean, Ethan kept searching, diving again and again like a man possessed. Because this time.... He might not make it in time. He might already be too late. Chapter 6 Santiago