Devil's Prisoner of Love by Prefer

When Heather showed Ivy's photo to the women on the outskirts of the group, they exclaimed, "Yes, that's her! She said her name was Vivienne. Do you know her?"

"You're saying she disappeared from the ship too?" Heather's heart sank upon learning Ivy had been on the same cruise.

No one knew Ivy and Aurora's past better than Heather did. Ivy must have boarded the ship with revenge in mind after being expelled from the Montgomery family.

Heather couldn't shake the thought that the two must have had a confrontation. Perhaps they quarreled, and with the loose railing on deck, both of them might have fallen into the sea during their struggle.

"Yes, she boarded the ship with us, but after a while, we didn't see her again. We have no idea where she went," one of the women said.

"Mr. Warden, I'm afraid Miss Montgomery has truly fallen into the sea," Heather turned back to Mr. Warden, tears streaming down her face.

Before Ivy's connection to Aurora was revealed, Heather still held onto a glimmer of hope. But now, with both women mysteriously missing, the odds seemed

insurmountably grim.

"How are you so certain?" Mr. Warden asked, his face tense.

"Mr. Warden, the woman who disappeared along with Aurora is Ivy Montgomery. You've surely heard her name before. You must know what that means," Heather explained.

"Ivy..." Mr. Warden froze for a moment as the name clicked. "The former daughter of the Montgomery family?"

Miss Montgomery. I suspect they crossed paths on the ship and argued.

face went pale with fear. Two lives were at stake. And with Julian returning the next day, how would he explain this catastrophe? Julian Barnet was infamous for his ruthlessness. Anyone who crossed him would find themselves

she had fallen. In the vast ocean, finding her was like searching for a needle in a haystack. Even if they managed to recover her,

thought, unwilling to imagine the consequences.

had disappeared-both likely gone forever. Only hours

someone from the sea was no easy task, let alone after so much time had passed. Heather's eyes were swollen from crying. She called Julian's private number repeatedly using the ship's landline,

the next day that Julian landed. He hadn't slept all night,

plane touched down, he turned on his phone and saw over a hundred missed calls from an unknown landline number. Whoever

over him.

answered, his voice calm but edged

the other end sounded hoarse, practically

the moment she

Aurora?" Julian's chest tightened as dread washed over

been searching all night, but there's no sign

mind went blank, as though thunder had struck him. Even his usual calm

Heather called out when she heard no response. She knew the severity of the news was too much for

Explain it to me!" Julian finally found his voice, though it was filled

the events as best as she could. On the other end of the line, Julian was frozen in place, his knuckles

greeted by the

would see Julian's eyes reddened, his expression a mix of anger and anguish. His

shattered. Rock, who had