"Mr. Hayes, we've combed through the nearby waters, and I'm afraid Mrs. Hayes..."

The search and rescue team leader's words were cut off mid-sentence by lan's sharp command. "Keep searching. She has to be alive!"

Despite his own creeping dread that Clara's chances were slim, lan clung to the belief that she wouldn't leave him behind.

Edwin's expression was somber as he turned to lan. "Heidi's been badly burned. Her face is disfigured, and her vocal cords are damaged. Paolo pulled her from the fire. Do you want us to bring her back?" At the mention of that name, lan clenched his jaw hard. "Send the orders. No matter what, she must survive. To die like this would be too easy for her."

Edwin nodded, his voice saturated with regret. "lan, we need to steel ourselves for what's to come," he said, gripping lan's shoulder with a firm, reassuring hand. His words rang with a somber note, resounding in the silence that followed.

With the storm raging as it was, Clara's odds of survival were low, especially with her deep-sea phobia. If it had been a river, with its less fierce currents and shallower depths, there might be hope. But this was the deep sea.

days and nights, not closing

in lan's increasingly gaunt face, Edwin murmured, "If Clara were still in these waters, we would have found her by now. You should go rest. I'll take the team and look elsewhere. All we can hope for now

knew the likelihood was impossible, but in such situations, everyone held on to a glimmer of

vessel. His hands trembled as he pulled a cigarette from his pocket. It

as he stared into the distance. His voice was

had the chance to spoil her. Fate can't be that unfair." He turned to lan. "Heidi's been rescued, but she's severely burned, physically disabled, mute, and her face

drags on his cigarette. The coldness

awake, just unable to

When Clara and I get married, I'll make sure Heidi is

the heart -

own heartache was evident as

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