CHAPTER 326: EVERYTHING DISAPPEARED (2)

Nick’s POV

I tried. God knows I tried. I swear I did.

I dove until my lungs burned, until the salt stung my eyes raw, until my body screamed in agony. But the sea, that cruel, merciless sea I once called home, swallowed her whole. The same waters that had once sheltered me, that had been my escape from the world’s judgment, had now taken everything I loved.

She was just... gone. No trace, no clue where she had gone.

"I have to go back!" I roared, my voice breaking as I pushed off the dock, ready to dive again.

Liam caught my arm and yanked me back with all his strength. "No, Nick! If you go back now, it’ll be you we’ll be searching for next!"

"Let me go—"

"You’re done!" he snapped. "You’ve been diving for hours. You’re barely standing, look at yourself! Rest. Let the Coast Guard do their job. Once you’ve regained your strength, I swear I’ll go with you to search for her again."

His grip didn’t loosen until the fight in me finally died out. My body trembled, not from the cold, but from the hollow ache tearing through my chest.

Liam exhaled, his voice softening. "Be with Katie for now, Nick. She’s scared... she needs you. Just like you need her."

I turned toward the ambulance parked near the port. My mother sat on its step, a blanket wrapped around Katie’s tiny frame. Her eyes were swollen, red, and empty from hours of crying. She didn’t even have tears left anymore.

Neither did I.

Amara was with her, drenched and shaking but alive; she had managed to get Katie to the lifeboat when Georgia released it to the sea. I should’ve felt relief, but all I could feel was the void left by the woman who wasn’t there.

The sun was breaking through the horizon, spilling dull light over the waves that had hidden her from me all night. The coast guard’s radio still crackled with static, no new updates. No sight of her. No sign of him, the bastard who shot her and jumped off the ship afterwards, escaping from justice, escaping from me.

I forced my feet forward. Each step toward Katie felt like dragging an anchor. When she noticed me, she reached out her arms, silent, small, and trembling.

I knelt down and pulled her close, holding her tight against my chest.

Her little voice was barely a whisper. "Mommy will come back, right? She’s a good swimmer. She said so. I don’t want her to leave me, too... everyone’s already left me."

The words hit harder than any bullet. "Not everyone. I’m here..."

Something inside me broke completely. I clutched her closer, burying my face into her tiny shoulder as sobs tore out of me, raw, helpless, ugly.

Those tiny arms wrapped around my neck were the only thing keeping me from collapsing into the abyss with Georgia.

Because right now, in this cruel, endless dawn, my heart had already gone down with her.

"Katie!"

Wendy’s voice tore through the chaos around the port, raw, panicked, desperate.

I turned just as she stumbled toward us, clutching her side, still recovering from her injuries but refusing to stop. Her face was streaked with tears and sweat, her hair plastered to her skin, but she didn’t care. She just ran, like the world was ending.

When she reached us, she threw her arms around me.

"Oh my God, Nick!" she gasped, and for a moment, I froze, then her body shook against mine, and the dam inside me broke again. I buried my face against her shoulder, and the sound that tore out of me didn’t even feel human.

Having Wendy and Katie in my arms, the two people who loved Georgia as fiercely as I did, was both a comfort and a knife to the chest. Their presence made her absence scream louder.

Ella came up behind her, her voice calm but firm. "I’ll take them home, Nick. You need to rest and eat something. Once you’ve regained your strength, you can go back out there and look for her."

She wrapped a thick wool blanket over my shoulders, the warmth doing nothing to stop the shaking inside me.

I nodded weakly, my throat raw. "Take care of them," I told her before crouching to Katie’s level. Her eyes were puffy, but she looked at me with that fragile hope only children have left.

"I promise you both," I said, my voice breaking, "I won’t stop until I find Georgia."

I kissed Katie’s forehead, lingering for a second longer than I should have, before watching Ella lead them away, Katie clinging to Wendy’s hand.

I stayed there, rooted to the spot, until the bodyguards made sure they were safely in the car and it disappeared down the port road. The world felt quieter somehow, emptier, crueler.

"Here."

I turned. Vicky stood there, holding out a dry set of clothes. "Change before you get sick," she said. "You won’t be able to go back to the sea if you collapse."

I nodded numbly and reached out to take them—

But then, the low rumble of engines cut through the air.

We both turned toward the sea.

The coast guard boats were approaching fast. Crew members were shouting over radios, the urgency in their tone unmistakable.

My heart slammed in my chest.

Something’s happened.

"Please," I whispered under my breath, fists tightening. "Please let it be her."

We all stood frozen at the edge of the port, the salty wind biting against our skin as the coast guard boat drew closer and closer. Every second felt like an eternity. My heart was pounding so hard I could barely breathe.

Then I saw them, two black body bags lying still on its deck.

My lungs stopped working. The world tilted.

Before I could hit the ground, Liam and Vicky caught me by the arms, holding me up.

"T–There are b–body bags..." The words scraped out of my throat like broken glass. My vision blurred, and beside me, Vicky started to cry, soft, trembling sobs that only made the dread worse.

"Why are you crying?" I snapped, my voice cracking. "Stop... I said STOP crying!"

I tried to shove her away, but my arms felt heavy, useless. She didn’t move. She just held on tighter, her tears soaking through my already wet shirt.

"It’s not her," I whispered, shaking my head violently. "It’s not her... don’t fucking cry, it’s not my wife!" I screamed as I grabbed Vicky’s shirt.

But my body betrayed me. My legs gave out, and I collapsed to my knees on the wet concrete. A guttural sound ripped from my chest as I pressed my palms to the cold ground.

Vicky dropped beside me, sobbing, and I could barely see through the tears that blurred my vision.

"Please..." My voice was a broken plea. "Please, let it not be her..."

The engines faded, the waves slapped against the hull, and the world seemed to hold its breath as the boat finally docked, bringing with it the weight of every nightmare I’d ever had.

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