Chapter 256

At Kingsley Tech headquarters.

The golden hues of sunset painted the Manhattan skyline as Nathan Blackwood emerged from the boardroom.

His custom Patek Philippe watch showed 6:47 PM.

He still needed to catch his flight to Montevista. Evelyn Sinclair was waiting there for their postponed reconciliation dinner.

Nathan loosened his Armani tie with one hand while reaching for his phone with the other.

Before he could summon Harrison, his assistant came barreling through the glass doors uncharacteristically disheveled.

Harrison's usually impeccable appearance was shattered - tie askew, hair mussed, eyes bloodshot.

In twelve years of service, Nathan had never seen his unflappable assistant in such a state.

"Mr. Blackwood..." Harrison's voice cracked. His hands trembled as they clutched an iPad.

Nathan's gut twisted. His knuckles turned white around his Montblanc pen.

"Speak."

Harrison swallowed hard. "Liber Airlines Flight 227... There's been... The plane Evelyn was on..."

The pen snapped in Nathan's grip.

"No survivors." Harrison whispered. "They found her name on the..."

The words "casualty list" never made it past his lips.

Nathan's world tilted. The floor seemed to drop away beneath his Italian leather shoes.

His vision tunneled. The only sound was the deafening rush of blood in his ears.

Evelyn couldn't be...

Not his vibrant, stubborn, brilliant Evelyn.

Not the woman who played Chopin with such passion. Who negotiated mergers with razor-sharp wit. Who smoked Cuban cigars on the balcony of their penthouse just to scandalize the neighbors.

The woman whose laughter still haunted his dreams three years after their divorce.

Nathan's knees buckled. He caught himself on the conference table, sending documents flying.

"You're mistaken." His voice was barely human. "Check again."

Harrison's tears fell freely now. "William Sterling collapsed when they notified him. They've hospitalized him at New York Presbyterian."

The iPad screen showed the official airline statement: "Mechanical failure during storm conditions... No distress signal... Impact with Pacifica Ocean..."

Nathan's chest caved in.

Memories assaulted him - Evelyn's smile over morning coffee. The way she bit her lip when concentrating. Her scent of vanilla and jasmine lingering on his sheets.

The last time he saw her, walking away without looking back.

His fist connected with the walnut table. Once. Twice. Splinters embedded in his skin.

"Find her." Nathan's command was guttural. "I don't care what it costs. Search every inch of that ocean."

Across Manhattan, news alerts blared on every screen.

#EvelynSinclair trending worldwide.

The Sterling brothers - Alexander, Donovan, and Lucas - posted identical four-word statements that broke the internet:

"Bring our sister home."

The Kingsley Tech building shook with Nathan's roar of anguish as reality set in.

Somewhere over the Pacifica, the love of his life was gone.

And he'd never gotten to say goodbye.