Chapter 257

The Sterling family deployed over twenty private helicopters to scour the stretch of ocean where the tragedy occurred. They contracted elite international salvage teams to comb every inch of the surrounding waters.

Hope refused to die. Within hours, the search radius tripled as nearly a hundred aircraft darkened the skies above the Pacifica Ocean.

The unprecedented operation made global headlines. Naval vessels joined the effort as divers multiplied exponentially across international waters. Nathan Blackwood personally led search teams around the clock, driven by unbearable guilt.

He couldn't forget it was his invitation that brought her here. His thoughtlessness that put her in danger. His fault she'd been terrified in those final moments.

She wouldn't have boarded that doomed flight. Wouldn't have disappeared. Wouldn't have... He couldn't bring himself to complete the thought. What horrors flashed through Evelyn Sinclair's mind when the engines failed?

Had she thought of him? Cursed him? That fearless woman who faced everything with such courage - how terrified must she have been? He'd give anything to have been there beside her.

Yet after seventy-two relentless hours, not a single trace emerged.

The wreckage recovered from the ocean floor told a gruesome tale - twisted metal, shattered components, blackened fragments.

Nathan stood rigid in the helicopter doorway, the merciless sunlight reflecting off waves that concealed unimaginable horrors. Salt spray stung his unshaven face as turbulent currents swirled beneath deceptively calm surfaces.

Life seemed so fragile in that moment. His grip on the doorframe trembled violently until Harrison steadied him from behind.

Harrison's grief mirrored Nathan's. Unlike his employer's three-year neglect of Evelyn, the assistant had witnessed her entire transformation - the shattered woman reborn into a force of nature. His admiration for her strength made the loss unbearable.

Watching Nathan deteriorate during the endless search, Harrison recognized the soul-crushing despair consuming his boss.

"Sir, the board requires your presence for the quarterly approvals. Let me handle the search. I'll notify you immediately if—"

He couldn't voice the grim reality. No human survived four days in these waters. Between predators and currents, even recovering a body seemed impossible.

Nathan's sculpted features had become gaunt, his piercing eyes now hollow. Stubble shadowed his jaw, but determination still burned through the exhaustion.

"What if she's waiting for me?" His voice cracked like broken glass. "Have my grandfather address the board. Expand the search grid northward."

Harrison sighed, turning to monitor incoming satellite feeds.

Meanwhile, Lucas Sterling refused to abandon hope. With William Sterling hospitalized and Alexander managing corporate fallout, the youngest Sterling brother spearheaded rescue operations.

His attitude toward Nathan had shifted dramatically - from contempt to fury upon learning why Evelyn boarded that flight, to something resembling pity.

Alexander was right. Nathan bore no true blame. How could they hate a man who looked ready to follow Evelyn into the grave?

Online outrage faded as quickly as it ignited. The crash became yesterday's news, Evelyn reduced to trending hashtags before newer scandals eclipsed her memory.

The world moved on.

But in Nathan Blackwood's shattered reality, time stopped the moment Evelyn's plane disappeared from radar.