Chapter 214

"Go! I'll bring help!" Autumn shouted, her eyes red with tears.

Evelyn Sullivan nodded and plunged into the murky floodwaters without hesitation.

Visibility was near zero underwater. She groped blindly through the darkness until her fingers brushed against fabric.

Daniel Sterling!

She swam toward him, finding him unconscious. Gritting her teeth, Evelyn dragged him upward with all her strength.

When they broke the surface, the situation was worse than she'd imagined. The raging current had swept them far from shore.

"Damn it!" Evelyn cursed, spotting a rooftop barely visible above the waterline.

Struggling against the current, she hauled Daniel toward it. They barely managed to clamber onto the crumbling structure.

"Wake up!" She pressed hard on Daniel's chest.

He coughed violently, water gushing from his lips. His pupils contracted sharply when his eyes fluttered open.

"Evelyn?" His trembling hand reached for her face but jerked back at the last moment. "I...thought I was dreaming."

She ignored the moment. "Don't move. Conserve your strength."

Her heart sank as she surveyed their surroundings. The rising waters had turned the area into an isolated island.

The flood kept climbing, soon lapping at their ankles.

"You shouldn't have come back," Daniel rasped. "Too dangerous."

Evelyn didn't turn. "Would you have left me?"

"Never."

"Then shut up."

The roof shuddered violently. Weathered beams groaned under the strain.

"Look out—"

The entire structure collapsed. Evelyn locked her grip around Daniel's wrist as they plunged back into the churning water.

"Let go!" Daniel thrashed. "You can make it alone!"

"Shut up!" she snapped. "One more move and I'll knock you out!"

Battling the current, she dragged Daniel forward. Each wave hammered them like a physical blow.

Twenty meters from shore, a massive wave slammed them underwater.

Evelyn choked on the flood, her arms cramping from exhaustion. She could feel her strength draining away.

Daniel suddenly seized her wrist.

"Enough," he murmured, prying her fingers open one by one. "Thank you...for everything."

"Daniel Sterling! Don't you dare let go!" Her eyes burned with fury.

He gave her a faint smile and leaned back—