As the best underwater rescue diver in the country, I received an emergency call. The missing person was ten years old. The location was Gray Falcon Bay. Ten years ago, my younger sister Eilara disappeared there too. At the time, my fiancé, Cyrus Voss, was leading the rescue. He held my hand and promised me: “Trust me, Leona. I’ll bring her back alive.” But in the end, all they pulled ashore was my sister’s cold, bloated body. Years later, I learned that Cyrus had found Eilara. But to let his partner, Adrianna Crowe, claim the glory of rescuing her, he had personally unclipped my sister’s safety line. The current swept Eilara away in an instant. By the time they found her again, she was no longer breathing. Yet Cyrus and Adrianna used a falsified report to turn one of them into a rescue hero and win the other a medal presented by the President himself. That was the day I abandoned my old life and began learning to dive. Ten years. Five hundred and thirty-seven missions. Four hundred and seventy-two people returned to shore alive because of me. I ran more than ten thousand rescue drills, hoping no one else would ever be like my sister—reached by rescuers, only to be abandoned anyway. But today, the command center sent a photo of the missing child to my phone. I stared at it for a long time. Ten years ago, that man had held me and cried as he claimed he had done everything he could. I would never forget that lying face. “I’m not diving on this mission.” … “Leona, what did you just say?” The dispatcher, Kyla, froze. “Last year, a research vessel sank in the North Atlantic. You entered the wreck alone and brought out the trapped researchers.” “If even you won’t dive, who else in the country can save him?” I put my gear into my bag. “I didn’t say I couldn’t do it. I said I wouldn’t take the mission.” “But that boy has less than an hour of air left—” “Contact another rescue team now. Don’t waste the child’s time arguing with me.” Then I hung up. At that moment, the equipment-room door flew open. Captain Mason Reed rushed in, rain streaming from his graying temples. “Leona, wait.” I picked up my gear bag. “Mason, I’ve already said everything I have to say.” He shut the door behind him and blocked my way. “We’ve been searching for two hours, and we’ve used every piece of equipment available. But the seabed is full of narrow rock crevices and tangled lines. The machines can’t get through.” He lowered his voice. “The missing boy is the Crowe family’s only heir. Their corporation is one of the largest in the world, and everyone who matters is at the scene waiting for an answer.” “Then keep searching with the equipment.” “We’ve used everything we have! A diver still has to go down and find him!” Mason grabbed my arm. “You’ll have the best gear and support team available. I’ll stay on shore and watch you myself. I won’t let anything happen to you.” “This isn’t about safety.” “Then what is it?” “It’s personal.” Mason slowly released me. “There’s a ten-year-old boy underwater waiting to be saved, Leona.” At some point, the hallway outside had filled with team members. “Hale is our ace. She isn’t really planning to walk away, is she?” “Maybe she’s heard too many stories about her own legend. Now she wants an appearance fee before she’ll even get in the water.” “Shut up!” Mason roared over his shoulder. I checked my watch. “You’ve wasted another six minutes. Find a replacement now, before you lose any more time.” I pushed through the crowd. Then someone shouted behind me, “Your sister died in Gray Falcon Bay too. You know better than anyone what it’s like to wait, only to get a body back!” My steps stopped abruptly. The photograph from moments ago flashed through my mind. The boy had the same crooked canine tooth as Eilara. If Cyrus had not opened that buckle, what kind of life would Eilara be living now? The crowd suddenly parted. A woman in a tailored charcoal coat strode toward me. Ten years had passed, but Adrianna Crowe had barely changed. She was even still wearing the medal she had bought with my sister’s life. She did not recognize me. She simply pulled a black card from her purse and slapped it onto the table in front of me. “I heard you’re refusing to dive.” “Name your price.” “One million. Five million. Or founding shares in Crowe Deep-Sea Group.” “Bring my son back, and I’ll give you anything you want.”
“This is the so-called chief expert at the National Joint Search and Rescue Center?” Adrianna turned her head and gave Mason a cold look. “My son has been missing underwater for two hours, and she’s still here putting on airs, waiting for us to beg?” “Ms. Crowe, she isn’t—” “I’m speaking to her.” Adrianna cut Mason off and turned back to me. “Five hundred thousand isn’t enough? One million.” A wave of sharp breaths swept through the hallway. I only stared at the medal pinned to her chest. Two hands rose from silver waves, holding a child aloft. How ironic. When Adrianna noticed where I was looking, she straightened her shoulders. “Recognize it?” “This is the Gray Falcon Bay Medal of Valor. Not everyone in a wetsuit is worthy of one.” She tapped the medal with one knuckle, her voice arrogant. “Ten years ago, right here in Gray Falcon Bay, my husband and I searched for forty minutes in near-zero visibility. We nearly died down there ourselves.” “Unlike you, standing here and deliberately making us beg just because you have a little talent.” I looked up. “Did you save that child?” The smugness on Adrianna’s face froze for an instant. “The conditions were dangerous. No one could guarantee—” “So you failed to bring her back alive, but still accepted a medal for her death.” I gave a faint, humorless smile. Her expression darkened. She seized me by the collar. “You won’t even get in the water. What gives you the right to judge me?” I stared at the medal on her chest and gave a cold laugh. “At least I never used a falsified report to steal a medal.” The hallway went silent. The next second, a man stumbled into the corridor. His cashmere coat was soaked through, and the sea wind had left his black hair in disarray. Cyrus. After ten years apart, he did not recognize me. It was hardly surprising. After my sister died, I took my mother’s surname, Hale, and never showed my face to the media. As far as he knew, Leona Moore had vanished long ago. But I recognized him at once. This was the man who had promised to bring Eilara back alive, then personally unclipped her rescue line. My fingers slowly curled into fists. Cyrus caught Adrianna by the arm and pulled her back a step. Then he looked at me. “Please.” His voice was hoarse, and he could barely stand. “Mason said you’re the only person who can save my son. If you’ll go down, I’ll agree to any condition.” “Callum is only ten. He’s afraid of the dark. He still sleeps with the hallway light on.” “Today was his beginner diving lesson. He was supposed to stay within the instructor’s tethered area, but the guide rope suddenly snapped…” He reached toward me with a trembling hand. “Bring him back, and I’ll pay anything. Property, shares—just name it.” I looked at him as ten years of hatred churned inside my chest. Any condition. Would he still say it so easily once he learned the real price? I pulled my hand away from his. “I’ll go to the site.” Hope flared in Cyrus’s eyes. “Thank you! Ms. Hale, thank you! My wife and I will spend the rest of our lives—” “Don’t thank me yet.” I cut him off. “I only agreed to go to the site. I never said I would dive.”
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