Chapter 11
Meanwhile, Hurst was scouring the coastline, searching for any trace of Nettie–anywhere the tides might have carried her.
After Calvin’s men spent days combing the waters and still couldn’t find Nettie’s body, Hurst began to suspect that maybe, just mayb she hadn’t died after all
So he and Calvin split up. Hurst gathered his own team and started searching the beaches and islands where the currents could have washed Nettie ashore 3
Days passed, and he found nothing. With every fruitless hour, his hope grew heavier, sinking like a stone inside him.X
That was when his phone suddenly rang, the shrill tone cutting through his thoughts.
“Mr. Watson, you need to come to the Beaumont estate right away! Ms. Rogers–something’s happened!”
On the fifth day since Charls’s secrets had been splashed all over the internet, Hurst and Calvin finally returned to the Beaumont family home
room
Charis was curled up on the living room sofa, her eyes swollen and red from crying. Seeing her like that, both men felt a pang of guilt and concern.
“I’m sorry, Charis,” Calvin said gently, pulling her into a hug. “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have neglected you these past few days. Don’t worry, I’ve already had people suppress the rumors online, and I’ve got lawyers going after anyone who’s been slandering you. I promise, we’ll
make this right.“8
He stroked her hair, speaking in the calmest, most patient voice he could muster
It took a while, but eventually Charis managed to stop sobbing. She looked up at him, her voice tremulous. “But but so many people believe the rumors. Some are even saying that I was the one who put the explosives on Nettie’s cruise ship__”
Her words trailed off into a choked whimper. Hurst immediately sat
it beside her, trying to offer comfort.
“Don’t listen to them,” he said firmly. “You had nothing to do with what happened to Nettle.”
After the explosion, Hurst and Calvin had ordered a thorough investigation into the source of the explosives, but after all this time, they still hadn’t found any leads.
But the idea that Charis could have orchestrated any of it was simply absurd. Charis Rogers was so gentle, so forgiving–even after all .Nettie had done to her, she never held a grudge. She’d even pleaded for mercy on Nettie’s behalf when they’d wanted to punish her.
Someone as kindhearted as Charls would never do something so cruel.!
Seeing that the two men believed her, Charis finally felt the suffocating weight in her chest begin to lift.
Still, she couldn’t shake the shock of how her hidden misdeeds toward Nettle–actions she’d thought were perfectly concealed–had somehow come to light and been plastered all over the internet
At first, she’d been so terrified that she’d spent night after night trapped in nightmares, haunted by visions of Calvin and Hurst discovering the truth and unleashing their wrath on her.
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Thank God she’d managed to keep up her innocent act in front of them. Thank God they hadn’t believed a word of what was p online.
A flash of cold determination flickered in her eyes.
Nettie, even in death, you can’t beat me.
Calvin and Hurst moved quickly to shut down the rumors online, using every resource at their disposal. The outrage soon faded, and the internet returned to uneasy silence.2
They’d wanted to stay and comfort Charis, but with Nettle still missing and no clues surfacing, both men were anxious and distracted. They simply didn’t have the energy to play the supportive brother figures Charis needed.
To their surprise, Charis didn’t get upset. Instead, she was understanding–even offering to join them in the search for Nettie.
Calvin squeezed her hand, guilt written all over his face. I’m sorry, Charis, I really am.“)!
“When this is all over, we’ll make it up to you. I promise.”}}
Charis never truly intended to join the search. She understood all too well the lingering power of someone who was gone. She feared that if Calvin and Hurst devoted themselves to finding a dead woman, they’d eventually forget about her.
That was the last thing she wanted.
Out on the open water, Calvin and Hurst resurfaced in their wetsuits, gasping for breath.
They’d just swapped out their oxygen tanks and were about to dive again when another diver suddenly broke the surface, waving frantically.
“Mr. Beaumont, Mr. Watson! I found something!”
Chapter 11
Neither man hesitated. They swam over, hearts racing–and when they saw what the diver was holding, both Calvin and Hurst froze, paralyzed by shock. For a moment, even their breathing seemed to stop, as if time itself had been ripped away.
The necklace in the diver’s hand–the faded pattern, the cracks along the edge, the faintest trace of a familiar scent–stabbed straight into their memories like a needle.
A buzzing, numb silence filled the world.
