CHAPTER 329: WHISPERING AGAINST THE SHORE (2)

Nick’s POV

The additional helicopters I rented were late. Every ticking second scraped against my nerves like sandpaper. I couldn’t stop pacing inside Reagan’s office, my hands clenched into fists, my chest heavy with dread.

"What the hell is taking so long?!" I snapped, slamming my hand on the edge of the desk. "I already paid in full! They should’ve been here twenty minutes ago!"

My voice echoed in the room, but the only response I got was the sharp click of Vicky’s heels. She walked toward me, calm but visibly exhausted, and handed me an energy drink.

"They’re on their way, Nick. Stop pacing before you burn a hole through the damn floor," she said, her tone firm. "Sit down, breathe, and conserve your energy. You’ll need it in searching for her."

I twisted the cap open, but didn’t drink. My jaw locked. "They’re so fucking slow when they already know this is an emergency, when they know her life is at stake." My voice cracked at the end.

Before anyone could respond, the door burst open. Ella rushed in, breathless and shaking, her phone clutched tightly in her hand.

She went back to the port to help after sending Wendy and Katie to my penthouse. My mom also stayed with them to care for Katie.

"Wendy’s on the phone," she said urgently, crossing the room and shoving the phone into my palm. "She’s asking for you."

My heart stopped for a second. Then I pressed the phone to my ear. "Wendy? Why did you call? What happened? Is everything alright there?"

Her voice on the other line was trembling, broken, as if she’d been crying.

[N–Nick! S–someone called... s–she said a woman was brought to their h–hospital. It’s Georgia, Nick! They found her!]

My knees almost gave out. "Are you sure?" I demanded, gripping the edge of Reagan’s desk to keep myself steady. My hands were trembling violently.

[Yes,] she said, voice quivering. [The nurse said Georgia mentioned it was her bridal shower last night, that she was pushed off the ship and left in the ocean to die. They called the police, too. But they called me first because Georgia regain consciousness for a while and gave them my number before she... before they sedated her in the operating room.]

"Send me the address," I said, my voice tight, breath shallow. I quickly ran to Reagan’s desk to grab a pen and paper.

"Please go to her, Nick," she said through quiet sobs after dictating to me what she had written earlier.

"I will," I replied before hanging up, my pulse pounding in my ears.

I turned around. Everyone in the room, my father, Vicky, Ella, Liam, and a few bodyguards, was staring at me, eyes wide and waiting. My throat tightened. "Georgia was found," I said hoarsely. "She’s in a hospital."

For a moment, the entire room froze. Then chaos.

Liam stepped forward, already pulling out his phone. "I’ll have a driver ready. None of us should be behind the wheel right now. We haven’t slept."

I nodded sharply, snatching a piece of paper from Reagan’s desk and writing a copy of the hospital’s name and address that Wendy gave me. My hands were shaking too much to keep the letters straight.

When we reached the lobby, the deep thunder of rotor blades filled the air; the helicopters were finally here.

I turned to my father, who was already about to step out of the entrance, his face pale but composed. "Dad, I need you to stay here. If it’s not her, in case it’s a mistake, I’ll call right away. Please instruct everyone to continue their search. But if it is her..." My voice faltered. "Send everyone home. Tell them it’s over."

He gripped my shoulder tightly. "Alright, Nick. Go. And bring her home. We’ll be ready."

I nodded once before turning to one of the bodyguards. "Here." I handed him the paper. "Give this to the pilot and request immediate clearance to land at the hospital."

"Understood, sir," he said before sprinting toward the door.

"I’m coming with you," Ella said, her eyes burning with determination.

"Me too," Vicky added, already grabbing her jacket.

Liam shook his head. "I’ll stay here. If it’s not Georgia, we need to keep the search running. I’ll take one of the other choppers and continue the sweep."

I placed a hand on his shoulder, wordlessly thanking him, before rushing out into the wind.

The moment the glass doors opened, the noise of the rotors hit us, deafening and urgent.

I climbed in first, my mind racing faster than the spinning blades above.

Please let it be her. Please, God, let it be her.

Vicky and Ella buckled in beside me, but I barely registered their voices. Every image of Georgia flooded my head: her laugh, her touch, the way she looked at me right before she lost balance and fell on her back into the water.

The pilot’s voice crackled through the headset. "Coordinates locked, sir. Estimated arrival, thirty minutes."

Thirty minutes.

Thirty long, unbearable minutes between hell and hope.

I gritted my teeth, staring out the window as the port blurred beneath us. My heart hammered violently, each beat a silent prayer that she was alive and the woman they found was really her... that this nightmare was about to end.

Because if it wasn’t her, if I lost her for real this time, then I don’t know how to keep breathing.

The helicopter landed on the hospital’s rooftop with a jolt. I didn’t wait for the blades to stop spinning—I jumped out, sprinting toward the entrance with Ella and Vicky behind me. Nurses were already waiting, alerted by the pilot.

They escorted us inside, away from the noise of the helicopter.

"Where is she? Georgia Lewis!" I barked, breath ragged.

One nurse hesitated, eyes wide. "Sir... she’s in the ICU. But—"

"But what?!"

She swallowed hard. "Sir, she lost a lot of blood."

A doctor came running towards us and said, "She flatlined for a few seconds earlier. They’re trying to stabilize her now. Who is Wendy among you two?"

The hallway tilted. My heart stopped cold. I ran as fast as I could, bursting through the ICU doors—

And froze.

"Georgia..." I uttered.

"Who let him in?!" A doctor shouted.

"I am his husband," I said, and slowly walked towards the bed, but the security guards of the hospital suddenly stopped me.

"Take that man away from the patient. The patient said she has no husband! Call the police now, he might be with the woman who tried to kill the patient!"

*******

Thank you for the Golden Tickets!

hmerai

KATHLEEN_COLL