Herman barely remembered the janitor. Before he could utter a word, Sandy smiled at the janitor and said, "We''ve checked out, you can go ahead and clean the room now." Sandy didn''t quite catch the janitor''s question; she just assumed he was asking if he could tidy up their room. With that, she wheeled Herman away. The janitor watched them leave, puzzled, muttering, "Isn''t that gentleman supposed to be staying upstairs?" He shrugged it off and went on to clean the room Sandy had vacated, then headed upstairs to clean the room Herman had booked. Herman had initially reserved the room for a whole month and hadn''t checked out yet. Nelson and Dailey were both at the hospital, so no one had been back at the hotel for days. The janitor couldn''t open the door; he rang the bell, but there was no answer, so he moved on.


    Anastasia drove down to the riverbank, where a crowd of locals had gathered. Word had spread about a body found in the river, drawing a curious crowd. The rescue team pulled the body from the water, but it was hard to recognize. The deceased had been in the water too long, leaving the body bloated and unrecognizable. Anastasia stumbled forward, relieved to see it was a woman-not Herman. Yet, a wave of sympathy crashed over her; she''d witnessed too much deathtely. Christen said, "Ma''am, it''s not Mr. Salstrom." "I can see that," Anastasia replied, her face pale. She scanned the horizon, her heart heavy with sorrow, whispering, "Herman, where are you? Where on earth are you?" She couldn''t find him anywhere. If he were alive, surely he would have contacted her by now-two days had passed. The tunnel had been cleared, and the mudslide was being dealt with, but four people were still missing, including Herman. Anastasia''s eyes welled up as she recalled memories of Herman. They''d weathered so much together, finally finding happiness with their lovely children. Why was fate ying such a cruel joke on her? She slowly crouched on the grass, gazing at the flowing river, her heart aching. Christen saw Anastasia''s pain but didn''t know how tofort her.


    "Ma''am, shall we head back to the hotel?" Christen gently suggested. "The wind''s strong here, and you''ve been awake for two days straight. If you keep going like this, you''ll copse before Mr. Salstrom is found." "I''m okay, I can manage," Anastasia forced a smile, her eyes determined. "Herman''s out there waiting for me. He might be somewhere waiting for us to find him. I won''t give up." Despite the exhaustion and her body''s difort aches, swollen lips-Anastasia pressed on. Katelyn and Feiman had already sumbed to the stress, but she couldn''t afford to. Flynn and his team were out searching for Herman every day.


    Over the next week, Anastasia and Flynn scoured the area for Herman, rushing to any ce with news. Yet, two people remained missing-Herman was one of them. Theck of news about Herman,bined with exhaustion, finally took its toll-Anastasia copsed. That day, she and Christen had split up to search. In a nearby vige downstream, she suddenly felt dizzy, her vision darkening, and fainted. Before shepletely cked out, she glimpsed a familiar figure rushing toward her, calling her name: "Anastasia, Anastasia..." The figure was blurry, and Anastasia struggled to keep her eyes open, trying to see clearly, but it was no use. Her eyelids felt impossibly heavy; she was just so tired. Anastasia slipped into unconsciousness.


    "Anastasia, Anastasia..." Rowan called out, but there was no response. He quickly scooped her up and rushed her to the hospital. Rowan, acting on Asher''s orders, hade back to Springfield to verify if Herman was truly gone. He''d been shadowing Anastasia discreetly for days. Seeing her copse, he finally stepped out of the shadows. Anastasia was burning up with fever, delirious, murmuring Herman''s name as shey in a haze of pain and difort.