"I just wanted revenge," Melvin continued, his tone light and conversational. "I wanted to see you despair. And I have. I''m quite satisfied, really." He seemedpletely oblivious to his own predicament.


    Soren stared at him, his voice dangerously low. "Then why was the knot on Poppy a dead knot, while Evangeline''s was a slipknot?"


    On the drive over, he had questioned Gregory relentlessly about the details. Evangeline hadn''t fallen because Finn lost his grip; she had untied the rope herself. But when they''d retrieved the other rope, the one that had been secured to Poppy, the knot was tied fast. That dead knot had cost them precious seconds-seconds that could have saved Evangeline.


    Melvin''s eyebrows shot up. A look of realization dawned on his face, followed by a loud burst ofughter. "Soren, there were no dead knots. They were both slipknots. It seems your future wife has yed you for a fool."


    He leaned forward, his eyes glinting with malicious glee. "Why did I do it? Because when I gave you a choice, I gave them one, too. The one who truly loves you wouldn''t want to see you suffer. She would choose to die herself to spare you the pain. But it looks like neither of them really loves you after all. What a shame."


    The search for Evangeline and Finn continued. Dozens of tents now dotted the mountaintop, and the harsh re of temporary floodlights bathed the peak in an artificial daylight. The cliff face was steep, and maic interference from the mountain prevented the drones from reaching the bottom. They had to rely on professional rescue teams, while others rappelled down as far as they safely could, shouting their names into the vast, echoing valley.


    Arabe returned from a descent, shivering and exhausted. She copsed onto arge rock as her bodyguards rushed to wrap a thick coat around her shoulders.


    "Miss Lockridge, please eat something," one of them urged, offering an insted container. "You haven''t had anything all day."


    She took the container without argument, but as she was about to open it, her gaze drifted to a figure hunched over ?ptop nearby Glenn was piloting a drone, his eyes glued to the screen, meticulously scanning every inch of the footage.


    After hours of staring at the screen, his eyes were raw and stinging, but he didn''t dare stop. He would close them for a brief second, then force them open, his focus unwavering.


    "Take a break. Eat something," a cool, detached voice said beside him. It was Arabe.


    She held out a portion of her food. "I''ve seen the terrain. The mountain is huge, and the vegetation is dense. It''s going to be nearly impossible to find them quickly. And even if we do spot them, we''ll need our strength for the rescue."


    She could see his hands trembling on the controls. He hadn''t put the heavy remote down once, except to swap out batteries. Her own hands ached after just a few minutes of holding it.


    "Thanks. Just leave it here," he mumbled, his eyes never leaving the screen.


    Arabe nced at the several other untouched, cold meals sitting beside him. More than a day had passed. She had moved through the initial stages of rage and denial into a grim eptance, but Glenn was still trapped in the first moments of the crisis. From what little she knew of


    crisis alwaysposed,


    him he was


    unshakable. She had never seen him like this, so frayed and on edge, his


    nerves stretched to the breaking point.