When she first heard the news that Finn had been dragged down with Evangeline, Arabe had been devastated. In her grief, a part of her had med Evangeline. But since she couldn''t see Evangeline, she''d redirected that anger toward Glenn, who was so openly concerned for her.


    But now, seeing Glenn looking even more tense and terrified than she felt, she couldn''t bring herself to say anything harsh.


    Seeing that Glenn had no intention of speaking to her, Arabe didn''t press the issue.


    She took off her winter coat, ready to resume the search.


    "I found something!"


    Just then, Glenn''s voice cut through the air from behind her.


    Arabe froze.


    She hurried back to him, her eyes fixed on the screen in his hands.


    It was filled with a view of dense undergrowth, and at first, she couldn''t see anything.


    "A piece of fabric."


    As if sensing her confusion, Glenn zoomed in, pushing the image to its maximum magnification, and pointed to a spot just left of the center.


    There, snagged on a branch, was a tiny fleck of red.


    It was almost invisible if you weren''t looking for it.


    "Evangeline was wearing a red dress that day. This has to be from her," Glenn said. "The slope in that area is less steep than the rest of the mountain. It''s possible they came to a stop there."


    With this new lead, Glenn and Arabe immediately gathered everyone and established a precise direction for the rescue effort.


    The location where the fabric was found was over four hundred feet down from the summit, a treacherous and difficult descent. Having too many people on the rock face at once would be dangerous.


    In the end, the team of over a hundred people was divided into groups of four or five, staggering their descents to search around the clock.


    "They found Evangeline?"


    Soren had just left the police station when he received the news.


    Melvin had told him that the ropes tied to both Evangeline and Poppy had been slipknots. Yet, when they had brought Poppy up, the knot on her rope was a dead knot.


    If what Melvin said was true, it meant Poppy had lied to him.


    But at that moment, Poppy knew that her rope was the only thing that could save Evangeline. If she had changed the knot, she was essentially sending Evangeline to her death.


    Why would she do that?


    Was it simply because he had chosen to save Evangeline in that moment?


    Or was Melvin deliberately lying, trying to drive a wedge between him and Poppy?


    He had been about to confront Poppy to get to the bottom of it, but the news about Evangeline pushed all other thoughts from his mind. He spun the car around and sped toward the mountain road.


    Gregory updated him on the situation through his earpiece.


    "They found a piece of Miss Whitmore''s dress. Judging by the terrain the slope is much gentler


    there that


    e than at the top of the SO they''re specting that''s where


    Miss Whitmore and the others fell."


    "However..." Gregory paused. "It''s over four hundred feet from the top. If they really


    didnd there, it''s very likely... that the odds are not in their favor."


    Soren''s hands tightened on the steering wheel.


    His fingers clenched involuntarily. "No. Evangeline has to be alive."


    He wasn''t sure if he was trying to convince Gregory or himself.


    "I''ll be there soon," Soren said.


    He was about to hang up when Gregory spoke again, his tone hesitant.


    "What is it?" Soren asked.


    "Mr. Fawkes," Gregory said with a sigh, "it might be better if you didn''te." "What do you mean?"


    Gregory nced around. Dozens of tents dotted the summit, two-thirds of which belonged to the Carlisles and the Lockridges. The men he had brought were crammed into a small corner.


    The search teams were all being organized by the Carlisles and the Lockridges, who had even assigned two men to watch the Fawkes party. The moment any of Gregory''s men tried to get close to the Search area they were forcibly turned back.


    They were being treated like criminals.


    Gregory remained silent for a


    moment. He had actually tried to speak with Glenn and Arabe, suggesting that with more


    manpower, they could speed up the rescue. But after hearing hiso


    proposal, both had rejected him


    outright.