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Saving the Enemy's Son to Expose My Sister's Killer
Novelix
Completed
Ten years ago, my baby sister drowned because two self-proclaimed "hero" divers unhooked her safety line for fame. I spent a decade fighting my paralyzing fear of water to become the state’s top rescue diver. Now, the monsters who killed my sister are begging me to save their trapped ten-year-old boy. Driven by duty, I dived into the dark abyss and gave the kid my own oxygen tank, nearly drowning to save him. But saving his life was just the beginning of my revenge: my heroism exposed their fatal gear defects on live TV, sending them both to prison forever.
Chapters (3)
第1章
The people who killed my sister ten years ago are on the phone. They are crying and begging me to save their kid.
A ten-year-old boy is trapped underwater at Blackwater Bay.
Ten years ago, my baby sister, Lilly, died in the same spot. I was fourteen. I watched her drown from the bank.
My former best friend, Elena, was the top SAR diver back then. She grabbed my shoulder and swore she'd bring Lilly back.
She didn't. She brought back a corpse.
Elena didn't even try. She found my sister, unhooked her safety line, and let her sink.
Why? So her partner, Victor, could perform a fake rescue later for the cameras.
They built a million-dollar company on my sister's death. They got medals on national TV.
I spent ten years throwing up in my bathroom, screaming until my throat bled.
I dropped out of school. I fought my terror of water. I forced myself through brutal dive training.
I saved nearly two hundred lives just to pay a debt I never owed.
Now, my dispatch screen pops up with a photo of their missing boy.
I know that spoiled face immediately.
I slam my phone down. "I'm not doing this dive."
---
"Are you nuts, Cora?" the dispatcher gasps. "You're the best diver in the state! If you walk away, this kid dies!"
"I don't care," I say, cold as ice.
"Cora, please—"
"Find someone else. I'm done." I hang up.
I stand there for a second, staring at the blank screen. My hands are shaking. Not from fear. From rage.
I start grabbing my stuff. Keys. Jacket. I'm leaving this building and I'm not coming back tonight.
Before I can pack, my door gets kicked open.
Captain Blake stumbles in, sweating hard, clutching his chest. "Cora! Stop!"
"Cap, save it."
"Listen to me!" He blocks the door. "Blackwater Bay is a total death trap today. Three teams already came back empty-handed!"
He drops his voice. "The boy's dad is Victor Hayes. The mom is Elena. They fund our whole department!"
"Then let their money go down and get him," I spit. "You don't need me."
Blake grabs my arm tight. "The sonar hit a dead zone! We need real eyes down there! I am begging you!"
I say nothing.
"Is it safety?!" Blake panics. "I'll give you extra tanks! Top gear! Anything!"
"It's not the gear, Cap."
"Then what is it?!"
"Personal reasons."
"Personal reasons?!" he yells. "A kid is dying down there right now!"
"And I'm telling you to send someone else."
"There is no one else!" Blake slams his fist against the wall. "Martinez got the bends last week. Ortega's shoulder is blown out. Park froze at thirty feet and had to be pulled up!"
"Not my problem."
"Cora, I swear to God—"
A crowd of divers gathers at the door, glaring at me like I'm dirt.
"You're our only shot! You're killing him!"
"What a coward! She's just scared of the dark!"
They throw insults from every side. I check my watch. "You just wasted five minutes, Cap. Start without me."
I shove past them.
Someone shouts from the back. "Your sister drowned there, right?! How can you be so heartless?!"
I freeze. My chest goes tight.
I turn around slowly. The guy who said it—some rookie I've never seen before—goes pale when he sees my face.
"Say that again," I whisper.
He doesn't.
My phone lights up again. The boy grins at the camera, missing a front tooth. Just like Lilly.
Shouting breaks out down the hall. A man in a sharp suit pushes through the crowd.
He pulls a thick stack of hundred-dollar bills from his jacket and throws it right at my face.
The bills scatter across the floor. A few stick to my wet boots.
"Name your price!" he roars. "You just want cash, right?! How much?!"
第2章
"Is this the 'legend' you brought me?" Victor Hayes looks at Blake with utter disgust.
He sneers at me. "You're the top diver? Pathetic."
He shoves his phone in my face. "Not enough cash? I'll wire half a million right now! Just save my son!"
The room goes quiet.
I don't move. I just stare at the shiny gold medal on his coat.
Ten years. He still wears the award he bought with Lilly's life.
Victor smiles like a snake. "Jealous? I earned this. Ten years ago, my wife and I jumped into black water without blinking."
He glares at me. "Unlike you. You greedy trash."
I look him in the eye. "Did you save her?"
Victor stammers. "What?"
"The girl. Ten years ago. Did you save her?"
His mouth opens and closes. "In conditions like that, nobody can—"
"So you failed," I laugh coldly. "You jumped in without blinking and you still failed. What makes you think throwing money at me changes anything?"
"I don't dive unless I know what I'm doing. And I don't give families fake hope."
He grabs my collar hard. His knuckles are white. Up close, I can smell expensive cologne and sweat.
"At least I tried! You won't even wet your feet! Coward!"
The divers start whispering.
"He's right. Mr. Hayes risked his life back then."
"Cora is just a cold, greedy bitch."
Their words sting, but I don't care. I've heard worse. I've said worse to myself.
Suddenly, a woman runs in. Her hair is a wreck, her makeup ruined by tears.
Elena.
My hands ball into fists. My nails cut into my palms.
She looks older. Thinner. The years have been kinder to her than she deserves.
She shoves Victor aside and drops to her knees right in front of me.
"Please!" she sobs, grabbing my pants. "He's only ten! He's scared of the dark! Please dive! I'll do anything!"
I take a breath. The hatred burns inside me like acid.
Ten years ago, she looked me in the eye. She held my face in her hands and said, "I'll bring her back, Cora. I promise."
Now she's on her knees begging me.
Good.
"Fine," I say softly. "I'll go to the site with you."
Elena gasps, crying out, "Thank you! Thank you, Ms... Vance?" She stops, staring at me.
I watch the color drain from her face.
"Don't get happy," I cut her off. "I said I'll go to the site. I never said I'm jumping in."
第3章
Ten years later, I'm back on the shore of Blackwater Bay.
Expensive gear is everywhere: sonars, huge lights, rescue boats.
A dozen experts point at maps.
"It's Hayes's kid! We save him no matter what!"
My throat closes up.
Ten years ago, Lilly fell in. All we had was one cheap rubber boat and two old ropes. And Elena's fake promises.
Nobody rushed. Nobody scrambled. Nobody brought an army.
Because Lilly was just some poor kid from the wrong side of town.
Today, an entire rescue army shows up in two hours because it's Victor's kid.
What was my sister to them? Just a step on their ladder to get rich.
A diver runs over, pale. "The kid's tank only has twenty minutes left! If nobody goes down, he's dead!"
"Cora, get your suit on!"
I shake my head. "You have high-tech sonar and hero divers here. You don't need me."
Elena turns ghost-white. Tears stream down her face. "We got hurt ten years ago! We can't dive deep anymore! Please! My boy is innocent!"
"Your boy is innocent," I repeat. "So was my sister."
Elena flinches like I slapped her.
She slams her head against the dirt, crying hard.
The crowd loses it.
"Cora! Do you even have a soul?!"
"She's on her knees, you heartless bitch!"
Three divers grab my arms, shoving me toward the water. "You're going under today whether you like it or not!"
I plant my feet and look at them. My voice comes out raspy.
"You all want me to dive?"
They stop pushing.
"Even if I go down... even if I find him..."
"How do you know I won't just unhook his line and let him drown?"
The silence hits like a truck.
"How do you know I won't do exactly what Elena did to my sister?"
