Echoes of a Forsaken Heart novel Chapter 133

A shroud of gloom seemed to envelop Hamilton, yet his face remained as unreadable as ever, betraying no hint of the storm brewing within.

He casually scrolled through his missed calls until one name made his finger pause abruptly—Natalia. Her call had come in a few minutes before the snapshot of Orpheus had landed in his inbox.

That meant she had tried reaching out to him before she was taken.

A suffocating sensation rose in his chest as he wondered how she felt hearing his phone click off.

Then, as if on cue, his phone rang again. With a steely expression, Hamilton answered.

"Bro! Ms. Jenkins is in trouble!" Alden's voice trembled with urgency on the other end.

Hamilton's eyes narrowed, a cold fury beginning to simmer beneath his calm exterior. "What's the situation now?"

Alden struggled to speak, finally managing to utter a dire statement. "It's touch and go."

"What did you say?" Hamilton's voice dropped to an icy register, disbelief threading through his tone.

"Touch and go? Who's touch and go? Alden, you'd better make yourself clear!"

"Bro, Ms. Jenkins was thrown off a cliff, and we're still searching, but we don't know if she's... if she's still alive."

Though Alden spoke of search, hope seemed a luxury he could scarcely afford.

Natalia had been thrown off the cliff with her hands tied and gagged. From such a height, the fall alone might not kill her, but the waters below could claim her life just the same.

Hamilton's mind blanked, a taut wire in his head snapping, leaving him rigid with shock.

Whatever Alden said next was lost to him; his thoughts were consumed by the pleading look in Natalia's eyes when he'd left the hospital last night.

She had been afraid, and he knew that.

Afraid of bad news about Tatiana and the lurking danger she couldn't see. She hadn't wanted him to leave, but what had he thought at the time?

He had assumed Killian's presence meant safety.

He had assumed that staying with her wouldn't change Tatiana's fate.

So he had chosen to visit Eveleen instead.

Hamilton didn't know how long he stood there, lost in his turmoil. But he finally snapped to action and strode purposefully out of the room.

Victor, having heard of Eveleen's injury, had arrived early, only to encounter Hamilton, a man he'd never seen so close to the edge—cold, deadly, his face devoid of emotion yet brimming with a killer's madness.

Frowning, Victor pushed the thoughts aside and walked straight into Eveleen's hospital room.

Eveleen wasn't sleeping. Hearing the door, she expected Hamilton, but was surprised to see Victor instead.

Victor glanced at her. "So, you're really disfigured?"

Eveleen's face soured. "What do you think?"

Victor clicked his tongue. "You've got guts, ruining your own face like that. Aren't you afraid of scars? If you wanted Hamilton's attention, couldn't you have faked it?"

Eveleen let out a laugh. "What do you know?"

Hamilton could spot a fake from a mile away. More importantly, she was certain Hamilton wouldn't let her scar.

"Is Hamilton outside?" Eveleen asked.

Victor raised an eyebrow. "Just saw him looking murderous. What's happened?"

Eveleen's face twisted into a cold sneer. "Probably that wench is dead."

Victor's brow furrowed deeply, instantly connecting the dots. "Did you do something to Natalia?"

Laughing, Eveleen replied, "How could I? I wouldn't lay a finger on her. But I can't speak for others."

Victor's expression darkened but he said nothing more, quickly turning to leave. "I'll go check."

Hamilton had driven off from the hospital, pushing his Range Rover to its limits as he sped towards the outskirts.

He covered what should have been a half-hour drive in under ten minutes.

Arriving at the cliff side, Ryan, fueled by rage and grief, confronted Hamilton with a fist to the face.

"Hamilton!"

"Bro!"

Dawson and Alden shouted in alarm.

"You've got some nerve showing up! Where were you when she needed you?" Ryan shouted at Hamilton.

Brushing his sore cheek, Hamilton sneered at Ryan. "Stay out of this, Ryan. Natalia and I are none of your concern."

Ryan tried to say something else, but was pulled back by Dawson as soon as he could. "Don't add fuel to the flame. It's important to find Natalia now."

Ryan glared angrily at Hamilton but didn't say anything else after all.

After pushing Ryan aside, Hamilton turned to Alden, his face a mask of ice. "Any sign of her?"

Alden was pale as death. "Not yet."

Desperation tinged his voice, a grim omen of hope fading.

Hamilton peered over the edge, the relentless sea crashing against the rocks, search teams scattered like ants.

No sign of her, no body to be seen—it was a small mercy.

He shrugged off his tie and began climbing down the cliff on a rope, Alden following close behind.

Victor arrived just in time to witness this desperate, chaotic search.

Was she gone?

Pain, unexpected and sharp, constricted his chest at the thought.

Hamilton plunged into the icy depths, ignoring the shouts to don a life jacket as if the biting cold meant nothing, as if the only thing that mattered was finding Natalia before it was too late.

But Hamilton just kept diving, over and over, coming up for air again and again.

"Bro, stop it!" Alden finally grabbed him after who-knows-how-many times Hamilton had surfaced for another breath.

Ryan tossed a life jacket his way. He really wanted to say something. Where were you when she needed you, and now you're playing the hero?

But in the end, he didn't say a word.

After all, Natalia was in this condition because of him. He should be here; he owed that to Natalia!

After throwing the life jacket to Hamilton, Alden slipped into one himself and plunged into the ocean.

The elusive sea seemed to swallow all hope whole.

Hamilton's face was ghostly pale, devoid of emotion.

Victor also made the leap into the water. His voice was hushed as he asked, "Is she... is she dead?"

Hamilton's icy gaze cut through the air like a blade.

"No way," he replied with unwavering certainty.

Just then, a shout pierced the tense atmosphere. "Over there, I think I see someone!"