Devil's Prisoner of Love by Prefer

Julian searched the ocean for her for three whole days. He put on his diving suit and went underwater again and again, but neither Aurora nor Ivy's body was found. Even with fishing boats, salvage teams, and submarines, there was no trace of them.

Nick and Irene tried to comfort him, saying, "She must have been rescued by someone. Otherwise, even if it were just her body, it should have been found by now." "That's right. That part of the sea is always busy with passing ships. Maybe as soon as she fell, someone picked her up." Although they tried to look on the bright side, no one dared mention the other possibility-that Aurora's body might have been devoured by large sea creatures. The ocean teemed with life, and it was impossible to capture every large animal to examine their stomachs. Even if they could, it had already been days, and the remains would have been digested by now.

Not wanting to make Julian feel worse, they chose their words carefully. Nick and Irene took the exhausted Julian hto rest, knowing that if he kept pushing himself like this, his body wouldn't hold up.

Meanwhile, the suppressed news finally broke. A heavy reward was offered for information, and soon the entire country learned of Aurora and Ivy's disappearance. The news caused a massive uproar. Three days earlier, the bustling scene at the port, with land, sea, and air forces mobilized, had left many bystanders speculating it was a military exercise. But the sight of so many fishing boats suggested something else entirely. Curious onlookers had taken photos, and social media buzzed with discussions. Only now did people realize that someone had mysteriously vanished at sea.

The incident sparked heated debates online. Comments flooded in: - "After so many days, the bodies have probably sunk to the bottom and been eaten by fish." - "Maybe a mysterious underwater creature saved her?" - "Or perhaps a passing ship picked her up." - "I bet she was eaten by a shark. Rest in peace, where there are no sharks." Susers even got creative, spinning micro-stories about how Aurora might have been rescued and what happened next.

Zachary cacross one of these posts and immediately rushed to show Genevieve. "Mom, something's happened!" "What is it?" Genevieve was in the kitchen making breakfast.

"Look at the news." Zachary handed her his phone. As Genevieve read the article, her face paled. But she quickly noticed the timeline-it said the incident occurred on the evening of the 21st.

Genevieve hurriedly checked her own phone. There was a special call she'd received on the morning of the 22nd. "This news is fake." Genevieve nearly had a heart attack but calmed herself after recalling that Ivy had called her earlier to assure her she was safe. "Ivy hasn't been hthese past few days. Before she left, she mentioned going on a boat. How could this news be fake?" Zachary asked, confused.

"She calledthe next morning. She said she was out with friends having fun. So this news is false. There's no need to worry." "Mom... could it have been her ghost calling you? I've read stories online about people receiving calls from loved ones who died in plane crashes. The calls are just crying sounds. There's even a recording circulating online of voices from the sea." "Rubbish! Don't talk nonsense!" Genevieve scolded him. "I heard her clearly. Not only did your sister call me, but she also senta selfie from the sea because she didn't wantto worry." Genevieve showed him the photo. In it, Ivy was bare-faced, looking tired-a recent picture, no doubt. Normally, Ivy would never share a photo without makeup and filters. She was meticulous about her appearance.

"She even toldnot to believe any news I might see. She said she was out at sea with friends and that there was no signal." "What is she playing at? Mom, do you think she might have been kidnapped?" Zachary speculated, growing uneasy.

Genevieve smacked him on the head. "What nonsense are you spouting? Would you only be happy if something terrible happened to your sister?" "I'm just worried. Look, the news says Aurora went missing with her. The commotion at the port was clearly Julian searching for Aurora. If Ivy is fine, why hasn't she chome?" "That's a good point," Genevieve admitted. "Why were they even on the sboat? And before Ivy left, she said a lot of strange things. Could it be that she pushed Aurora into the water? Was she afraid Julian would cafter her, so she ran away to escape responsibility?" Genevieve thought back to Ivy's behavior before she left and found it suspicious.

"It's possible," Zachary said. "Mom, she's always resented Aurora. The last time, Aurora nearly killed you. Maybe she went to get revenge." "What exactly happened out there?" Genevieve's heart raced. If Ivy really had killed Aurora, she would have to live her life in hiding. Julian would never let her go.

Zachary added, "There's another possibility. The news says they both fell into the water. If v survived, Aurora Might Still still be alive too. Julian is scouring the world for Aurora. If we tell him Ivy is fine, maybe he'll leave us alone." Zachary was worried not only about Ivy but also about their own safety. If Julian couldn't find Aurora, he might turn his wrath on them. They had no power or influence to defend themselves against Julian.

"Ivy already prepared her visa for New York before all this happened. If she were planning to flee, she'd definitely cback for her passport. I think there's another explanation," Genevieve said, thinking it through.

"What is it?" Zachary asked.

"She might be in trouble. Though she's unharmed now, she could have been taken by someone when she ve calledto say she was safe, someone might have been with her, forcing her to lie. That's why her phone went dead afterward."

"But if she's been kidnapped, what's the motive?" Zachary questioned. "Wouldn't they demand a ransom? ve We haven't received any such calls. And if they wanted money, wouldn't they target Julian by kidnapping Aurora instead?" Zachary, for once, seemed to be making sense. If it were a kidnapping, why was there no ransom demand? And why allow Ivy to call hto reassure her family? If it weren't a kidnapping, what explained Ivy's disappearance? "Zach, I think your sister is in serious trouble," Genevieve said, her maternal instincts screaming that something was very wrong.

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