Brother’s Lost at Sea, I Stay Calm

The Cold-Blooded Brother

The phone was on speaker, and every word came through loud and clear.

When the call ended, Theron turned to me, eyes bloodshot, voice hoarse. "Lucas, you heard that, didn't you? This isn't just about saving your brother anymore—it's about completing Elara's rescue plan! That's an order!"

I yawned lazily and didn't bother to answer.

Just then, a commotion erupted outside the detention center. A few parents of the missing students had somehow learned where I was being held, and they came rushing in. The moment they saw me, they fell to their knees in unison.

"Professor Sullivan! Please! Please save our children!"

"Please, Professor Sullivan, my boy's all I have—he can't die down there!"

Their cries and pleas echoed through the corridor, raw and desperate. I looked down at them from behind the bars, my eyes as cold as ice. "And what does their survival have to do with me?"

The words struck like a whip, silencing the room instantly. They stared up at me in disbelief, as if I were some kind of monster.

One of the fathers finally snapped out of it. He pulled out his phone, opened a screenshot of a bank transfer record, and held it up for me to see. "How can you say it has nothing to do with you?

"Look—this is proof! My son sent you money for ‘research funding.' He said you demanded 50,000 a month, or you wouldn't let him join your projects or graduate! His whole future depended on you—how can you just stand by and let him die?"

The others followed suit, each pulling out their own phones, waving screenshots like evidence in a trial.

"We paid too!"

"All of us did—for two whole years!"

Theron's face turned purple with rage. His body shook as he pointed a trembling finger at me. "You… You disgraceful bastard! Not only are you heartless, but you've also stooped to extortion and corruption—blackmailing your own students! You've brought utter shame to the Sullivan family!"

He was shouting so furiously it sounded as if I'd committed some unforgivable crime. But both he and I knew the truth. The account those payments went to wasn't mine. It belonged to his precious golden child—Aidan Sullivan.

No matter how they begged, cursed, or threatened to kill themselves in front of me, I didn't flinch. I simply watched the spectacle unfold, detached, like an audience member in someone else's tragedy.

Minute by minute, the golden rescue window for the Abyss Explorer slipped away. Online, public outrage was already boiling over.

'Chief Engineer Lucas Refuses to Join Rescue'

'Lucas Sullivan Detained for Leaking Classified Technology'

'Lucas Sullivan Accused of Extorting Students'

Each headline burned brighter than the last. In just a few hours, my name had become synonymous with cruelty, greed, and disgrace.

Then, amid the live broadcast of the rescue feed, a faint burst of static came through the speakers—broken, halting. It was Aidan.

"Lucas… Lucas… can you hear me…"

He sounded exhausted, terrified, fighting to stay conscious. His voice trembled with both the fear of death and the desperate will to live.

"Lucas… I believe in you… I know you can save me… You always could… Ever since we were kids… you were my hero… You won't give up on me… right?"