Falling Skies, Rising Vengeance

The rescuers huddled together briefly, then agreed to Vanessa’s vicious suggestion.

Before I fully processed it, my wrist was lashed to the back of the lifeboat, and my body was hurled into the sea.

The shock of icy water slammed into me, numbing my skin in an instant. My body shook uncontrollably as the cold sank deep into my bones.

Vanessa leaned over the edge of the boat, sneering down at me. "Hailey, this is the price of playing the saint."

Her gaze was cruel and triumphant.

"Still daring to glare at me?" she hissed, snatching up a harpoon. Without hesitation, she drove it straight at my eye.

My vision froze, my mind blank with horror.

Then, in that split second, summoning strength from God knows where, Layla shoved Vanessa hard.

"Ah!" Vanessa stumbled, nearly pitching overboard. The harpoon flew from her hands, plunging uselessly into the sea.

"You wretched hag!" she snarled, spinning back and kicking Layla in the chest.

Already frail, Layla coughed up a spray of blood, her body crumpling.

Before I could react, Vanessa and Marcus exchanged a look, and while the others were distracted, the two of them shoved Layla overboard.

"Monsters! Stop!" I roared, salt water choking my throat.

Vanessa gasped dramatically. "She fell!"

Everyone’s eyes snapped toward us, just in time to see Layla’s limp body sinking toward the waves.

With one desperate lunge, I reached out and caught her arm with my free hand.

Weak as she was, Layla clung to me. The two of us were dragged mercilessly through the ocean, waves slamming against our bodies. Pain shredded through every bone and muscle, but I gritted my teeth.

I would not let go. If I released her, she would vanish beneath the sea.

Time blurred into agony. Just when I was sure death had come, the lifeboat finally reached the harbor.

Suddenly, a fleet of golden aircraft thundered overhead, glittering in the sunlight. Men in headscarves disembarked in a frenzy, eyes sweeping the crowd.

When their leader spotted the stretcher bearing his wife’s frail body, his pupils shrank in shock.

"Layla!" His voice broke as he rushed forward. "What happened to you?!"

She glanced weakly at him once, then slipped into unconsciousness.

"Layla!" His shout split the air. Fury ignited in his eyes, as lethal as fire.

In an instant, over a hundred armed bodyguards surrounded us.

"No one leaves! Take them all!" he ordered, lifting his wife into his arms and carrying her onto a plane.

Vanessa and Marcus exchanged a look, fear creeping into their faces.

"Stay back! You can’t just violate our freedom like this. It’s illegal!" Vanessa shrieked, but her voice wavered.

The rescuers paled as one of them whispered, "That’s Khalid Al-Farouq, the oil tycoon. He controls almost all of Rybian's oil industry."

The blood drained from every face. Everyone knew the oil barons. They were ruthless and merciless, wielding power through illegal means as often as legal ones, and they had just manhandled his wife.

Would they survive this?

Vanessa and Marcus trembled, their bravado gone.

The guards herded us into helicopters. Half an hour later, we landed at a sprawling fortress.

Thank God, Layla wasn’t dead, just hypothermic. She was sedated after a panic attack.

Khalid Al-Farouq’s eyes blazed with venom as he swept them over us.

"Who was it?" His voice was ice. "Who threw my wife into the sea?"

Every gaze turned toward Vanessa. Her face drained of color. Terror flooded her eyes. "No! It wasn’t me, I—"

The words died as Khalid drew his gun and fired into her leg. Her scream tore through the air, high and piercing, making every scalp prickle.

"It wasn’t me!" she sobbed, clutching her bleeding thigh. Her eyes locked on me in desperation. "It was her! She dragged your wife into the water! Everyone saw. It was her!"

The cruelty of human nature. As long as it wasn’t themselves, anyone could be sacrificed as the scapegoat.

No one spoke up for me.

Khalid strode over, seizing me by the throat. His grip clamped tighter and tighter, cutting off my air. In his other hand, the gun clicked as he jammed it against my temple.

"You dared harm my wife? You’ll die for it!"

Pressure crushed my windpipe. My eyes bulged, vision swimming with red. I couldn’t force out a single word.

Death loomed over me when suddenly, the doors opened.

Layla was wheeled in, frail but awake. Panic was etched in her face.

"Stop, Khalid!" she cried, voice trembling. "She’s my savior!"