Madly Yours (Nora Reed) novel Chapter 500

As her mind spiraled, the roar of massive engines echoed from the bridge above. Beams from high-powered searchlights cut through the darkness, sweeping along the riverbank and illuminating the shoreline like broad daylight.

Squinting against the blinding glare, Nora instantly spotted a tall, commanding silhouette standing on the bridge.

...

Up on the Green Dragon Bridge, the night was as thick as spilled ink.

By the time Hudson arrived, the gold-plated Rolls-Royce was already bobbing semi-submerged in the rushing river.

A deafening static filled his head, and pure instinct urged him to throw himself over the railing.

Arthur lunged forward, grabbing him firmly. "Mr. Lancaster!" he shouted repeatedly. Seeing Hudson's deadened gaze still locked on the sinking wreckage, Arthur quickly stepped in front of him. "Boss, Olive and Archer already took a dive team into the water. Nora is strong. I promise you, she's going to be okay."

Hudson stared blankly at Arthur's moving lips, his mind entirely empty.

He couldn't hear a single sound. He felt trapped in a suffocating vacuum, his brain agonizingly replaying the sound of Nora calling out his name.

She was calling him...

She must be so terrified.

Hudson swallowed hard, forcing down the metallic taste of blood rising in his throat.

"Olive!"

Just then, Arthur spotted a dripping-wet Olive standing on the riverbank. She had just crawled out of the current, clutching a soaked trench coat pulled from the wreckage. The sleeve was torn open, the hem trailing river water onto the pavement.

Hearing her name, Olive looked up and hurried over to Hudson. "Boss, this is all my fault. I failed to protect her..."

Arthur pressed his lips together. "Save the apologies. Did you find her?"

Olive was pale as a ghost. She shook her head. "The current is too fast, and there are severe undertows. The car windows were down, and the cabin was empty. Nora and Vincent must have escaped..."

But logic offered no comfort. Until he saw her with his own eyes and heard her voice again, the crushing weight on his chest wouldn't lift.

But after the initial blinding terror, a lethal, chilling calm had settled over him.

His Nora was resilient. She would survive this.

But if...

If the absolute worst had happened.

He would follow her into the dark.

He would never leave her alone.

Meanwhile, far below on the shore, Nora spotted Hudson's imposing figure standing on the bridge. She waved her arms frantically, screaming his name into the wind, but swallowed by the pitch-black night and the howling gale, no one up there could see her...