âI need to find Nicole! Have you continued the search for her?â
Jarrod urgently asked.
Alecâs eyes darkened as he answered, âWe found Miss Lawrence.
â
âWhere is she?â Jarrodâs eyes, bloodshot from the seawater, remained intense.
He looked at Alec and asked, âIs she in the hospital?â
Alec met his gaze and said plainly, âMiss Lawrence is dead.
Iâm sorry.
â
Suddenly, a heavy thud echoed as Jarrod staggered back and collided with the bed.
Jarrod couldnât believe it.
Nicole had passed away.
How could that be?
Just yesterday, she had attempted to strangle him in the car.
How could she be gone overnight?
Jarrodâs bloodshot eyes lost focus.
His voice trembled as he asked, âWhere is she?â
After hesitating for a while, Alec replied, âMr.
Schultz, itâs not advisable to see her in person.
Miss Lawrence didnât fall into the sea.
She fell off the cliff and hit the rocks.
Her body was badly disfigured.
â
Nicoleâs body had been taken to the funeral home, but it was too damaged to be fixed.
Her body was severely damaged, and one of her legs was missing, likely dragged away by an animal.
Jarrodâs heart shattered at the news.
He insisted, âI want to see her right away.
â
On the way, Jarrod maintained a facade of calm.
Images of Nicole flashed through his mind, and the reality of her passing remained inconceivable.
Even with Alec confirming the torn clothes and belongings were Nicoleâs, Jarrod refused to believe she was gone.
Jarrod said to himself perhaps Nicole despised him so much that she chose to disappear under this cover.
Whether she was alive or dead, he had to see for himself.
Otherwise, he would not believe it.
In the dimly lit morgue, a lifeless form lay shrouded beneath a pristine white cloth.
Once a fearless individual overseas, Jarrod approached with hesitant steps.
Despite his past feats of tearing wolves apart with bare hands, an unsettling tremor now coursed through his fingers.
With deliberate hesitancy, Jarrod unveiled the covered figure.
In an instant, a lightning bolt seemed to strike his brain.
An eerie silence suddenly enveloped the room.
Jarrod seemed to suddenly go deaf, unable to hear anything.
He didnât dare to acknowledge it, nor did he want to face it.
Even amidst the gruesome injuries, the facial outline hauntingly resembled Nicole.
âNo, this canât be! Iâll expose your deceit, Nicole!â Jarrodâs eyes turned scarlet red.
He lost it and started trying to take the clothes off of the remnants.
Witnessing the turmoil, Alec intervened urgently, âMr.
Schultz!â