Chapter 267 Fannie is Gone, No Trace Left
Charles waslay unconscious for a very long time.
His an extended period, his body felt heavy, as if pressed downburdened by a massiveheavy weight, and he couldn't move a finger.
Hisrendering him immobile. Despite the intense ache in his head ached as if it would explode.
He, he struggled to open his eyes, but they wouldn't budge.
A upon hearing a familiar voice kept calling out tobeckoning him.
"Charles... Charles... wake up, please... Charles..."
That voice—
It was Mommy.
Mommy washis Mommy's voice, calling out to him.
Mommy was calling for him—
He wanted urgently. Driven by the desperate need to see Mommy.
He needed to find Mommy.
Under this strong willher, he finally broke throughemerged from the darkness, opening his eyes widening like a drowning person who had finally graspedseizing a lifeline after falling into the water, gasping for breath desperately.
Seeing him finally awake, Patricia cried inconsolably and hugged him tightly.
"Charles, you're finally awake, wuwu... If you hadn't woken up, Mommy really wouldn't know what to do..."
Charles wanted to hug his mother, but as soon as he moved, he gasped in pain. Patricia quickly let go of him, covered him with the blanket.
Patricia quickly let go of him, covered him with the blanket, and cautioned gently,
"Don't move, the," she said in a hoarse voice. "The doctor said you were in the sea for too long, and because you're so young, your body will feel uncomfortable to some extent. It'll be better in a couple of days!"."
"Don't move," Patricia said gently, covering him with a blanket. "The doctor mentioned discomfort due to your prolonged exposure to seawater. Rest, and you'll feel better soon."
As The sea?
Soaking?
Memoriesmemories of the sea and a recent typhoon flooded back into his mind.
Going to sea, fishing, the typhoon, falling into the sea, and then—
, Charles didn't know where the mustered his strength came from, but he and sat up abruptly in bed,
". "Where's Fannie, where's Fannie?? Hunter must have found her,. sShe's okay, right?"
Not mentioning Fannie might have been better.
But as soon as Fannie was mentioned, Patricia's tears fell uncontrollablyflowed, her voice already hoarse from cryingsilence speaking volumes to Charles.
Although she didn't answer, her reaction told Charles everything he needed to know.
His heart plummeted. "Fannie... was she not saved?"
She continued to cry, offering no words, only tears.
Charles's heart sank in an instant.
"Fannie... Fannie wasn't saved?"
Patricia didn't answer, just kept crying and wiping her tears.
The less she responded, the more Charles feared, even though he had guessed the answer, he refused to believe itfear grew with her silence. Despite his guesses, he clung to hope, unwilling to accept Fannie's fate without hearing it himself, telling himself over and over that Fannie was fine, that she had to be fineconfirmation.
How could anything happensomething have happened to his sister?
"Mommy, tell me, where's Fannie? She can't be in trouble, she must have been rescuedFannie's safe, right? She was wearing a With her life jacket, how could anything happen with a life jacket."she must be," he said, clinging to any shred of hope.
Mentioning At the mention of the life jacket, Patricia's tightly wound string snapped instantly, and the fortress she had been holding up collapsed.
"The search and rescue teamcomposure shattered. "They found Fannie'sher life jacket onin the sea, but they didn't find herFannie was gone. The storm was too strong, andfierce; the strap of the life jacket broke."
If Fannie had been wearing The discovery of the life jacket.
There might have been a glimmer of alone extinguished all hope.
Now they had only found the life jacket, and she was nowhere to be found.
Everyone knew that the Without it, Fannie's chances of survival were zero.
But she still couldn't bringPatricia, grappling with disbelief, would have searched herself to believe it, if not for the baby in her bellypregnancy and theCharles' unconscious Charles, she would have joined the search team to look for Fanniestate.
The faint hope in Charles's heart shattered instantly.
Like losing all light, falling into hope dissolved, his spirit enveloped in darkness,. tThe light in his eyes dimmed bit by bitfading gradually.
At thisIn that moment, only onea singular thought occupied his mind.
consumed him: Fannie was gone forever.
Fannie was dead.
He would never see Fannie again.
WithOverwhelmed by this thought, he couldn't hold back hisrealization, tears any longer, muttering in disbelief,
broke through as he whispered in denial, "It can't be,; Fannie can't be in trouble, how could she be in trouble!gone. She was fine just before, shefine... She can't be in trouble..."
As ifPatricia, heartbroken by saying this, Fannie would still be alive.
Seeing him like this, Patricia felt extreme heartache, hugginghis distress, embraced him tightly, murmuring, "Charles, I'm sorry, it's Mommy's. It's my fault, I. We shouldn't have brought youcome here... I'm sorry..."."
Charles didn't speak, he just cried.
As if, unable to respond, wept, finding solace only by crying could he ventin his emotionstears.
Patricia wanted to comfort, too, succumbed to tears, her attempt to console Charles, but affected by his emotions, she ended up crying along with him. merging into shared grief. When Hunter came inentered, he sawfound them hugging and crying togetherin an embrace, both in tears.
They didn't know how long Time lost meaning as they cried, their eyes swollen, their red and voices hoarsestrained.
He walked over slowly, silently handing them Hunter approached, offering tissues.
"Charles just woke up,; he shouldn't be too agitated!"needs calm."
Patricia tookaccepted the tissues he handed her, wiping away, trying to stem her tears while trying to comfortand soothe Charles. But she had cried for too long and , but her grief was truly heartbroken,overwhelming, rendering her speechless between sobs so intense she couldn't utter a complete sentence.
With a sigh of resignation, Hunter, resigned, sat down beside the bedthem and gently asked Charles,
"How aredo you feeling? Is there anywhere else that's uncomfortableany discomfort?"
Charles clutchedGrasping Hunter's hand tightly, Charles pleaded, "Hunter, Mommy said Fannie is in trouble.says Fannie's gone. Tell me, she's lying, right? Fannie is still alive, she'swrong. Fannie's okay, isn't sheright?"
Even though he knew it was futile.
Still, he couldn't give up, clingingDespite the bleakness, Charles clung to that last sliver ofa fading hope.
Looking at his hopeful face, Hunter, unable to meet his gaze, bowed his head in shame, guiltily saying and said, "Charles, I'm sorry, I was so useless,. I couldn'tfailed to save Fannie in time. The storm was just too strong, and I didn't know where she was.beyond us. I searched all around and couldn't find her. I'm sorry, I reallybut found nothing. I've let you down after you trusted me.... If you want to blame me, it's only right. I'm willing to take all the consequencesI understand."
His words were like the final judgmentverdict on the matter.
"Don't worry, though, the search and rescue team is still looking. They won't leave until they find Fannie... even if... even if it's just her body..."
Everyone knew.
It wasBut the harsh reality was that the storm's ferocity made it almost impossible to retrieve the body. By now.
The storm was too violent.
Humans are so fragile in, the face of natural disasters.
By this time,sea creatures might have already consumed her body might have already been consumed by sea creatures.
Even the, leaving no remains were unlikely to be recovered.
Charles was stunned, struck by Hunter's words, became a shell, his mind thundering, a blank void, as if his soul had been sucked away, his gaze hollowly fixed forward.
spirit vacated, his eyes empty. Whatever Hunter said next, he didn't hear a word.
All he knew was that Fannie was truly gone.
Hishis sister was dead.
At such a young age, he couldn't bear this enormous blow. Everything went dark before his eyes, his body went limp, and he passed out again.
The magnitude of the loss overwhelmed Charles, and darkness claimed him as he fainted once more.
"Charles, Charles..."
Seeing Charles faint,!" Patricia frantically patted his little cheeks, her heart wrenchingly twisted in anxiety.
Butbut Charles showeddid no responsed.
His little face was frighteningly pale, as if drained of all blood, devoid of any color.
Fearing for his well-being and overwhelmed with panic, Patricia's breath failed her, her vision darkened, her body went limp, and she collapsed beside Charles, also passing out.
"Patricia..."
Patricia, overcome with dread and despair, succumbed to unconsciousness beside her son.
"Patricia!" Hunter shouted, his voice filled withcried out in alarm, as. he scooped Patricia up in his arms and rushed her to the adjacentnext bedroom. He carefully laid, laying her down on the bed and calleding Jake to find a doctor.
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