Bennett was a bastard. Ever since capturing her, his malevolent actions had piled up, and now, he dared ask for her trust?

Impossible!

"You're just saying that because you don't want me to leave you here, right? You think you can fool me?" Ariana said, looking Bennett squarely in the eyes. "Stay here and face your fate; it might just offset some of the terrible things you've done."

Having spoken her mind, Ariana resumed her descent. Her strength had largely returned. Armed with her prior experience in climbing and fueled by the hope that Holden might still be alive, she soon got to the bottom of the cliff.

Upon reaching the ground, she turned on her flashlight, startled to discover a dense forest at the cliff's base.

The lush undergrowth seemed promising. It renewed her hope that Holden and Adrian might still be alive.

She made her way through the thick branches, illuminating the path with her flashlight.

It was night, and the narrow beam of the flashlight barely pierced the darkness. Without a compass, navigating the dense forest in search of someone was daunting. Despite walking for about fifteen minutes, Ariana had made little progress.

But she wasn't discouraged. As long as there was a sliver of hope, she was determined to keep searching.

She quickly devised a plan and navigated her way out of the dense forest to the outskirts to search for survivors. She soon found the driver.

The driver's limbs were all broken, his body contorted in an unnatural way. Ariana shuddered, checked his breathing and pulse, and confirmed that he was dead.

A twinge of guilt washed over Ariana; if not for her, the driver might have been spared this fate.

However, she knew she couldn't let her emotions overtake her. She gathered herself, moved the body to a tree, and planned to return later to retrieve it for a proper burial and to compensate his family. It was the right thing to do.

After completing this grim task, Ariana ventured back into the forest in search of the others.

But no matter how long she wandered, she couldn't find a way out, always circling back to her starting point.

This endless wandering exhausted Ariana, and eventually, she found a spot to sit, drink some water, and rest, feeling somewhat lost.

As time slipped away and she failed to find anyone, her anxiety intensified.

Could it be true, as Bennett had hinted, that Holden and Adrian were already dead?

It seemed plausible, especially considering they had been caught in an explosion before falling. If the driver, who was healthy, hadn't survived, what chance did two injured men stand?

Yet, the thought that Holden and Adrian might have just perished here after everything they had endured was unbearable to Ariana.