Semua Bab My Wife's Sinking, I'm Guarding the Big Catch: Bab 1 - Bab 10

I called over to the guy fishing beside me. "Frank, grab the cooler. I need somewhere to put this fish."Instead of moving, Frank Zimmer stared at me like I'd completely lost my mind. "Your wife's about to drown, and you're worried about a fish? Aren't you the head of the rescue team? How can you just stand there?"I waved him off. "The guys can handle something this simple. They don't need me jumping in."Before I could say anything else, someone snatched the fish out of my hands and tossed it straight back into the lake.It was Ryan Kane, one of the guys on my rescue team. He stared at me in disbelief. "That's your wife out there! Your pregnant wife! If you have even an ounce of decency left, get in there and save her!"I glanced toward the lake. Several other members of the team had already jumped in."I'm on vacation. I'm not responsible for rescuing anyone today." I turned back to Ryan. "You, on the other hand, just threw back a fish I spent all morning trying to catch. You

Luke's head snapped to the side as I slapped him.The sound of my palm striking his face echoed through the hallway, leaving everyone stunned.Ever since this whole thing started, I'd remained almost unnervingly calm. People had insulted me, shoved me around, and even punched me, and I'd barely reacted. But now, for the first time, that composure cracked. I stared at Luke."How could you say something like that about your own sister?" My voice was ice cold. "Claire would never do that."Luke clutched his cheek. Whatever restraint he had left finally shattered. "Then, why the hell are you doing this to her?"I didn't answer.Ryan couldn't take it anymore. He stepped forward."Gary, we want to know too. There's a reason for all this, isn't there? Something you're not telling us?" He searched my face. "Just tell us what's going on. Whatever it is, we'll help you."Another member of the team shook his head, completely baffled. "At this point, I'd rather believe you've lost your

The entire hospital room went silent. Every camera was pointed at me. More than a million people were watching the live stream, waiting for the explanation I'd refused to give until now.I was quiet for a long moment before I finally spoke, "About a month ago, I saved someone else's life."One of the reporters jumped in, asking, "You're talking about a different rescue?"I lowered my gaze. "Yes. I'd just gotten off work that day. I was walking past a river when I saw someone in the water."It was a man in his 40s. The current had already swept him more than 30 feet downstream, and he was seconds away from being carried even farther.I didn't hesitate. I jumped in.There had been days of heavy rain, and the current was dangerously strong. Twice, I got dragged into an eddy and nearly didn't make it back to the surface myself.But somehow, I managed to get the man to shore.We both barely made it out alive. And when he finally regained consciousness, the first thing he did was gra

The outrage online only continued to grow.Someone dug up an interview I'd given after rescuing three children from a flood. In the video, I was covered head to toe in mud.The reporter had asked me if I was afraid of dying.I'd laughed. "Of course I am. But when someone's life is on the line, nothing else matters."Someone edited that clip together with footage of me sitting by the lake, calmly fishing while Claire was drowning. It immediately went viral for all the wrong reasons."Nothing matters more than a human life, unless it's his wife's.""This guy used to risk his life for complete strangers, but he stood there and watched his own wife drown. What does that tell you?""It tells you he wasn't afraid to save her. He wanted her dead."The last comment shot straight to the top. Once the video was out there, people couldn't stop talking about it.More and more began to question whether Claire falling into the lake had really been an accident at all. Before long, the commen

Luke's words silence the entire crowd outside the police station.The smile froze on Claire's face, but only for a second. She quickly frowned and gave Luke an exasperated look. "Luke, what are you talking about? If I'm not your sister, then who am I?"But Luke wasn't looking at her. He was still staring at the man in the photos, every trace of color gone from his face. "Because Dad's dying wish was that we stay away from that man. He hated him. He made us promise we would never have anything to do with him."Claire's fingers curled into fists beneath the sleeves of her hospital gown.For the first time, she looked genuinely rattled. "Luke… I just felt sorry for him. It's been so many years, and I thought maybe it was time to let go of whatever happened between them. That's all. I only met him that one time."Her words came faster and faster. "I won't do it again. I promise. I'll never see him again."She sounded desperate to patch the hole in her story before anyone could look t