My heart hammered.
“Just tell me if she’s alive.”
He hesitated.
“Please watch.”
He pressed play.
The first clip came from a camera near the far end of the bay.
The banana boat appeared exactly where I expected.
It was heading back toward the resort.
Relief rushed through me.
“They’re coming back.”
Then Liam suddenly began signaling frantically to the driver.
The driver immediately changed direction.
Instead of continuing toward the resort, he turned sharply.
Straight away from the resort.
“What is he doing?”
The words escaped before I realized I’d spoken.
Daniel stepped closer.
“Why is he leaving?”
The manager paused the video.
Nobody moved.
Rebecca stared at the frozen image of her son.
“I don’t understand.”
Neither did I.
The boat had been almost back.
Why would Liam suddenly send them away?
The manager took a breath.
“Keep watching.”
He opened another clip.
For several seconds, everything looked normal.
Then Maya slumped sideways.
One moment she was upright.
The next, she collapsed against the inflatable.
I covered my mouth.
“No.”
Liam turned toward her.
Even through the grainy footage, I could see panic on his face.
He reached for her.
Shouted something.
Then waved both arms frantically toward shore.
He wasn’t taking Maya away.
He was trying to save her.
The boat disappeared around the rocky point.
The manager opened another recording.
“This camera belongs to Blue Cove Clinic.”
The footage showed a small beach beside the white building we’d barely noticed during the safety briefing.
Seconds later, the banana boat appeared.
As soon as it reached the shore, Liam jumped into the shallow water.
He pulled Maya onto his shoulder.
She wasn’t walking.
She wasn’t helping him.
Her body hung limp against him.
He ran toward the clinic doors, shouting for help.
Two nurses rushed outside.
Then a doctor.
Within moments, Maya was taken inside on a stretcher.
The room went completely silent.
I realized I’d stopped breathing.
The manager lowered the phone.
“They called us as soon as they identified your daughter. They’ve been treating her.”
I grabbed the desk.
“What happened?”
Almost on cue, the office door opened.
A middle-aged doctor stepped inside.
“I’m Dr. Alvarez.”
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