Niklaus' point of view.

"Deputy, you said it yourself, there could be a chance she survived and was drifted somewhere we have no idea about," I argued with the deputy.

It was a day after the altercation with my father and the fourth day of the search and rescue operation for Maya. Normally, such a search didn't take that long due to expenditure of resources, time, and manpower but I contributed immensely to the search so no one complained.

But now, they were complaining.

They have searched for days and covered the whole stretch of water connecting to the sea yet couldn't find her nor sign of her survival and were insisting on starting a find and recover operation at once. At this rate, they had surmised that Maya had died.

"Yes, I said that because of the river geomorphology, but that's just a ten percent chance of survival. Suicide by bridge is gruesome, and death is almost inevitable. Yes, some people do survive but only if they hit the water feet first and come in at a slight angle," the deputy answered.

I groaned, gripping my hair tight. What was the percentage of Maya landing that way? Gosh, this was driving me crazy.

He went on," According to official reports, when one plunges from that bridge; the impact is tremendous since the body goes from roughly seventy-five to eighty mph to nearly zero in a nanosecond. The physics of inertia being what they are, internal organs tend to keep going. The force of impact causes them to tear loose,"

I hardly understood the geek the deputy was speaking but one thing was for sure, Maya was not dead; I could feel it in my bones or maybe I was just scared of facing her corpse.

I didn't give up, " I know time is -"

"Yes, time is of the essence when retrieving bodies in case you don't know, Sir Niklaus," he interrupted me.

He looked me straight in the eyes saying," Son, the sea reclaims bodies quickly. Fish eat them. Not just sharks, but little fish. They eat the eyes and other tender parts. As the body decays and opens up, all manner of sea creatures move in to feed. Eventually, the body comes apart.

"A body floats because decay causes gases to form within its cavity. If that cavity is breached for any reason, the gas escapes and the body sinks. And no one will ever know what happened." He summarized.

I shut my eyes, the sight of fishes eating Maya's body - if she were dead- made nausea rise to my throat. Was I being selfish and stupid by dragging out this case?

"Niklaus," The deputy called me casually this time which made my gaze meet his, "I know it's hard and you're obviously traumatized by this incident but you have to make a decision soon. It's time to let go and give the girl the peace she needs,"

He stood up, picked up an article from his side of his desk, and walked around to me. He placed it on the desk, opening it to a certain page.

"I hope this changes your mind," the deputy said, squeezing my shoulder comfortingly.

"Take all the time you need, I'll be back in an hour," he pulled away to check his wristwatch before putting his hands in the pocket of his khaki pants and left.

I spaced out for quite a long time and roused only for my gaze to rest on that page: The common injuries jumpers can suffer, depending on the angle of entry into the water.

My brows furrowed as I read through, " Torso injuries: Broken ribs; most ribs break, and their jagged edges puncture internal organs.

"Heart: lacerated by broken ribs.

"Lung: Punctured or torn by broken ribs.

"Lacerated liver: Torn Aorta leads to extensive internal bleeding. In most situations, the impact fractures the sternum, which compresses the heart and causes it to tear away from the aorta.

"Fractured pelvis: Spleen; lacerated by broken ribs or ruptured by force of impact.

"Kidneys would be ripped or torn upon impact.

"Limbs: Bones in arms and legs are seldom broken, but a significant injury can occur to the femur (thighbone) or humerus (upper arm bone).

"Humerus fracture, Spinal column injuries, and broken neck: Rupture of cervical disks, most commonly disks 3, 4 and 5, causes paralysis. Less common is a broken neck at the base of the head.

"Lower back: Impact causes rupture of lumbar disks 3, 4 and …"

I couldn't read further as the tears sprang forth, blinding my sight and staining the article. I had kept myself so busy the past days that I haven't had time to cry but right now the situation dawned on me, I couldn't help but get overwhelmed by the guilt and sorrow.

I hit my chest repeatedly, why was it so stuffy in there; it hurt badly. I couldn't breathe, it was like I was underwater with no means to swim out.

"I'm going to be a father?!"

"Yes, you are,"

The memories made me cry harder and bitterly.

"Do you think Isabella would accept this new development, she's going to have a new sibling soon,"

"She'd go crazy with joy, you don't know how long she has been expecting a baby sister"

What was I going to tell Isabella? That not only had she lost Maya but her baby sibling as well? The news would devastate her. Isabella had seen enough deaths already.

First, her mother Kay, and now her favorite person, Maya? The girl would think she was cursed and that would ruin every progress Maya had made on her.

"You're going to return as soon as possible, right?"

"Of course. I'll finish up earlier than intended for you and our baby boy"

I shouldn't have left, I shouldn't have left at all!

With an angry swipe, I swept off all the items on the deputy's shelf to the floor. I needed to blow off some steam.

That time, I had warned her to stay away from danger without knowing danger was going to be the one to find her.

My outrage continued until I couldn't cry anymore; my tears duct were dried up. It was that pathetic state that the deputy found me in when he returned.

He took in the sight of his office which was wrecked beyond recognition- my handwork.

My eyes were bloodshot and puffy from crying and my fist bloody from the punches I threw to the wall.

"Feel better now?" Deputy kneeled beside me, my head lifting slowly.

I sat up against the wall, my legs pulled up to my chest with my arms wrapped around me.

"Go ahead with the investigation," I slowly rose to my feet," Inform me when the body's found," I still refused to believe Maya was dead.

My head throbbed as I made my way to the car. Though I had done nothing vigorous but my body was heavy and ached terribly; I was just tired. I wanted to rest.

"Where to, sir Niklaus?" Micheal inquired.

My hooded eyes opened as I replied," Home,"

I had not gone home since I returned to the country. Two days had been spent at the hospital unconscious while the rest was spent at the hotel after dealing with my father.

I couldn't face Isabella which was why I had hidden at the hotel. But then, I couldn't hide forever, I would have to face her sooner or later.

My smart daughter as expected heard the news and according to reports from Amanda, she went into her room and had spent most of her days locked up without company.

I was reluctant to go into the house since it contained memories of the time I spent with Maya but I had no choice.

"Where is she?" I asked Amanda who was delighted to see me yet her face was lined with worry.

"She's in her room," she answered.

I turned to leave for my daughter's room when Amanda's comment stopped me in my tracks.

"Maya, is she going to make it?"

I sighed, rubbing my forehead,

"The situation is not looking good," I replied curtly.

Heading to Isabella's room I knocked," Hey sunshine, it's me, Niklaus"

No reply.

"Isabella, open up, please. I know you feel so overwhelmed right now but we can talk it out, it's not advisable to grief alone. I know I'm the best father out there but I need you to trust me on this. I love you honey and no matter what, we are going to overcome this together"

No reply again. Which was strange. Even if she doesn't want to see me, Isabella would open up for me since I had successfully wasted my saliva - she would say.

The hairs on my back stood on edge when an outrageous thought came into my head, what if she hurt herself?

"Goddammit!" I cursed, calling on Amanda to get me the spare key to her room.

Amanda didn't know what was going on but the panic in my voice hastened her steps.

I unlocked Isabella's door with my heart in my throat, dreading the sight that would greet me once it opened.

Unlocked, I stepped into her room carefully, not to trigger any of her booby traps.

A sigh of relief was drawn from my mouth when I stretched my neck to discover that she was lying peacefully on her bed.

However, my eyes rounded when I caught her wrist sticking out of the bed with blood gushing out of it.

"Oh my God, Amanda call an ambulance!" I screamed and scooped Isabella into my arms, running out of her room as if the devil were on my tail.

I would die if something happened to Isabella.