Several meters away, a faint white figure appeared on the reef.
Simon immediately began swimming toward it.
But as he got closer, he slowed down unexpectedly.
Looking at the woman lying at the edge of the reef, he hesitated, almost afraid to touch her.
Last night, when he left, she was still fine.
But now, she lay there, barely clinging to life, as if all her breath had been stripped away.
Simon always thought he was impervious to fear, someone who could face anything.
Yet at this moment, he felt terrified.
His hands shook as he reached out to her waist, finally pulling her tightly into his arms.
The tape that had been stuck to her lips seemed to have loosened from soaking in the seawater. The ropes around her wrists, too, had been broken free.
But her hands
