The beach was crowded with police and patrol cars, and rescue boats kept bringing things up from the sea, but none of them were related to Zoe.

Penelope, distraught, squatted in front of the pile of items just salvaged from the water. He reached into the jumble of foul-smelling debris, dirty mud splattering onto his face, weariness etched deeply into his features.

Alex couldn't stop him, only able to assist in the search.

Penelope searched meticulously, knowing he couldn't replace the search boats in scouring the depths of the sea. With no other recourse, he could only strive to find something amidst the debris.

As if finding something would prove...