Chapter 960

**The submarine descended in eerie silence, swallowed by the inky blackness of the ocean depths.** Above, a bolt of lightning split the sky, illuminating the turbulent waters in a brief flash of unnatural daylight. But by the time Samuel looked up, straining his eyes from the cruise ship deck, the submarine carrying his younger siblings had vanished beneath the waves. **Gone.** His arms hung limply at his sides, hands clenched into white-knuckled fists. Swallowing the dread churning in his gut, Samuel turned and headed toward the ship’s bridge, masking his turmoil behind stoic resolve. **In one of the lavish cabins below deck**, the storm was mirrored by a different kind of chaos. Mina paced like a caged animal, her steps sharp and restless as the others watched in silence—Bryan, Harold, Emma, Momo, Huan, and Kyle, who stood stiffly by the door like a guard. Bryan, his patience fraying, finally snapped. “Mina, *please.* You’re making me dizzy.” But Mina wasn’t hearing it. She whirled o