Chapter 1

The people who killed my sister ten years ago are on the phone. They are crying and begging me to save their kid.

A ten-year-old boy is trapped underwater at Blackwater Bay.

Ten years ago, my baby sister, Lilly, died in the same spot. I was fourteen. I watched her drown from the bank.

My former best friend, Elena, was the top SAR diver back then. She grabbed my shoulder and swore she'd bring Lilly back.

She didn't. She brought back a corpse.

Elena didn't even try. She found my sister, unhooked her safety line, and let her sink.

Why? So her partner, Victor, could perform a fake rescue later for the cameras.

They built a million-dollar company on my sister's death. They got medals on national TV.

I spent ten years throwing up in my bathroom, screaming until my throat bled.

I dropped out of school. I fought my terror of water. I forced myself through brutal dive training.

I saved nearly two hundred lives just to pay a debt I never owed.

Now, my dispatch screen pops up with a photo of their missing boy.

I know that spoiled face immediately.

I slam my phone down. "I'm not doing this dive."

---

"Are you nuts, Cora?" the dispatcher gasps. "You're the best diver in the state! If you walk away, this kid dies!"

"I don't care," I say, cold as ice.

"Cora, please—"

"Find someone else. I'm done." I hang up.

I stand there for a second, staring at the blank screen. My hands are shaking. Not from fear. From rage.

I start grabbing my stuff. Keys. Jacket. I'm leaving this building and I'm not coming back tonight.

Before I can pack, my door gets kicked open.

Captain Blake stumbles in, sweating hard, clutching his chest. "Cora! Stop!"

"Cap, save it."

"Listen to me!" He blocks the door. "Blackwater Bay is a total death trap today. Three teams already came back empty-handed!"

He drops his voice. "The boy's dad is Victor Hayes. The mom is Elena. They fund our whole department!"

"Then let their money go down and get him," I spit. "You don't need me."

Blake grabs my arm tight. "The sonar hit a dead zone! We need real eyes down there! I am begging you!"

I say nothing.

"Is it safety?!" Blake panics. "I'll give you extra tanks! Top gear! Anything!"

"It's not the gear, Cap."

"Then what is it?!"

"Personal reasons."

"Personal reasons?!" he yells. "A kid is dying down there right now!"

"And I'm telling you to send someone else."

"There is no one else!" Blake slams his fist against the wall. "Martinez got the bends last week. Ortega's shoulder is blown out. Park froze at thirty feet and had to be pulled up!"

"Not my problem."

"Cora, I swear to God—"

A crowd of divers gathers at the door, glaring at me like I'm dirt.

"You're our only shot! You're killing him!"

"What a coward! She's just scared of the dark!"

They throw insults from every side. I check my watch. "You just wasted five minutes, Cap. Start without me."

I shove past them.

Someone shouts from the back. "Your sister drowned there, right?! How can you be so heartless?!"

I freeze. My chest goes tight.

I turn around slowly. The guy who said it—some rookie I've never seen before—goes pale when he sees my face.

"Say that again," I whisper.

He doesn't.

My phone lights up again. The boy grins at the camera, missing a front tooth. Just like Lilly.

Shouting breaks out down the hall. A man in a sharp suit pushes through the crowd.

He pulls a thick stack of hundred-dollar bills from his jacket and throws it right at my face.

The bills scatter across the floor. A few stick to my wet boots.

"Name your price!" he roars. "You just want cash, right?! How much?!"