For a brief moment, when Kayla saw the faint smile at the corner of Pete's lips, a chill ran down her spine. Everything seemed planned. She couldn't decipher his scheme.
In this perilous situation, he positioned himself at the forefront. If anything went wrong, escape would be impossible. Kayla found Pete enigmatic; his moves unpredictable. Despite standing before her, he felt like an elusive breeze, ungraspable. She was uneasy yet inexplicably drawn to him, and continued to follow.
Pete noticed Kayla's tight grip on his arm. He smiled. "What's wrong?"
"N-nothing…" Kayla hesitated, biting her lip.
After the storm, all communication and navigation failed. The disparate teams panicked, stumbling about. Some continued the search; others tried to leave or contact the outside world—to no avail. How could they navigate the rainforest's featureless depths? Identical trees filled every direction; no paths existed, only rocky outcrops, ridgelines, and dense forest. Flares yielded no rescue.
After repeated disputes, a bombshell of good news arrived: some claimed to have found the canyon marked on the Fuller couple's map—the very location Pete had mentioned. Instantly, the teams went wild, greed driving them in a frantic race to the canyon.
Kayla, anxious, asked, "Pete, why wait? You decoded the map. Will you let others claim the reward?"
"Wait," Pete said, his gaze lingering behind him. "A big shot hasn't arrived yet. What's the hurry?"
"Who?" Kayla asked.
The Carrells, a powerful Seldvale family, were city elite. The only one they'd consider a "big shot" could only be…
Kayla gasped. "The Russell family? Mr. Russell?"
"What treasure attracts even Mr. Russell?" she wondered aloud.
Pete paused, then smiled. "I don't know."
Kayla was speechless. He was lying. Feeling wronged, she accused, "Pete! You don't trust me!"
"I'm not lying. I've never been here. But if Mr. Russell seeks it, it must be important."
A flicker of excitement crossed Kayla's eyes, quickly masked.
From that day on, everyone who entered the rainforest disappeared, lost to contact. No one ever heard from them again.