Chapter 4

"I recognize this model—it's his! Nathan must be dead, which is how this thing got attached to the seal!"

Clutching the sensor, Mark snapped his head up, glaring at Chloe with raw fury.

"Chloe! How do you explain this?!"

Derek quickly stepped in, scowling. "Impossible. I saw him run away with my own eyes. You're mistaking it. Plenty of explorers use this brand."

Chloe joined in with a cold laugh. "He's right. It can't be his. The avalanche swept north, and we're currently south. Someone else must have lost it."

Hearing that, Mark suddenly chuckled, two streaks of tears spilling down his cheeks.

"His initials are engraved right on the casing—N.C.!"

"Chloe, what pathetic lie are you going to spin now?! Nathan is dead! The two of you murdered him!"

Staring at the engraved "N.C." on the device, Chloe froze completely.

"No... that's impossible! It's a coincidence!"

Mark gritted his teeth, his voice dripping with venom. "The evidence is staring you right in the face! What are you still faking for?!"

Just then, another researcher shouted from a nearby drift, having spotted a frozen body—its features unidentifiable.

Mark’s eyes instantly locked onto the action camera strapped to the body's chest.

"Once we pull the footage from this camera, let's see how you try to talk your way out of it!"

Before the words even faded, a technician booted up the recovered device.

The screen flickered to life, buzzing with static and garbled green distortion.

The tech scratched his head. "Looks corrupted..."

Chloe crossed her arms, scoffing. "I'd recognize Nathan if he were reduced to ashes. That corpse isn't him!"

Derek chimed in smoothly, "Exactly. Nathan deserted us and ran north. Even if he did die, his body wouldn't end up all the way out here."

Mark clenched his fists, bloodshot eyes burning with rage.

Chloe sneered in disgust. "That bastard Nathan used to swear up and down how much he loved me. But when the avalanche hit, I passed out in the snow!"

"He thought I'd slow him down, so he left me to die! If Derek hadn't dragged me out, I'd be dead! A selfish, spineless prick like him wouldn't just die so easily!"

"That corpse on the ground is NOT him!"

Hearing her words, several researchers were visibly swayed, joining in to condemn my supposed cowardice.

Suddenly, the technician shouted in triumph: "Fixed it! Everyone, come look!"

The crowd surged forward.

Chloe stared at the two figures appearing on the grainy screen, letting out a heavy sigh before explaining:

"Those were our other two expedition teammates. When the avalanche hit, they were out fetching fresh water, so we lost contact."

"I always prayed they just got separated from us. I had no idea their bodies were right here."

"It looks like they survived the initial avalanche, but lost their gear and froze to death from hypothermia. Mark, these aren't your Nathan."

Watching from beside them, I sighed.

Back then, after the avalanche passed, I was terrified for those two teammates. Since my base camp had a natural snow barrier, I immediately set out into the storm to search for them.

That was the origin of the video Derek had used to frame me running away.

"Wait, then what about this tracker?"

"Did he drop it onto the seal while he was fleeing?"

Chloe stared at the tiny gadget in her palm, her brow locked in a tight frown.

Hearing that, Mark let out an incredulous laugh. "Chloe! Are you insane?! Do you really think animal telemetry looks anything like a human heart monitor?! You never even bothered to look! Did you ever give a single damn about Nathan?!"

I couldn't help asking her myself, a faint, bitter smile on my lips. "Yeah, Chloe. Did you ever truly care about me?"

I shook my head right after.

She couldn't hear me anyway.

Yet in the next second, Chloe’s face turned icy. "Of course I cared."

I stared at her, stunned.

"I used to treat him as my everything. I loved him more than anyone else in this world. I would have gladly died for him."

"And what did he do? The moment danger showed up, he dumped me like dead weight and ran! Mark, tell me, does a man like that deserve my love? Does he deserve my tears?"

Her eyes grew rimmed with red.

I dropped to my knees in the snow, tearing at my hair, screaming at the top of my lungs: "Chloe! I didn't abandon you! I never abandoned you!!"

Yet the only reply was the howling Antarctic gale.

I turned my desperate gaze toward Mark, begging him to explain for me.

Because he was the only one who knew the real reason I had organized this expedition.

Mark let out a heavy sigh. "Chloe, what if I told you that Nathan dragged you across the polar night because he wanted to declare his eternal love to the entire world the second the sun broke through the dark?"

"Knowing that, do you honestly still believe he would run away and leave you behind?"

Chloe froze as if struck by lightning. Her lips parted, but not a single sound came out.

Right then, a teammate shouted excitedly from the screen: "Wait! There's more footage at the end!"