Divorced CEO's Forgotten Wife Strikes Back (Riley and Bryce) novel Chapter 225

Chapter 225 He Had to Be Alive

That was exactly why she still had faith in him.

Bryce hesitated for a beat, then finally said, “Fine. I’ll take the loan.”

With the venture capital backing out, he needed a financial buffer.

Once his shares were unlocked, he could sell off a portion, pay back the loan, and walk away with a profit.

“Perfect,” Bella smiled brightly. “I’ll let my contact know right away.”

After finishing the call, Bella sent a follow–up message to the man threatening her—Garrett.

[49.5 million dollars. You’ll have it in three days.]

At that same moment, Riley received a call from the military district.

“Riley, can you come in? We’ve officially recovered the drone Samuel used. The SD card inside is in much better condition than expected. We’ve managed to restore some of the data. You should come take a look.”

Riley rushed over without a second thought.

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The drone Samuel had operated five years ago–inside it was his personal work log, preserved on the SD card.

The moment she saw the recovered footage and heard Samuel’s voice playing from the speakers, Riley’s tears surged uncontrollably.

It had been five long years since she last heard his voice.

“We’re only able to show you part of the footage,” the officer explained. “Some of it pertains directly to classified missions. I hope you understand.”

“I do,” Riley said, her voice choked with emotion.

“But based on what we were able to retrieve, we can confirm that Samuel’s last mission was directly linked to that border wildfire five years ago. During that mission, he encountered the fire. The drone lost control and crashed shortly after, and then Samuel vanished.”

Riley clenched her fists at her sides, her lips pressed tightly together.

So she’d been right all along–Samuel’s disappearance really was tied to that border fire. If it hadn’t happened, maybe he’d still be

here.

“We’ll be cross–checking records in Houston to verify casualties from that time—both injured and possibly deceased,” the officer said hesitantly.

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If Samuel really went missing in that fire and hadn’t shown up after five years, chances were he didn’t make it out.

That wildfire took many lives. The area hit was huge. If some casualties were overlooked, it wouldn’t have been surprising.

Riley gritted her teeth but said nothing.

She refused to believe Samuel was gone.

He was the toughest man she’d ever known–someone who could survive bullets flying around him.

How could a single fire bring him down?

He had to be alive.

The officer noticed her silence and understood. She wasn’t ready to accept that Samuel might be dead.

“I want to know the coordinates where the drone last recorded Samuel’s location,” Riley said suddenly.

“No problem,” the officer replied.

“And I want to rewatch the footage I just saw. The parts I was allowed to view,” she clarified.

“Of course,” he said, then motioned to a staff member to bring the video back up.

Riley leaned in, eyes fixed on the screen.

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The drone had captured aerial footage before the fire broke out.

Suddenly, her eyes narrowed.

One frame showed something unmistakable—the exact spot where the fire started.

It was the same place where Jaxon, Cloud Airlines‘ co–pilot, had supposedly sparked the blaze with his cigarette.

If the drone had caught that specific area, could it have recorded something more?

“Rewind that part,” she said quickly to the technician.

He played it back again. As the frame paused on the spot, Riley said, “Stop here.”

The screen froze.

“Can you zoom in on that section?” she asked.

The technician enlarged the image. A faint figure could be seen, though the details were too blurred to make out.

“It’s been five years,” the technician explained. “The resolution can only go so far.”

Riley didn’t respond right away. Then she turned to the officer. “Can I get a copy of this clip? I want to try enhancing the image.”

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