Soon, Bella was taken away by the bodyguards.
Xavier looked at the still furious Lance and approached him with concern. "I think we shouldn't believe everything Bella said. Since her people didn't find the Missus, she must have escaped."
"I agree with that," Gunner, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke up.
He continued with a furrowed brow, "When we were near the dock earlier, I observed the surroundings. That area usually has many boats passing by, so it's unlikely that sharks would be active there. The possibility of Deanna escaping is high."
Lance's anger finally subsided a bit.
"Xavier, issue a reward. Whoever finds information about the Missus will receive a million dollars!" He quickly made arrangements. "Then divide our people into groups and search around the area where Deanna went missing."
Xavier nodded and left to carry out the orders.
After he left, Gunner stepped forward. "You've been at it all day and just exerted a lot of effort. Lie down on the bed, and I'll treat you. I'll also arrange for people to look for Deanna."
"I'm fine, Mr. Martinez. Don't worry about me; go arrange for people to find Deanna," Lance insisted, wanting to use every second to search for Deanna.
He hadn't forgotten what Bella had said earlier-Deanna was injured, and it was serious.
Seeing Lance's red eyes, Gunner knew what was on his mind and was somewhat satisfied. However, he deliberately snorted coldly. "Whether you're fine or not is up to me. I don't want you to be crippled when we find Deanna!"
With that, he pushed Lance onto the bed and began his treatment with swift and precise movements.
After the treatment, Lance lay on the bed, exhausted and frowning, clearly dissatisfied with his condition.
Gunner pretended not to notice and advised, "I know you're anxious to find Deanna, but rushing won't help. Rest well today. Tomorrow, I won't stop you from doing anything you want. But if you don't listen to my advice and insist on searching while you're weak, don't blame me if you end up crippled. And let me be clear: if you become crippled, I won't allow Deanna to marry you and ruin her life."
Lance was infuriated by his words but ultimately didn't argue.
Although he believed that Deanna wouldn't abandon him even if he were crippled, he didn't want to become a burden to her.
For the next two days, Lance and Gunner searched for Deanna around the dock.
Eula also arranged for people to search, but every time she tried to see Lance, she was blocked.
Lance didn't want to waste time dealing with her.
As days passed without any news of Deanna, the reward posted had increased from an initial million dollars to shares worth tens of millions in Mercer Group.
The large reward tempted many. Some even tried to deceive Lance with false information but were eventually caught and dealt with harshly.
Unbeknownst to them, Deanna had long left the dock area, having traveled hundreds of kilometers away.
On that fateful day, after being shot by Bella and sinking into the sea, she had luckily collided with a small submarine owned by some wealthy young men and was rescued.
This explained why Bella's people had found no trace of her on the surface.
Interestingly, the person who saved Deanna had a complicated history with Lance.
Don't misunderstand; it wasn't that kind of history.
The young man who saved her was Dayton Poole.
The Poole family was a mid-tier family in a neighboring city of Cloudmere and was in the same generation as Lance.
Logically, they shouldn't have had any interactions since one was a notorious underachiever and the other was everyone's golden child.
However, Frankie Poole admired Lance greatly and often compared his unambitious son to Lance's achievements, praising how Lance had created immense value for Mercer Group at a young age.
Dayton, being rebellious by nature, got fed up with his father's constant praise of Lance and impulsively challenged him to a car race.
Lance initially didn't want to bother with him but eventually agreed after Dayton's relentless pestering. The condition was that Dayton would never appear before him again.
Dayton agreed but was infuriated by Lance's indifferent attitude as if he were an ant.
This led him to play dirty during the race, trying to cause an accident for Lance on the track.
Though it was dangerous, Lance's superior driving skills helped him turn the situation around and win the race.
Dayton thought Lance would seek revenge for his underhanded tactics but was surprised when Lance only demanded he honor their agreement and stay away.
Despite this, the Poole family felt they owed Lance an explanation and sent Dayton abroad as a consequence.