Almost as soon as Lance and his group left the cruise ship's vicinity, the sound of explosions echoed once more.
The massive cruise ship collapsed with a thunderous crash, and fragments of debris rained down from the sky.
Some people couldn't dodge in time and were struck by the falling pieces, letting out screams before sinking into the sea, their blood spreading in the water.
Seeing this, Xavier and Lance immediately shouted, "Stay away from the cruise ship and swim towards the shore!"
Hearing these words, the panicked crowd found their anchor and followed Lance towards the shore.
Just as they were about to reach the shore, Eula arrived with her team. "Quick, get them out of the water," she ordered urgently upon seeing Lance and the others struggling in the sea.
Half an hour later, everyone in the water had been rescued.
Eula walked over to the drenched Lance with concern on her face. "Lance, are you alright? You don't look well. Should I have someone take you back to the hotel?"
"No need," Lance replied coldly, turning to Xavier who was approaching. "How many people are missing?" he asked.
Xavier reported truthfully, "Twenty-three people are missing, including Bella. Fortunately, Mr. Martinez had an urgent matter last night and didn't stay on the cruise ship." He glanced cautiously at Lance.
Lance's expression was terrifyingly grim. It was clear that this was an attempt to silence them permanently.
The mastermind behind this even resorted to using heavy weapons to ensure no one survived.
"Find out who did this! No matter how, find the person behind this!" Lance roared with rage.
Xavier nodded in acknowledgment. Eula, standing nearby, suddenly spoke up. "If you're investigating, I might have some clues that could help."
Both Lance and Xavier looked at her. "What clues?" Lance asked.
"Avery discovered that while Bella was in Chiaz, she met a mysterious person. Shortly after, a sum of three hundred million dollars was transferred to her bank account from a Swiss bank. Avery managed to hack into the Swiss bank's internal network and found out that the transfer was made by a wealthy individual from the Middle East, linked to the Eagle Gang."
Eula explained with a serious expression, "You should be familiar with the Eagle Gang. When we were competing for oil resources there, they were our biggest rivals. We won and secured half of the resources in the Middle East, which led to ongoing conflicts between us."
Lance listened without any change in his expression. "So you're saying that the Eagle Gang kidnapped Deanna for revenge and orchestrated tonight's attack?" he asked.
Eula had intended to say yes but hesitated when she met Lance's emotionless gaze. "I didn't say that. I'm just suspicious. Given their capabilities and motives, the Eagle Gang is a likely suspect," she shrugged, sharing her thoughts.
In reality, she was trying to divert Lance's suspicion away from herself.
Unfortunately for her, Lance wasn't easily fooled.
He knew about the Eagle Gang; despite their conflicts over resources, there were rules in their world-family members were off-limits. Breaking this rule would lead to ostracism by others in their circle.
Lance became more convinced that Deanna was likely in Eula's hands. This woman had repeatedly tried to mislead him into suspecting others. Did she really think he was that gullible?
"By the way, why did you arrive so promptly tonight?" Lance asked, shifting his focus and scrutinizing Eula closely.
Eula sensed his gaze but remained composed as she explained her pre-prepared reason. "When you mentioned silencing witnesses a few days ago, I suspected the Eagle Gang might act. I had people watching from a distance, ready to notify me if anything happened to you. But it seems I was still a bit late."
"Not late at all; you were quite timely," Lance said cryptically.
Just then, Gunner's urgent voice rang out nearby. "Lance, I heard something happened here. Are you hurt?" He walked up to Lance, looking him over.
Seeing that Lance was soaked but uninjured, Gunner breathed a sigh of relief and then asked sternly, "What happened?"
"Nothing much, just an attempt to kill and silence the witness," Lance replied nonchalantly, glancing at Eula.
Eula noticed his look and felt a chill run down her spine.
Why did Lance look at her when he said that? Did he not believe anything she had said? Damn it, why was he so difficult to deal with? But then again, that's why she admired him!