6
Rocco's cry echoed through the mountains, a heart-wrenching howl like a trapped animal in agony.
He struggled to grasp what had just occurred.
How had she materialized here so suddenly?
What terrible act had he committed?
How could he fail to recognize his beloved Valerie, whom he had just sent plummeting to her doom, while embracing Avery as his partner?
In that instant, Rocco longed for death, as nothing could rival the anguish he'd just caused.
Like one possessed, he rushed towards the precipice, intent on following, but his team members quickly held him back.
"Sir, stop! Even if you're looking for someone, you can't just leap off!"
He violently kicked away his restrainer, mumbling incoherently as if in a daze.
"I must find Valerie. It's freezing and pitch-black down there; she'll be scared without me."
"She's injured. I can't abandon her. I have to rescue my Valerie."