Chapter 509 - Coordinates

"Damn it!" Roy cursed and removed his hand from Laila's forehead. The lingering heat on his palm increased his anxiety. He needed to find a solution; he couldn't stand watching her suffer without being able to do anything.

Suddenly, he remembered something from a previous road trip with Laila. Back then, he had forcefully intervened in her road trip, and during casual conversation, she had mentioned that she always carried a GPS device with her when she traveled far. This allowed Claire to know her exact location at any given time. In the United States, if she pressed a certain button, it seemed that within minutes, a group of police officers would appear in front of her.

So, could she have one with her this time?

He began searching her clothing pockets one by one but didn't find anything. It wasn't surprising; how many women carried items in their clothing pockets? Typically, they used handbags. But when they had to jump from the plane in haste, they hadn't even thought about bringing their cell phones, let alone a GPS device.

After checking her pockets, Roy's gaze landed on her clothing. It's possible she would carry something like that close to her body, right? What if she'd kept it on her to prevent it from getting lost or stolen? If someone had stolen it from her bag, it would have been as if it had never been there. Moreover, they were in a romantic relationship; what harm was there in checking her clothing?

He had mentally prepared himself for this for a long time before finally summoning the courage to unbutton her shirt, amidst her increasingly rapid breaths.

Meanwhile, in Saudi Arabia, Oswald, the old man, was in contact with the Saudi royal family's representatives, seeking the location of the crashed plane.

As long as Laila's body wasn't found within a day, he refused to believe that his exceptionally gifted granddaughter had left them so soon. She was the angel of the Moran family, a child blessed by divine intervention. He would never accept that a child like her could have left them for the embrace of God!

The representatives of the Saudi royal family were more than willing to cooperate with the Moran family's search operation. Regardless of whose responsibility it was, the fact remained that the incident had occurred in their country. They were concerned that they might get dragged into the United States' war and were thus eager to assist the Moran family's search.

Faiza had believed that the plane would drop into the sea as planned, but there had been a deviation from their plan. The plane had not crashed into the ocean; instead, it had plummeted into the desert.

When Dawud, relying on the positioning system on the plane, found the aircraft along with the bodies of the crew members, he saw the wreckage of the plane half-buried in the desert, lying stiffly on the desert floor.

The winds in the desert were strong, with winds reaching speeds of magnitude 10-12, which was not unusual. Consequently, the terrain in the desert changed rapidly. If there were no unexpected events, the wreckage of the plane would be completely buried in the desert in another day or two.

To confirm the situation, Da'ud had his men enter the cabin to search for Leila's body. He was not like his foolish daughter, and he couldn't truly relax until he confirmed the body.

The result of the confirmation was also astonishing. There was only one flight attendant's body in the cabin, which had been crashed and burned. What did this mean? If the plane had not broken apart in mid-air, throwing the people inside into the sky, then it meant that one of the two people who were supposed to be unconscious had awakened and taken one of the flight attendant's parachutes!

This was bad news indeed!

If they were still alive, it meant that they had realized something was wrong with the plane. If given the chance to come forward, they would undoubtedly expose the plot. At that point, Faiza might not only end up in jail, but the entire family would face ostracism from the royal family and other clans.

Furthermore, how could his daughter be kept in a filthy prison? Their family would not tolerate such a stain on its history!

Therefore, there was only one way to compensate for this: to find the two individuals before the search and rescue teams arrived, making sure they disappeared in the desert along with the wreckage. Perhaps, after several decades or centuries, the strong desert winds would bring their skeletons to the surface. But by then, the world would have forgotten about them!

As for whether their deaths would lead to a war between two countries, there was no way he could concern himself with that now. In comparison to the interests of the family, what was the nation's interest? If he had to blame anyone, it was their unfortunate luck!

"Go and find people. Search along the flight path. I don't believe they can go far without water or food," he ordered his men.

They all responded and a few helicopters soon took off.

Meanwhile, Roy was dripping with sweat as he finally pulled out a pendant from Laila's neck.

God only knew how dangerous the earlier action had been while he searched her entire body. His fingertips were burning from her feverish skin, and moving her body caused her to emit a series of moans, resembling a cat. Holding the love of his life in his arms, her warm skin beneath his fingers... After that intense search, he couldn't help but marvel at his unparalleled self-control.

Laila's pendant was their last hope. Having searched all over her body, only her necklace remained unexamined. Roy held the pendant in his hand and tried to open it. It looked like the kind of locket that many people liked to wear with a photo inside, which he had seen his mother have, so he knew how to open it.

But when he finally opened it, what he saw wasn't a picture but a small red button.

This relieved Roy, and he whispered to himself, "This must be it." He pressed the button, and he heard a soft beeping sound...

After that, nothing happened.

Well, this wasn't surprising. As long as the GPS coordinates were sent out, all they could do was wait for rescue.

Roy didn't try to search for water sources in the vicinity because when they had been in the air, he had already observed their surroundings. Apart from this rocky area, there was nothing else visible within a hundred miles but dunes.

He didn't believe that with his current stamina, he could carry Laila over a great distance. Even if they managed to walk out, there was no guarantee they would find a water source. So, he believed staying in one place was the best, simplest, and most energy-conserving choice. And with the GPS not having transmitted coordinates, given Oswald's reaction time, a search and rescue team should already be on its way.

Almost immediately after he pressed the button, the small device in Claire's bag, around a minute and a half later at most, began beeping.

At that time, she was comforting the sobbing Janet. Since receiving the news of Laila's disappearance, Janet hadn't stopped crying. It wasn't just her; even Claire's heart ached. Laila had been a child she had cared for since she was little, and she loved her as if she were her own daughter. Now, besides such things, how could she not feel distressed?

But she couldn't show it in front of Janet. She had to maintain an optimistic attitude; if she lost her faith, how could she go on?