Billionaire Lawyer's Secretary - Chapter 142: Chapter 142

Elara swam deeper into the ocean, and her heart was pounding with worry. It felt like an eternity before she finally spotted Adrian.
He was sinking slowly, and the bubbles escaping from his mouth grew weaker by the second. Elara realized that the situation was not good.
She kicked her fins harder, closing the distance between them in seconds. She reached out, grabbed his arm and pulled him up, using all her strength to keep him from sinking further.
Adrian's eyes were closed, but he still had the mouthpiece clenched between his teeth. When he felt Elara's grip, he managed to open his eyes just a little. Seeing that, Elara let out a sigh of relief. He was still conscious.
Adrian tilted his head slightly, and then glanced at the oxygen tank on his back. Elara understood immediately. She quickly pulled out her spare mouthpiece and held it to his mouth.
Adrian held his breath with the last of his strength. Then he bit down on the mouthpiece and slowly inhaled the oxygen. Elara kept pulling him up. Her slender frame showed unexpected strength at this moment.
But Adrian was weak from lack of oxygen, and the combined weight of their tanks made their ascent painfully slow. Thankfully, his consciousness was gradually returning, so it was okay to take it slow.
Justin, Lucas, and the coach quickly swam over. When Elara saw the three figures heading her way, she finally felt a wave of relief. They each grabbed one of Adrian's arms and quickly pulled him to the surface.
Once on the yacht's deck, they laid him down flat. The coach rushed over with an oxygen mask and a small tank, helping him get some oxygen. Lucas began inspecting Adrian's diving gear, while Elara watched intently from the side.
Lucas frowned. "All the equipment checks out—no damage, no loose connections, and both the oxygen tank's pressure gauge and the instrument panel show normal levels."
"Then why did Adrian run out of oxygen?" Elara asked.
"The only explanation is that someone tampered with the gauge, but we'll need to take it back and have it checked by the machine to be sure. Maybe the mouthpiece malfunctioned," Lucas replied.
"Nothing was wrong with the mouthpiece," Adrian said as he pulled off the oxygen mask and sat up on the deck. "I used the spare one, too. There was simply no oxygen left in it."
A 12-liter oxygen tank like this shouldn't run out after just a short time underwater. Plus, the gauge was still showing 4 liters left.
What was really scary was that the tank was empty, but both the gauge and the pressure meter said there was still oxygen inside.
Good thing Adrian had already started heading up. He was only a dozen feet below the surface. If he'd been stuck down at 50 feet, he probably wouldn't have made it out alive.
Adrian's face was still pale as he turned to Justin. He said, "Call the police."
The yacht raced back to shore, and when they got there, the cops were already waiting.
The diving center was shut down for investigation. The cops took Adrian's diving gear for testing and checked every piece of diving equipment in the place.
After giving her statement, Elara sat on a beach chair outside the diving center, waiting for Adrian.
When she saw Adrian and Lucas come out, she hurried over and asked, "Are you feeling any better? Do you want to go to the hospital?"
"No, it's fine. I'll be okay after getting some rest," Adrian replied.
Justin and Lucas were planning to check the nearby surveillance cameras, so they told Elara to take Adrian back first.
As soon as they got back to the hotel suite, Elara finally asked the question she'd been holding in the whole way, "What did the police say?"
Adrian lowered his gaze and looked at her face. After a few seconds of silence, he said, "They're calling it an accident."
Elara's brows furrowed. "Were people from the diving center out of their minds? How could they let something like this happen? One little accident, and you could've..."
She wanted to say that they almost got Adrian killed, but she didn't finish her words since she felt it was unlucky to say so.
Adrian looked at Elara, who was all riled up for his sake, and gave her a gentle smile. He pulled her into his arms and comforted her, "I was just a little out of oxygen. I'm fine."
"We still have to sue them! Make them go bankrupt and rot in jail," Elara demanded fiercely.
"Alright, whatever you say. We'll sue them," Adrian replied. He looked at her softly. Elara realized she was getting a bit too worked up, so her voice softened. "Why don't you go get some sleep first?"
He gently traced circles on her waist with his thumb and said, "Care to join me?"
Seeing that he still had the nerve to tease her, Elara stopped worrying about him at once. With a mock glare, she gave him a shove into the room and said, "Goodnight!" Then she closed the door behind him.
Elara headed to the other bedroom in the suite. Half an hour later, she came out of the shower, wrapped in a towel robe, and sat down on the living room couch, drying her hair with a towel.
But she still felt uneasy inside. While she was showering, she kept replaying everything in her mind. She thought, 'Was that really just an accident? How could a company this big make such a rookie mistake?'
Elara knew the basics—oxygen tanks used a pressure gauge to check the internal pressure, and then estimated how much oxygen was left. Then the number would show up on the display panel.
She thought, 'But the tank was empty, and yet the gauge kept working and showed the oxygen level dropping at a normal rate, making it impossible for Adrian to notice anything was off. It was too odd.'
The more Elara thought about it, the more anxious she became. She paced back and forth outside Adrian's door and hesitated over whether to knock when the door suddenly opened on its own.
Adrian stood there, wrapped in a towel robe, and his short hair was still damp. He must have just finished his shower as well.
Elara looked at him and asked, "You didn't go to bed?"
Adrian gave a wry smile. "I was afraid if I did, you'd worry yourself sick over me tonight."
After his shower, Adrian had heard her pacing and muttering outside his door. It was obvious she had something urgent on her mind but was hesitating to knock.
"I... I have something important to talk to you about," Elara said.
Adrian was wide awake after his shower, feeling much better. He walked over to the couch, sat down, grabbed a cigarette from the table and lit it. Then he slouched back in a relaxed way and asked, "So, what did you want to say?"
Elara walked over and sat down next to him. "Adrian, do you really buy what the police said—that this was just an accident? I really think someone did this on purpose. You thought so, too, didn't you?"
Adrian let out a long breath. The smoke hung between them, blurring their sight. He glanced up at her, waiting for her to go on.
"Sadie is a bad guy, at least that's what Josie told me. Do you think it could've been her?" Elara asked.
She widened her eyes and said seriously, "She's the only person in this world who'd want to hurt you and actually dare to go through with it. And we ran into her this afternoon, didn't we?
"We really need to investigate her thoroughly. Adrian, Sadie totally has her eyes on you. You really shouldn't do these extreme sports anymore. Racing, diving—they're all way too dangerous. Even regular sports... maybe you should stay away from those too."
Elara kept rambling, but every word, every look, every little frown was full of worry for him. Adrian couldn't help but smile and tease her, "So, am I still allowed to get on a plane? Or drive a car?"
Elara answered seriously, "You can still fly, but you have to keep your travel plans secret. Don't tell anyone your flight info. Driving's okay, too. Just make sure your car is always under surveillance, and don't leave it parked outside or lend it to anyone."
"So, can I still eat? Or am I going to get poisoned next?" Adrian joked.
"About that..." Elara looked up, pondering seriously. Then she saw Adrian's teasing smile and realized he was just messing with her.
Elara couldn't help but complain inwardly, 'He's got the nerve to joke at a time like this? He doesn't even care about his own life, and here I am worried sick about him.'
Adrian noticed she'd gone quiet, clearly stewing over something in her head. He found it amusing and pulled her into his arms. "Come on, tell me. Can I still eat? I'm starving."
Elara huffed in annoyance, but then remembered it was late and diving had drained their energy. She was starving as well.
She shot back at him on purpose, "You can't eat. You might get poisoned. But I can."
"Oh, I see," Adrian drawled. "Then... What if I eat you instead? You just took a shower, so you shouldn't be poisonous."
Elara was speechless.
Adrian swooped in for a kiss before Elara could even react, catching her completely off guard. Elara let out a muffled sound of protest.
Adrian was just messing with her. After kissing her for a while, he let go of her and kept teasing, "Why don't you let me enjoy you, honey?"
It wasn't the first time Elara had heard Adrian say these kinds of shameless things, but for some reason, this time she blushed, and her heart started pounding out of nowhere.
She leaned back slightly, giving him a mock glare. "It's not the right time yet."
She thought, 'We're not even official yet, and I only agreed to give this a shot once he called off his engagement this morning. Now he's already so eager to get laid with me? Humph. Men are all so typical.'
Adrian's lips lingered at the corner of her mouth and kissed her again and again. "Honey, I want you. Hmm? Will you let me?"