The Third Child Died, So Did the Wife He Wanted Chapter 03

The Third Child Died, So Did the Wife He Wanted Chapter 03

The next morning, Garrison’s massive fleet set sail toward the Sterling’s Shrine.

Onboard, I attempted to numb my mind with operations, fiercely directing the crew’s navigation.

Before the ship could even dock, hushed, mocking whispers drifted over from the corner of the deck.

“Her mind is entirely consumed by shipping routes and ledgers. She didn’t even notice when pirates slaughtered her own kids. Does a woman like that even deserve to be a mother?”

My hand froze against the compass .

So, Garrison hadn’t breathed a single word about Amber’s fatal negligence to anyone.

He had willfully allowed the entire blame to be pinned onto my head.

When we arrived at the shrine, the plaques of the Sterling ancestors loomed overhead.

Garrison’s father stood at the center of the shrine. Amber stood beside him, cradling her cat. Hanging from the cat’s collar was my dead son’s baseball.

I tried to turn my head away, but my father-in-law had already lunged forward, delivering a brutal slap that forced my face back straight.

“So you do know you don’t have the face to look at your children?”

He pointed a finger directly at my nose, his spit flying onto my face while Amber stood behind him, hiding a smug smirk behind her cat.

“Neglecting your own flesh and blood all for some goddamn shipping fleets! Don’t think for a second that marrying into the Sterling name makes you untouchable!”

I swallowed the metallic taste of blood rising in my throat and looked at Garrison for help.

He entirely averted his eyes.

The old man brought his palm back and struck me twice more.

Smack! Smack!

“Those are for destroying my grandson and granddaughters!”

My legs gave out, and my knees slammed hard against the marble floor.

My vision went pitch black as the whispers of the gathered clan filled my ears.

Garrison finally stepped forward, dropping to his knees right in front of me.

“Dad! If you want to punish someone, punish me first!”

The family patriarch shook with pure rage, slamming his cane heavily against the floor.

“It’s because you constantly shield her that she thinks she can get away with murder!”

My body couldn’t take any more. I blacked out entirely.

When I finally regained consciousness, I was lying in the estate’s bedroom. Outside the door, Amber’s ecstatic whisper carried through the cracks.

“Garrison, I’m pregnant.”

Garrison’s voice leaked uncontainable joy.

“Really? Keep it quiet for now. Whatever you do, don’t let Alison find out.”

I stared blankly at the ceiling canopy, a massive, crushing agony tearing through my chest.

The door pushed open, and Garrison walked in. Seeing my open eyes, he hesitated.

“Are you okay?”

“Why didn’t you tell them the truth?”

He knelt beside the bed, grasping my hand tightly.

“Amber doesn’t have a legacy or a family backing her, but the fleet desperately needs her.”

“If my dad knew it was her mistake, he would have ordered her keelhauled immediately.”

He rambled on, spouting the exact same garbage about how young she was and how she was a core asset.

I wrenched my hand out of his grip.

“I understand.”

Every last ounce of illusion I held for this man died alongside the child growing inside Amber’s womb.

Garrison pressed a hand to his forehead, attempting to explain further, when the door was suddenly slammed open.

Amber burst into the room, tears streaming down her face.

“Garrison, Coco… Coco died while wearing Tommy’s baseball!”

Garrison snapped his head toward me. Completely ignoring my injuries, he yanked me up violently by my collar.

“Did you poison that baseball?!”

I stared into his raging, bloodshot eyes, suddenly feeling a profound, absolute exhaustion.

“Get a coroner to test it.”

Perhaps my dead, emotionless tone rattled him, because his grip loosened, and he let go of my clothes.

“Alison, if you feel wronged, you can talk to me. There was truly no need to resort to this.”

“I don’t feel wronged.”

Garrison stared at me for a few agonizing seconds before Amber frantically urged him to go see Coco one last time.

He cast one long, deep look back at me.

“Get some rest.”

The door slammed shut.

I let out a mocking laugh. When our children were slaughtered, he hadn’t even bothered to look at their corpses one last time.