The Third Child Died, So Did the Wife He Wanted Chapter 08

The Third Child Died, So Did the Wife He Wanted Chapter 08

The hall was cleared, leaving only the sector leaders and Arthur.

Roxy walked over, offering me a clean silk handkerchief.

“My lady, clean your hands.”

I took the cloth, meticulously wiping the stray splatters of blood from between my fingers.

Frank spoke up next.

“My Lady, the position of the supreme Seaking…”

“It stays vacant.”

I tossed the stained cloth carelessly onto the table.

“Whoever marries me becomes the Seaking. But this time, I’m not marrying.”

I walked over to the wide windows and pushed them open.

The black sea surged violently under the dark sky, resembling a massive, silent predator.

“From this second onward, the East and West answer directly to me.”

“The North will be managed by Marcus, and the South remains with Roxy. Any objections?”

Silence was the only response.

“Good.”

I turned around.

“Arthur, start the engines. Set course for the Seaking’s Shrine”

The shrine sat on a private island, the ancestral plaques of the Sterlings standing cold and menacing.

But tonight, I was going to carve my three children’s names into the stone. Not as descendants of the Sterling family, but as heirs of the Vance bloodline.

Halfway through the voyage, Arthur entered my cabin, holding a faded vintage baseball.

“My Lady, we recovered this from Amber’s quarters.”

I took the baseball. It was covered in filth. Amber had clearly thrown it among the trash.

“And this.”

Arthur handed me another velvet box.

I opened it to find the real Heart of the Ocean.

It blazed with an blinding light that eclipsed the counterfeit Garrison had gifted me. It became entirely clear that the one he put around my neck was nothing but glass.

I clutched the diamond and the baseball tightly in my palm and walked out to the bow of the ship.

Faint, agonizing wails drifted up from the lower cargo holds. It was Amber.

She wasn’t dead yet, but she was already begging for mercy.

I completely ignored it.

Garrison was locked in the adjacent cell, the heavy chains piercing straight through his shoulder blades. The slightest movement caused agonizing pain.

He slumped against the steel wall, forced to listen to Amber’s screams, one devastating shriek after another.

This was exactly what I engineered.

I wanted them close enough to hear each other’s agony, yet permanently forbidden from ever seeing one another again.

I wanted him to understand the exact definition of begging for death, yet being forced to live.

By the time the ship docked, the horizon was bleeding a pale dawn.

I carried my children’s plaques into the shrine, the sector leaders following silently in my shadow.

The Sterling ancestral plaques were violently cleared into a side closet, and the absolute center of the altar was reset with the names of my three children.

I dropped to my knees, pressing my forehead against the cold stone.

“Tommy. Lily. Grace.”

“Mom was late.”

“But Mom brought you their blood.”

The sound of measured footsteps approached from behind.

I turned my head to see a young man standing at the entrance. He wore the crisp black uniform of the Vance, his posture rigid, his eyes deferentially lowered.

It was Calvin Hayes, Arthur’s adopted son—the operative who had spearheaded the bloodless coup of Garrison’s flagship last night.

“My Lady, the woman in the cargo hold just took her last breath.”

“Yeah.”

“Garrison Sterling passed out from the pain three times, but he’s conscious now. He’s demanding to see you.”

“Ignore him.”

I turned back, my gaze locking onto the plaques.

Calvin didn’t retreat.

He dropped to one knee behind me, his voice perfectly steady.

“My Lady, my father asked me to inquire… is the seat of the Seaking truly going to remain vacant?”

“Yes.”

“Then, if you ever require an asset.”

His flawless composure wavered for a fraction of a second.

“Someone obedient. Someone who can wield a blade for you, and warm your bed… I am available.”

I tilted my head to look at him.

He kept his head bowed, exposing a clean, pale stretch of skin at the nape of his neck.

“Do you know where the last man who said those exact words to me is currently located?”

“I do.”

“Aren’t you terrified?”

“Completely.”

He finally raised his eyes, his gaze remarkably clear and resolute.

“But Lady Alison is worth the liability.”

A faint smile touched my lips. I had been young once. I knew exactly what was driving his ambition.

“Stand up.”

“Go drag Garrison up here. Once he bows his head to my children, throw him right back into the hold.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Calvin rose and exited swiftly.

Minutes later, the guards dragged Garrison into the shrine.

With every inch they pulled him, a trail of blood stained the marble floor.

He was thrown down brutally in front of the altar. I stood up and walked over to his broken form.

“Bow.”

He lifted his head to look at me, the light completely vanished from his eyes.

“Alison… just let me die.”

“Keep dreaming.”

I leaned down, pressing my lips right against his ear.

“I want you alive. I want you breathing until the day I die. Wasn’t that your wedding vow? To protect me until the end of the world?”

His entire body shuddered violently, his forehead finally slumping hard against the freezing floorboards.

I straightened up, never looking back.

“Drag him out.”

The operatives hauled him away, leaving the shrine in absolute tranquility.

I knelt back down, pulling the faded vintage baseball from my coat and placing it gently before Tommy’s plaque.

Then, I uncoiled the Heart of the Ocean diamond necklace, draping it elegantly between Lily and Grace’s plaques.

“My babies, this ocean belongs to Mom now. I’ll guard it for you.”

“No one will ever take it away again.”

Outside the stained glass, the morning light broke entirely across the sky.

The black waters surged violently, but for the first time, they reflected the golden rays of the sun.

I stood up, the hem of my heavy cloak sweeping the floor clean.

Calvin stood guard right at the exit. As I stepped out, he bowed and offered me a new blade.

I took it, sliding it into my boot.

“Signal the fleets. We return to the flagship.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

I stepped off the shrine’s wooden pier. The ships of the Four Sectors were perfectly aligned across the harbor, their massive black flags bearing the crest of the Vance.

I stood tall at the absolute bow of the ship, the heavy ocean wind crashing against my face.

From this day forward, Mrs. Sterling was dead.

There was only Seaking Vance.