From Worthless Son-in-Law to Island King

Chapter 3: Charles’s Scheme

Joseph’s cabin was barely larger than a storage closet.

It took several showers to wash the stench of urine from his skin. His clothes were beyond saving, so he threw them straight into the trash.

One day, he would make Charles pay for what he had done.

By nightfall, the crowds on the deck had thinned, and the ship had gradually fallen quiet.

But in a dimly lit corridor not far from Joseph’s cabin, something sinister was already taking shape.

Joseph had eaten nothing all day, and the constant rocking of the ship had only worsened his seasickness. His head throbbed so badly that it felt ready to split open.

When he stepped outside, however, he stopped dead.

A jade pendant hung from the door handle, glowing faintly beneath the corridor lights.

He recognized it immediately.

It was the pendant he had given Alice when she fell gravely ill as a child.

Joseph had carried it for as long as he could remember. Back then, with nothing else to offer her, he had placed it in her hands and told her it would keep her safe.

Not long afterward, her illness—one that countless renowned doctors had been unable to cure—mysteriously disappeared.

And now she had returned the pendant.

Joseph took it down and ran his thumb over its smooth surface.

Alice had seen everything that happened earlier.

A bitter thought entered his mind.

Perhaps Charles had been right. The world of wealth and power had never been a place for someone like him.

Maybe Alice had brought him aboard for one reason only—to end their marriage.

Joseph closed his fingers around the pendant, then slipped it around his neck.

Just then, voices drifted from farther down the corridor.

“Mr. Martin, don’t you think this is going too far?”

“What if Alice gets angry? You know her temper. She may never forgive you.”

Joseph frowned.

He knew that voice.

It belonged to his mother-in-law, Brianna Rivera.

What was she doing here at this hour?

And why was she talking to Charles?

Joseph quietly followed the sound and stopped near the corner of the corridor, keeping himself hidden in the shadows.

“If anything goes wrong,” Brianna continued, “everything we’ve done will have been for nothing.”

“Aunt Brianna, you worry too much.”

Charles let out a soft laugh.

“Once it’s done, do you really think Alice will still be able to refuse me?”

“The only reason she hasn’t agreed to marry me is because of that worthless husband of hers.”

“But—”

“No more excuses.”

Through the gap around the corner, Joseph saw Charles place a hand on Brianna’s shoulder.

“Do you really want to watch Alice waste the best years of her life on that loser?”

“If she marries me, neither of you will ever have to worry about money again.”

Charles’s smile widened.

“Once I make her mine tonight, it won’t matter whether she wants to marry me. And when it’s over, this yacht is yours.”

Brianna fell silent.

Those few words told Joseph everything.

Alice’s consent meant nothing to Charles.

Out here, far from shore and surrounded by people loyal to him, Charles believed he could do whatever he wanted. If Alice refused him, he would simply take her by force.

Alice is in danger.

The thought drowned out everything else.

Joseph turned toward her cabin. He wanted to rush over, pound on the door, and tell her what he had heard.

But with his hand already raised, he hesitated.

Would she believe him?

Or did Alice also believe that Charles was the man she should be with?

“Guard the door,” Charles ordered. “No one gets near this room unless I say so.”

Footsteps approached.

Joseph quickly retreated deeper into the shadows.

Charles appeared with several men. He exchanged a look with Brianna, who stepped forward and knocked on Alice’s door.

“Alice, it’s me.”

“Open the door. I need to talk to you.”

A moment later, the door opened.

Before Alice could react, Charles lunged forward and clamped a hand over her mouth. He hauled her into the cabin and slammed the door behind them.

Relief spread across Brianna’s face.

Once tonight was over, she would finally have everything she wanted—a life of wealth, luxury, and a connection to the Martin family.

To her, Alice’s wishes were secondary.

Her daughter might resent her now, but Brianna was convinced that Alice would thank her one day. Charles was richer, more powerful, and more accomplished than Joseph could ever hope to be.

In Brianna’s eyes, Joseph was not even worthy of polishing Charles’s shoes.

Hidden in the darkness, Joseph felt as if an invisible hand had closed around his heart.

Memories flooded back to him.

Whenever Brianna humiliated him at home, Alice had been the one who defended him.

Whenever others mocked or bullied him, she had been the only one willing to stand by his side.

And now she was trapped in that room.

“Mr. Martin’s in for one hell of a night,” one of the bodyguards muttered.

The other gave a low chuckle.

“Miss Jones has the face and the body. A woman like that could drive any man crazy.”

“She should consider herself lucky. Do you know how many women would kill for the chance to get into Mr. Martin’s bed?”

“Will the two of you shut up?”

Brianna shot them a furious look.

The bodyguards fell silent, but the contempt in their eyes remained.

Even they looked down on a mother willing to hand over her own daughter.

“Alice…”

Each word cut deeper into Joseph’s heart.

He could almost picture her struggling on the other side of the door.

“Fuck this.”

He could not stand there another second.

Joseph burst from the shadows and drove his fist into the nearest bodyguard’s face.

The man never saw it coming.

There was a sickening crack. Blood and broken teeth sprayed across the floor as he collapsed.

“What are you doing here?”

Brianna stared at Joseph as if she had seen a ghost.

“You sold out your own daughter!”

Joseph advanced on her, his eyes burning with rage.

“You have no right to call yourself her mother.”

“I’m doing this for Alice!”

Brianna backed away, guilt flickering across her face.

“Marrying Mr. Martin is the best thing that could ever happen to her. It’s certainly better than wasting her life with a pathetic failure like you!”

“For Alice?”

Joseph gave a bitter laugh.

“You’re doing this for yourself.”

Brianna’s face went pale.

“What are you all standing there for? Get him!”

She turned on the remaining bodyguards.

“If he interrupts Mr. Martin, you’ll all be thrown overboard and fed to the fish!”

The order was hardly necessary.

The men were already closing in on Joseph.

Crash!

Something shattered inside Alice’s cabin.

Joseph’s heart lurched.

Ignoring the bodyguards behind him, he charged toward the door.

Nothing mattered now except getting Alice out.

But just as he reached it, the door opened from within.

Charles stood there with Alice at his side.

Joseph stopped dead.

Alice’s clothes were perfectly intact. There were no signs of a struggle and no indication that she had been harmed.

But the look she gave Joseph was cold—almost disgusted.