From Worthless Son-in-Law to Island King

Chapter 4：Into the Abyss

“Well, look who it is.”

Charles leaned against the doorframe with a mocking smile.

“Wasn’t this afternoon humiliating enough for you? Have you come back for another taste?”

He glanced at the bodyguards and scowled.

“You can’t even handle one useless nobody. What exactly am I paying you for?”

Joseph ignored him.

“Alice, are you all right? He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

“Hurt me?”

Alice frowned.

“Have you lost your mind?”

“Mr. Martin and I were talking when we heard all that noise outside. What do you think you’re doing?”

“The sound just now—”

Charles cut him off.

“Alice and I were sharing a private moment. I knocked over a glass.”

He smiled.

“Is that a problem?”

“That’s impossible.”

Joseph stared at Alice.

This was not the woman he knew. It could not be.

He waited for her to deny Charles’s words—to tell him that something was wrong.

But her expression remained cold.

“You should leave,” she said. “Stop interrupting us. Mr. Martin and I are discussing our future.”

Brianna’s face lit up.

“That’s wonderful, darling!”

She hurried forward, delighted by Alice’s sudden change of heart.

“Your future with Mr. Martin will be better than anything that worthless man could ever give you.”

Joseph felt something inside him break.

He had never imagined Alice would say such things.

The cold sea wind swept through the corridor, cutting into him like a thousand knives.

“What are you waiting for?”

Several more bodyguards had arrived.

Charles made a casual gesture toward Joseph.

“Throw this piece of trash into the sea.”

“I’m tired of looking at him.”

“Mr. Martin!”

Alice’s composure shattered.

“That wasn’t our agreement.”

Her face darkened.

“You said that if I agreed to your terms, you would let him go.”

“Agreement?”

Charles gave a contemptuous laugh.

“When did I ever agree to anything?”

He shook his head, almost amused.

“I have to admit, I didn’t expect this.”

“You were actually willing to sacrifice yourself for a man like him.”

His smile turned cruel.

“But now that you’ve chosen me, I may as well help you cut him out of your life for good.”

Alice’s eyes widened.

“Charles Martin, you lied to me! You bastard—”

Before she could finish, Charles seized her and dragged her back into the cabin.

Alice fought against him, but Charles was much stronger. No matter how hard she struggled, she could not break free.

“Alice!”

Joseph finally understood.

She had only pretended to accept Charles because she was trying to protect him.

“Take him down!”

“He ruined Mr. Martin’s plans!”

“Kill him!”

The bodyguards rushed Joseph all at once.

He fought back, but there were too many of them.

Fists and boots came from every direction, battering him without mercy. Before Joseph could regain his balance, something slammed into the back of his head.

White-hot pain exploded through his skull.

His knees hit the floor.

The bodyguards grabbed him by the ankles and began dragging him away.

Through his blurring vision, Joseph saw Alice struggling in the doorway while Charles held her by the throat.

It was the last thing he saw.

His eyes closed, and the world disappeared into darkness.

The jade pendant slipped from beneath his shirt.

Blood from Joseph’s wound trickled across its surface.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then a faint, otherworldly light began to glow from deep within the stone.

Boom!

A thunderous impact tore through the ship.

The entire liner shuddered violently.

Glasses, bottles, and decorations crashed from tables and shattered across the floor. Doors flew open as terrified passengers poured into the corridors.

“What was that?”

Charles stumbled against the wall, his face twisting in alarm.

“What the hell happened?”

“Mr. Martin!”

A crew member came running from the bridge, panic written all over his face.

“We hit a reef!”

“The hull’s been breached. We’re taking on water!”

“The ship is going down!”

Charles’s face went pale.

“Where are the lifeboats?”

He grabbed the man by the shoulders.

“Launch them! Now!”

“There’s no time!”

Before the crew member could say more, the ship tilted sharply to one side.

People screamed as they lost their footing. Furniture slid across the floor, smashing into walls and knocking passengers down.

“How could you let this happen?”

Charles seized the crew member by the collar.

“I don’t want to die! Do you hear me? I’m not dying here!”

Terror had stripped away every trace of his arrogance.

He was not alone.

Nearly everyone aboard had gone pale with fear.

They were wealthy and powerful, people accustomed to controlling their own lives. They had influence, status, and futures filled with comfort and privilege.

But none of it meant anything now.

Out here, in the middle of the sea, death did not care who they were.

Panic spread across the ship.

Then the storm struck.

The wind rose with terrifying force, shrieking across the deck as enormous waves battered the liner. One towering wall of water after another crashed against the hull, sending the ship lurching violently through the darkness.

People ran in every direction.

The mast snapped with a deafening crack. Windows shattered. Chairs and tables were torn from the deck and hurled into the raging sea.

“Joseph!”

Alice stumbled out of the cabin.

She no longer cared about Charles, her belongings, or anything else aboard the ship.

Forcing her way through the terrified crowd, she searched desperately for Joseph.

At last, she saw him lying unconscious in a corner.

“Joseph!”

She rushed toward him.

But before she could reach him, another massive wave slammed into the liner.

The deck pitched beneath her feet, throwing her violently to the floor.

The ship rolled onto its side.

Seawater surged across the deck, swallowing everything in its path.

And Joseph knew nothing of it.

As the liner disappeared beneath the waves, the pendant in his hand suddenly erupted with brilliant light.

The glow flared once in the darkness.

Then it vanished.

Every trace of it flowed into Joseph’s body.