During summer break, I took my son, Luke Thorne, diving at our private beach.

Ralph Foster, a hotshot TV actor, suddenly showed up with a whole entourage and barged in.

"This is a private beach that Gloria personally secured for me to entertain VIPs. You two nobodies had better get lost right now!"

He threw his weight around and even dragged my wife, Gloria Stokes, out as a threat.

When he learned who I was, he went a step further and mocked me as a kept man living off my wife.

I actually laughed.

I was the head of the Thornes, the most powerful family in Frenkinston. Since when did I become some freeloading, useless husband?

On top of that, Gloria's film studio and every bit of her backing came from me.

But when Gloria arrived, she sided with Ralph and actually tried to force Luke to put on a show for some sleazy investors.

Sneering, I made a call that only the head of the Thornes had the authority to make.

"Shark Vanguard, clear Crescent Bay. Now."

"Luke, look what I got you!"

I was holding an ice-cold coconut water. When I turned around, I saw my seven-year-old son cornered in knee-deep water, his face pale with fear.

In front of him stood a blond guy in a loud floral shirt, with several bulky bodyguards behind him.

The blond jerk pointed at Luke, annoyed. "Where did you come from? Get lost!"

A tall, skinny lackey chimed in, barking along, "This part of Crescent Bay is booked by Mr. Ralph Foster for a party today. If you know what's good for you, scram. Don't ruin the place!"

Ralph Foster?

The name clicked immediately. He was the pretty boy my wife, Gloria Stokes, and her company had been heavily promoting lately.

He had blown up after a web series and apparently let it go straight to his head.

My brow tightened, irritation flaring. I strode over and pulled my son, Luke Thorne, behind me.

"This is my private beach. You're the ones who should be leaving."

I forced my anger down.

But some people just love pushing their luck.

"Your private beach?"

Ralph looked me up and down with open contempt. His eyes lingered on my slightly faded T-shirt and plain swim shorts, and his grin grew wider.

I narrowed my eyes and stepped forward.

"Do you have any idea who I am?"

My presence made him flinch for a second.

Then, the crony next to Ralph leaned in and whispered something. Whatever fear he had instantly turned into smug arrogance.

"I see. So you're Clive, the useless husband Ms. Stokes keeps at home, huh?"

Laughter burst out from his bodyguards and hangers-on.

"What, Ms. Stokes didn't tell you I'm using this place today to host VIPs?"

Ralph deliberately raised his voice.

"Then again, someone like you probably isn't worth notifying. Listen carefully! I'm entertaining important guests here today. You and your kid had better get out now, or I won't be so polite."

His expression made my stomach churn.

I swallowed my anger and glanced past him at the well-dressed group approaching. Those had to be his so-called guests.

A few men and women were already pointing and watching with interest.

One middle-aged man with a beer belly and a thick gold chain stared at Luke's small head peeking out from behind me with a sickening look.

Ralph caught that immediately and rushed over, all smiles.

"Mr. Burgess, got your eye on that kid?"

He pointed back at Luke and looked at me with blatant provocation.

"How about we let him put on a little show for us to liven things up? If he makes Mr. Burgess happy, I'll have Ms. Stokes reward you properly tonight!"

"You animal!" I roared.

I lunged forward to punch Ralph, but two burly men beside me locked me down hard.

The next second, Ralph flicked a look at the two bodyguards closest to Luke.

They got the message immediately and started closing in, step by step, blocking Luke from getting out of the water.

Luke had never seen anything like this. His little face went white as paper as he clutched my pant leg.

His small body shook as he cried through tears, "Dad! Help me! I don't want to put on a show!"

Anger exploded in my chest. "Let my son go. Now!"

Smack!

My face burned. Ralph rubbed his wrist and smiled in pure contempt.

"You should be worrying about yourself."

My vision went red as I watched Luke get shoved back into the water by the guards.

He couldn't keep his footing. He choked on several mouthfuls of seawater and started coughing hard.

My eyes burned as I clenched my fists. "I'll say it one last time. Let my son come up, or you'll be sorry!"

Seeing my anger only made Ralph more smug.

"I'll be sorry? What are you gonna do to me? You're just a useless guy living off your wife. You think you can threaten me?"

He reached out and patted my face.

"Let me be clear. If he doesn't make Mr. Burgess happy today, he's not coming out of that water. If he drowns, Ms. Stokes…I mean, Gloria won't shed a single tear for your stupid kid. She's busy making sure I keep Mr. Burgess and those cash cows satisfied."

I glared at him. "If Gloria finds out what you're doing to Luke, she'll make you pay for it!"

But my words did nothing. Ralph just laughed harder.

"That's hilarious. Gloria told me that an old man like you can't satisfy her. She wants me. Worst case, I'll just get her pregnant with my kid!"

I didn't waste another word on these unhinged animals.

Every extra second of talking was an insult to myself.

I twisted free from the guards holding me, and dove straight into the water. The icy sea wrapped around me, but it couldn't cool the rage burning inside.

I would make Ralph pay!

I swam to Luke as fast as I could and hauled him out of the cold water, pulling him tight against my chest.

His face was flushed red as he coughed nonstop.

Sobbing, he wrapped his arms around my neck. "Dad… Cough… I'm scared…"

I gently patted his back and shielded him from the cold sea breeze with my body.

Seeing his fun ruined, Ralph flew into a rage.

"Damn it! Who told you to pull him out? You useless trash. You ruined Mr. Burgess's mood. You ready to pay for that? I'll call Gloria right now and have both of you kicked out for good!" he shouted.

He pulled out his phone and pretended to dial.

Before he could finish, the roar of a powerful engine cut through the air. A white speedboat tore toward Crescent Bay and came to a smooth stop near the shore.

Gloria stepped off in a flowing beach dress, sunglasses on, surrounded by assistants and bodyguards.

The moment she appeared, every eye on the beach turned toward her.

The instant Ralph saw her, his face shifted into wounded misery, eyes shining with fake tears.

He jogged over dramatically and threw himself at her side.

Grabbing her arm, he spoke in a syrupy voice that made my skin crawl.

"Gloria! You're finally here! Look, your man showed up out of nowhere with his kid and insisted this place belongs to him!"

His ability to twist the truth was impressive.

"He even offended Mr. Burgess and the other VIPs. I tried to talk things out, and he actually tried to hit me!"

He pointed at a nonexistent bruise on his face, acting like a victim as he accused me.

Gloria took off her sunglasses, impatience written all over her face.

She first glanced at Darell Burgess and the others behind Ralph, clearly annoyed.

Only then did she casually sweep her gaze over Luke and me, both of us soaked and disheveled.

"Gloria!"

"Mom…"

Luke and I spoke at the same time.

She frowned, her tone sharp and blaming from the start.

"What are you two doing here? Who told you to come to Crescent Bay? Don't you know I reserved this place today to host important guests? Take the kid and leave. Stop embarrassing yourselves."

Tears welled up in Luke's eyes. The woman in front of him felt like a stranger.

I stood there, stunned. "Gloria, this is my private beach. How can you…"

"That's enough," she cut me off, disgust flashing across her face as she looked at Luke and me.

When she turned to Darell and the others, her expression softened into an apologetic smile.

"Mr. Burgess, Mr. Higgins, I'm so sorry. These two ignorant lowlifes ruined everyone's mood. I'll have them removed right away."

I stared at her in disbelief.

Luke shrank into my arms, trembling. "Dad… Why did Mom call us that? Does she hate us?"

My brows tightened.

To protect her image in front of these guests and her lover, she pushed her own husband and child into the dirt.

A bone-deep chill surged straight to my head.

In that moment, the past ten years of everything I had done for her felt like a massive joke.

And it was my fault, too. After we got married, I gave her whatever she wanted. I even stayed home to raise our child so she could focus on her career.

I let her believe she could step all over me.

She forgot one thing: I still controlled the Thornes, the shadow power that ran Frenkinston.

I laughed.

"Gloria."

I said her name slowly, each syllable calm to the point of being frightening.

"Are you really saying that you don't know me? That you don't recognize the child you carried for nine months and gave birth to?"

I stared straight at her.

Her body stiffened, panic flickering briefly in her eyes. But she quickly looked away, unable to meet my gaze.

Seeing that Gloria didn't contradict him and instead scolded us, Ralph became even more convinced she was on his side.

He puffed up and shouted smugly from the side.

"You heard her, didn't you? Now get lost already, you loser! If you don't leave now, I'll have security toss you and your kid straight into the ocean to feed the sharks!"

I didn't move. I just held Luke and kept my eyes on Gloria, who still refused to look at me.

"Gloria, I'll give you one more chance. Are you going to explain our relationship to them or not?"

After seven years of marriage, those words were already me giving her an out.

Gloria stayed frozen, her back still turned to Luke and me.

Ralph grew even more arrogant and started barking orders at the bodyguards.

"What are you standing around for? Drag these two eyesores out of here! Do it quickly. Don't delay our party or ruin Mr. Burgess's fun!"

His lackeys chimed in noisily as well.

I looked coldly at Ralph as he jumped around, full of himself.

Then, I took one last deep look at Gloria standing silently in the distance.

Fine.

Gloria had made her choice.

I raised my wrist, revealing a custom communication watch engraved with the Thorne family crest, issued only to core members of the Thornes.

Calmly, I pressed a speed dial I knew by heart.

The call connected almost instantly. A steady, authoritative voice came through.

"Mr. Thorne?"

"Shark Vanguard," I said, my tone flat and emotionless, "clear Crescent Bay. Now."