"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."