Chapter 584

Hannah's chest constricted, every muscle tightening as she strained to decipher the fragments of Brixton and Vulture's hushed exchange.

Brixton's stare hardened into a blade of ice. All of it stemmed from Alfredo-because of him, Kayce's vigilance faltered, and the ambush struck. His words landed like a verdict, confirming Vulture's suspicion."It seems to be the case. Kayce let his guard fall because of Alfredo. That bumbling display was never real-it was a mask, a performance meant to deceive." Then, his tone deepened, expression carved in stone.′′A cruelly clever design."

Vulture spat into the dirt, his fury venomous. "Kayce was blind! To be killed by the one he trusted the most...What a fucking pathetic way to go."

Brixton stood in silence, watching Kayce's ashes being collected into an urn, something unreadable flashing in his eyes like a ripple through steel. At last, his voice emerged, frigid with command. "Forget about preserving Kayce's ashes. Let the sea be his resting place. As for the others' ashes, their families can mourn them."

Vulture froze, startled at the pitiless dismissal of Kayce, who had stood beside Brixton for countless years.Yet,questioning was unthinkable. He swallowed his shock, convincing himself Brixton's cruelty burned only from rage at seeing Kayce's trust twisted into betrayal. With a quick bow, he murmured, "Understood."

Expression blank, Vulture cast Kayce's ashes intothe sea, the gray dust vanishing into endless water.

Hannah lingered at the edge, sorrow mingling with bitter irony as the sight pressed against her heart. Kayce,who had lived a life filled with misdeeds, had died under Alfredo's hand-the very one he tried so desperately to shield. Even in death, no rest found him, claimed instead by the merciless sea. Perhaps it was punishment long overdue.

Brixton lingered nearby, unmoving, silence sealing away his emotions.

Hannah shrank into herself, breath shallow, trying to blend into the shadows. Time dragged before Brixton finally turned toward Hannah, his voice cutting through the stillness."I expected you to question why I treated Kayce this way."

Hannah lowered her eyes. "Whatever decisions you make are guided by reasons I have no right to demand.Nor do I care to."

Brixton let out a faint sound, almost a laugh edged with scorn. "Kayce had no kin, no blood ties. The sea is his only home. Better to return him to its embrace than bury him in foreign soil where he doesn't belong."

Although Hannah rejected the reasoning in her mind, she conceded outwardly. "It seems you've considered it carefully."

He dropped the subject.

The silence that followed grew heavy, awkward, and unbroken.

Then, suddenly, Brixton shifted the current of conversation. "Speaking of the sea-you're remarkable. No one else has survived being cast into its depths and returned alive."

His eyes locked on her, the question he had restrained until now rising to the surface.

Hannah's pulse spiked, but she quickly schooled her face into lingering fear. She recited the tale she had polished in advance. "It must have been nothing but luck. I didn't want to die, so l clung to a driftwood plank for a full day and night, screaming until my throat bled before finally attracting a passing fishing boat.Without it, I'd be a corpse."

Brixton listened with that same chilling stillness. "If fate dragged you back from death, why return here?" He closed the distance, his presence smothering. "What? Can't bear to leave me?"

His words dripped mockery, suspicion laced into every syllable.

Hannah forced composure, raising her gaze to meet his. "I was afraid Vincent wouldn't be able to find me.I was penniless, trapped by a language I couldn't understand. I had nowhere to go. Here, at least, I might cling to a thread of hope, a chance of reaching home."

She paused, as if carefully weighing the situation. "And I bet that Vincent holds something you desire,that you'd allow me to return to him for it. This place is the only link I have to him."

In her mind, it was flawless: a tale of necessity and calculation, stripping away any hint of attachment,painting her return as pure survival.

But Brixton's brow darkened, his gaze sinking deeper, unreadable and sharp. He shook his head slowly, his tone low and threatening. "Hannah, this is your final chance. Speak. Why did you really come back?"

Her heart dropped like a stone. He still didn't believe her? Suppressing her panic, she raised her voice."I told you the truth already! If you don't believe me, throw me into the sea again and see if another miracle saves me!"

Words tumbled from her lips, layering measured desperation with detail. "Yes, I thought of running, of finding Vincent myself. But..."

Her expression twisted with calculated anger and humiliation."The fisherman who saved me tried to trap me. To him, I was nothing but a destitute stray woman, and he sought to chain me to his witless son through marriage! He locked me away, tried to force me, until I escaped. I had no choice but to come back here. At least here, no one demands I wed a fool."

Her breathing quickened as she finished, eyes fixed on Brixton to gauge the impact.

Yet, his silence remained, expression carved into unreadable stone, leaving her adrift in uncertainty,unable to discern if he believed a single word.