Chapter 8
“Let it go,” Charis said suddenly, her voice trembling as she wiped away her tears and lifted her head from Hurst’s chest. “At least you got here in time. I’m fine, really–I wasn’t hurt.”
She glanced nervously at Nettie in her wheelchair, then shrank back into Hurst’s arms like a frightened deer. “But today really scared me. My sister did something so out of line… She needs to be punished, or what if she does something like this again?“%
Calvin’s brow was furrowed, and Hurst’s fingers absentmindedly traced the armrest of Nettie’s wheelchair.
“I heard…” Charis’s voice grew softer, but every word was crystal clear. “I heard Nettle has a deep fear of the ocean. And we do have that yacht… Why don’t we leave her out on the water for three days? Just to teach her a lesson.”
Hurst instinctively looked at Nettie.l
“Isn’t that a bit… Calvin started, but Charia’s tears flowed anew, cutting him off.
“I knew it!” she sobbed, taking two steps back. “She’s always the one you care about most!”
She turned to run. “Fine! I’ll stay out of it!“}]
“Charis Rogers!” Calvin caught her arm, then hesitated, glancing at Hurst. “It’s just three days. She’ll be fine, right?”
Hurst looked at Nettie’s bloodless face. After a long pause, he nodded.
Out on the yacht’s deck, the salty wind whipped around them.
Calvin personally secured Nettie’s wheelchair inside the cabin and tucked a blanket over her lap.8
“We’ll be back for you in three days.”
He knelt down, trying to meet Nettie’s eyes, but she stared straight past him, lost in the distant horizon.
Hurst dropped to one knee and took her icy hand. “Nettie, just hang in there, okay? It’s only three days. I’ll come get you myself. And if you stay inside, you won’t even have to look at the ocean. Honestly, this is a pretty light punishment.”
“You won’t be coming back for me,” Nettie said suddenly, her voice as calm as if she were commenting on the weather, “Charis won’t let me leave this yacht alive.”
“Don’t say things like that!” Calvin shot to his feet.
Hurst squeezed her hand. “Nettie, don’t talk like that…
When they all refused to believe her, Nettle simply turned away. “Believe what you want.”
Hurst’s expression froze.
“Let’s go,” Calvin muttered, tugging at his sleeve. “Give her some spacę.”
As the two of them walked down the gangway, Nettie’s phone began to vibrate.
-She looked at the unknown number on the screen and pressed accept.
“Miss Beaumont, we’ve arrived, came a calm, professional voice. “Please send your current coordinates.T
Nettie quietly recited the yacht’s location, her voice barely audible.
Then she lifted her gaze to the endless blue.!
Hurst,
Calvin,8
Goodbye.
Not far away, Hurst and Calvin flanked Charis as
walked toward the dock.
For some reason, Nettie’s final look haunted them with a vague, gnawing unease.
They exchanged a glance, about to say something, when a deafening explosion split the air behind them. BANG
Both men froze, terror–stricken, and whipped around.”
And then they saw it a sight that would haunt their nightmares for the rest of their lives.
Out at sea, the yacht carrying Nettie erupted in a tremendous blast, the force splintering it into a thousand pieces.8
All that remained was a sea of blood and wreckage.
