Later, when the shipwreck was investigated, it was discovered that someone had deliberately steered the vessel straight into the reefs.
“A misfortune upon our family,” my father said, his face showing shame.
“I never thought the prophecy would come true. Isabella, just for fun, took a shipload of people to crash into the rocks and die.”
“The Princess Mary cost a fortune to build. We had no choice but to repair her and keep using her. Besides, we’d already hired people to perform rites for the dead back then.”
“Master, surely this has nothing to do with that ghost?”
Master Gregory turned his gaze toward the underworld.
The next moment, blood tears streamed from his eyes, as though a vengeful spirit had possessed him.
“If it were just a sinking, there wouldn’t be such deep resentment, nor would it target Miss Moore and the three bridesmaids!”
“Victor Moore, you still won’t tell the truth?”
My father lowered his head.
“I did lie. It was disgraceful, so our whole family kept silent.”
“That year, Evelyn and her three closest friends were also on board. If Isabella hadn’t ordered them to throw her into the sea as a joke, she might never have survived.”
“Sisters turning on each other… what a sin.”
My parents even spoke these words with a tinge of regret.
“If we’d known earlier, we should have driven her out of the Moore family…”
“To be honest, Evelyn has suffered nightmares all these years, and even her blessed fertility was destroyed by the freezing seawater.”
“Looking back now, it’s all her sister’s fault! She must be jealous of Evelyn in the afterlife.”
At those words, Adrian Lancaster’s entire aura dropped to a freezing chill.
“Well… well.”
“If I can’t slay the evil spirit and avenge Evelyn, I swear I am no man!”
He held my sister’s hand tenderly.
“With me here, I won’t let you suffer even the slightest grievance.”
But Master Gregory cut in coldly.
“No.”
At some point, he had already led everyone to the bottom of the ship.
The sight before them made every face go pale.
A skeleton lay on the ground, stark and white.
Its bones were covered with bite marks and fractures, clear signs of severe torment before death.
“This is the body with the greatest resentment!”
Master Gregory turned to my parents.
“Do you recognize it?”
“You must tell the truth. A ghost’s true name is its life-gate—without it, there’s no way to catch them.”
My parents clenched their fists, their eyes filled with struggle.
Just then, the scent of blood from the lounge drifted in, breaking their hesitation.
My mother sighed. “For the Moore family’s reputation, we couldn’t dare speak.”
“This skeleton is Isabella’s. She ran away with several crew members, and we only found out she had died after the ship was salvaged. The coroner’s report said… she willingly had relations with more than ten men before…”
She trailed off, too ashamed to continue.
My father snorted. “The Moore family has always taught our children to be discreet and self-respecting—how did we end up with such a disgrace?”
But Master Gregory still shook his head.
“That’s not her. This ghost is definitely not Isabella Moore. Who is she really?”
My father turned away in silence.
My mother wept, her eyes filled with both pain and helplessness.
Adrian Lancaster helped my weary father to his feet and said gravely, “Do you have a reason you can’t speak, Father-in-law? Evelyn and I have been married for ten years—no matter what happens, I’ll never leave her.”
My father was deeply moved.
“With those words, I can rest assured handing Evelyn to you.”
“In truth, the one who died back then wasn’t Isabella, but her younger sister, Evelyn Moore.”
His thoughts drifted back to ten years ago.
“On the eve of her wedding, Evelyn suddenly fell seriously ill and was bedridden. After discussion, we decided to have Isabella disguise herself as Evelyn to marry in her place, planning to swap them back later.”
“But we never imagined Evelyn would be assaulted by a group of crew members and then caught in the shipwreck. Afraid the Lancaster family would reject the marriage, we kept it a secret.”
