“Today, everyone will be sacrificed to the formation,” Master Gregory declared.
“And the first will be Isabella Moore! The rest of you had better pray for yourselves. The resentment here is too strong—I can’t help you!”
As his words fell, Isabella let out a rasping, choking sound.
A thin red line appeared around her neck, tightening with each passing moment.
Thinking of her three friends who’d been beheaded, she scrambled forward on her hands and knees, throwing herself at Master Gregory’s feet.
“Master, please save me!”
“I can’t breathe—next, she’s going to strangle me to death!”
My parents tried to remain calm. “As long as you’re willing to save her, we can give you half the Moore family’s assets for free!”
Master Gregory sighed. “Forget it. We’re in international waters now, and I can’t leave. The only solution is to lure Evelyn Moore out and set a trap. But who has the courage to do that?”
“I do.”
Adrian Lancaster, having arranged for a doctor to treat my sister, stepped forward.
His tall figure radiated a sense of security.
“No matter whether you are Evelyn or Isabella, you are the woman I, Adrian Lancaster, have loved with my life! If someone wants to harm you, I’ll make sure she never returns!”
“The vengeful spirit Evelyn Moore only bears resentment because she was jealous of my marrying my sister. So before dawn today, I’ll guard Isabella—she’s bound to show up for revenge!”
My parents exchanged a glance and finally relaxed.
My sister, as if already saved, kissed him in gratitude.
“Adrian, I’m so glad I still have you. You must protect me for the rest of my life.”
His fingers brushed over the bruises on her neck, his gaze full of pity.
“Don’t be afraid. You’ve suffered enough. From here on, you have me.”
Through that more mature, handsome face, I could still faintly see the young man from ten years ago—
When floodwaters raged, he used every ounce of strength to lift me above the waves, leaving himself with a chronic cough.
When enemies came for revenge, he shielded me from a fatal blow, his left hand never able to hold a pen again.
When flames roared, he covered me with his back, leaving a terrible scar.
But ten years had passed. He no longer belonged to me.
He wouldn’t even step around my bones without disgust—he would rather see me destroyed completely.
Master Gregory drew formation lines in every guest room.
Adrian never left my sister’s side.
When she was too afraid to sleep, he gently patted her and the babies in her belly, singing her a lullaby.
In the past, I had begged him to sing to me a few times, but he had always dodged the request.
I once thought he was just shy—now I knew he simply never wanted to sing for me.
At four in the morning, with dawn approaching, my sister finally drifted off to sleep.
Only then did he quietly tuck her in.
“Don’t worry, Evelyn—I’ll protect you forever.”
“I’ll help you change your fate.”
Everyone said Adrian was certain to succeed this time.
Once he got rid of me, he would hold the eleventh, twelfth, and more weddings with my sister, declaring their love to the world.
But they didn’t know—
Adrian had been waiting for this day for ten years.
At dawn, the blood-red light blazed.
Everyone was on high alert, ready to capture the vengeful spirit.
All the bones had been moved outside, bathed in the crimson sunlight, exuding an ominous aura.
Suddenly, a scream unlike any human voice came from the most luxurious room.
My parents, panicked, rushed inside, but the sight made them instinctively take several steps back.
“Mr. Lancaster, what are you doing? What have you done?!”
The stench of blood filled the air.
The expensive hardwood floor was soaked with dark, filthy blood, strewn with chunks of flesh.
My sister’s limbs, covered in knife wounds, were bound, and she hung suspended outside the window.
This was the deep sea—sharks, drawn by the scent of blood, had been circling for some time.
