Chapter 174

Chapter 174

The eastern outskirts of Silverlight City—wild winds tore through the night without mercy.

Dark waves surged meters high, slamming into the smuggling cruise ship docked at the harbor. The hull rocked violently.

They were less than three nautical miles from international waters.

On the ship's deck, another wave crashed down, drenching the woman tied to the railing.

Scarlett's hands were bound behind her back with coarse rope, lashed to the metal railing.

Her clothes had soaked through, clinging to her body. Her lips, purple from the cold, trembled uncontrollably.

Each violent lurch of the ship made her feel as though she'd be thrown into a bottomless abyss.

Yet in those clear, cold eyes of hers, there was no fear. Only mockery.

"See that? Scarlett! Open your damn eyes and look!" Ulysses stood a few feet away, clutching a loaded pistol.

This was a man who used to command the world’s boardrooms with a flick of his wrist, a titan of grace and capital. Now, he was just a desperate gambler who had bet his soul and watched it burn. His hair was a matted mess, and his eyes were wide with the frantic light of the damned.

He gestured wildly at the horizon. “Ten minutes! That’s all we need. Once we cross that line, the cops, the laws, the world—it all disappears. We’ll be ghosts.” He let out a laugh that sounded more like a sob.

“Even Thaddeus can’t play God on the high seas. I’m going to bury you in a hole so dark he’ll spend the rest of his life rotting from the inside out. He destroyed my family; I’ll destroy his heart.”

Ulysses lunged forward, grabbing Scarlett’s chin and forcing her to look at him. His skin felt like wax.

Scarlett didn't flinch. She let the rain batter her face and met his gaze with a thin, mocking smile.

“Is that the plan?” she rasped, her voice trembling but steady. “A stray dog running for the border with a hostage? Even if you make it, Ulysses, you’ll never be a titan again. You’ll be a rat in a sewer, jumping every time the wind blows. Is that the life you wanted?”

"Shut up!" The insult hit him like a physical blow. Blind with rage, Ulysses swung the pistol, slamming the heavy metal butt into her temple.

The skin split instantly. Warm, thick blood welled out, mingling with the freezing rain as it tracked down her cheek and into her eyes.

She didn't scream. She didn't even blink. She just stared at him with a silent contempt that made his skin crawl.

Just as he raised his hand to strike again, the roar of helicopter blades filled the air.

Before the mercenaries on deck could react—

Six or seven powerful searchlights shot down from above, flooding the deck in blinding brightness!

"Boss! We're surrounded!" one mercenary shouted in panic.

Ulysses jerked his head up, nearly blinded by the glare.

Four heavy-duty helicopters circled the ship like ghosts.

Below, on the water, a dozen fully armed speedboats cut through fog and waves, closing in from all sides. Every escape route—gone.

"Impossible... This can't be happening! How did Sawyer find us so fast?" Ulysses screamed, eyes bloodshot with despair.

The mercenaries on deck locked onto the helicopters overhead, tense and ready.

Then—a short, sharp scream came from the hatch leading below.

A second later, with a heavy thud, a mercenary's body—throat slashed—was thrown at Ulysses' feet.

Ulysses and his men whipped around, every gun aimed at the hatch.

The harsh white beam of the searchlight tore through the darkness.

In that beam, a tall figure emerged from the shadows, radiating lethal intent.

"Thaddeus?" Seeing the man's face, Ulysses' voice cracked with terror.

He stared in disbelief. "How are you here? You were supposed to be dying in a hospital!"

"Kill him! Kill him now!" Ulysses shrieked at his mercenaries.

Gunfire erupted across the deck.

"Big mistake." Thaddeus parted his lips and spoke those icy words.

He drew his sidearm and moved through the hail of bullets like a phantom.

One shot. One mercenary's head exploded.

He slid beneath a spray of gunfire, pulled the tactical knife strapped to his thigh, and charged into the mercenaries' line like a furious panther.

This was brutal. Primal. Hand-to-hand slaughter.

The blade plunged into a mercenary's throat. Blood sprayed across Thaddeus' cold, hard face.

Without pause, he yanked the knife free, spun, and delivered a savage kick that snapped another man's neck.

The crack of bone cut through the wind and rain.

But he was a man who'd just crawled out of an operating room.

The violent movements tore at wounds that had barely begun to heal.

Thaddeus let out a muffled groan. Beneath his black coat, blood slowly soaked through the fabric.

"Thaddeus!" Scarlett, still bound to the railing, screamed. Her voice ripped through the storm. "Stop it… Are you insane? You'll die!"

"Don't be afraid… Scarlett. I'm here." Thaddeus, breathing hard, threw another mercenary's corpse into the sea.

Through the torrential rain, he looked at Scarlett tied to the railing.

The moment his eyes found hers, they filled with heartbreaking tenderness.

He tossed aside his empty pistol, gripping the blood-slicked knife.

Every step was agony—like walking on blades—but he stood like an unbreakable tower, stepping over corpses and blood as he advanced on Ulysses.

"You… don't come any closer!" Ulysses' nerve finally shattered at the sight of the demon before him.

"Stop right there, Thaddeus! One more step and I'll blow her brains out!" Ulysses completely lost it. He rushed to the railing and wrapped his arm around Scarlett's neck in a chokehold.

Scarlett gasped, unable to breathe. Her head tilted back involuntarily.

Ulysses dragged Scarlett backward to the very edge of the ship's railing.

One more step, and they'd both plunge into the black ocean below.

"Back off!" Ulysses hid behind Scarlett, using her as a human shield. He screamed at the helicopters overhead and at Thaddeus. "Tell the helicopters to pull back! Turn off the lights!"

Thaddeus looked at Scarlett—her face turning blue from lack of oxygen. The murderous rage in his eyes froze. In its place came raw panic. And surrender.

"Sawyer, pull the helicopters back." Thaddeus pressed his earpiece, voice hoarse.

Soon, the helicopters rose higher. The blinding searchlights went dark.

On the deck, only the ship's dim emergency lights remained.

"Drop the knife!" Ulysses, still hiding behind Scarlett, screamed louder.

"Don't listen to him! Thaddeus, just go!" Scarlett thrashed wildly, tears flooding her eyes. Watching Thaddeus' body sway, barely standing, felt like her heart was being torn apart.

"Shut up!" Ulysses slammed the pistol into Scarlett's shoulder. He pressed the barrel hard against her head again.

"Are you going to drop it or not? I'm counting to three!"

"Three!"

Thaddeus didn't hesitate. He opened his hand. The knife clattered onto the deck.

Ulysses let out a high, manic giggle. He had won. He hadn't just beaten Thaddeus; he had broken him. But he wanted more. He wanted the legend of Thaddeus to die in the dirt.

“You’re the big man, aren't you?” Ulysses sneered, his eyes dancing with malice. “The invincible Thaddeus. Let’s see how you look from down there. On your knees. Now!”

Ulysses jabbed the gun barrel into Scarlett's temple, his eyes venomous. "Now, get on your knees!"

Scarlett’s heart shattered. “No,” she whispered, shaking her head frantically. “Thaddeus, don’t you dare. Please, don’t do this for me.”

"As long as you let her go." Thaddeus' voice cut calmly through the storm.

He looked at Scarlett, her face soaked in tears. His eyes held nothing but infinite devotion. "I'll kneel."

While Ulysses laughed like a madman, while Scarlett screamed and sobbed—

Thaddeus, dragging his broken body, bent his knees and knelt before Ulysses.