Chapter 227

Chapter 227

"Evan..." Ethan's eyes were sharp, glaring at him fiercely.

"I know you called the police, but it's useless." Evan raised his hand, pointing toward the sea. "This ship is about to leave territorial waters. I lured you here not to let you save them, but to send you all to hell together."

"Of course, if you accept my demands, I can spare them."

At that moment, a figure emerged from the cabin, carrying a cold metal tray that held a syringe and a vial of injection fluid.

Ethan reacted instantly, hurling Emily toward the deck. She hit the floor hard, her momentum carrying her until her arm collided violently with the railing, the impact drawing a sharp pain.

Evan picked up the vial and, right in front of Ethan, flicked open the cap, drew the liquid into the syringe, expelled the remaining air—his movements practiced and smooth.

"Will you inject it yourself, or should I do it for you?"

Ethan knew clearly that if Evan wanted him gone, he would show no mercy.

"I'll inject it. You let Christina and Henry go."

"Deal." Evan agreed readily. "They pose no threat to you. I keep my word."

Ethan picked up the syringe. "Why?" he demanded, the word barely more than a whisper. "I thought I treated you well. After you disappeared, I spent every waking moment searching for you. I took care of Nolan for you; I arranged your entire life to make sure you were safe. Why are you doing this to me?"

"Enough!" Evan's face showed impatience. "You didn't suffer what I suffered. You have no right to judge me from your moral high ground. I'm giving you two choices: either you die, or Christina and Henry die with you."

The sea wind howled, and cold seawater splashed onto the deck, freezing everyone to the bone.

Ethan watched Henry, whose cries were slowly dying out as he hung suspended in mid-air. Steeling himself against the sight, Ethan tightened his grip on the syringe, his knuckles turning white.

"Don't, Ethan!" Christina cried out hoarsely, but she was powerless to stop him.

Just as Ethan was about to inject himself, he suddenly made his move, kicking away the bodyguard beside Evan. The tray clattered onto the deck with a crisp sound.

He seized the opportunity to grab Evan, pressing the needle against his neck and jabbing it in hard.

Evan didn't flinch; he merely let out a low, confident grunt.
A heartbeat later, the cold barrel of a gun pressed firmly against the back of Ethan’s head, causing his entire body to seize with tension.

"Ethan, I told you not to play tricks with me." Evan sneered. "If you dare touch me, they'll die with you."

In the distance over the sea, a faint point of light flashed by. Ethan's eyes flickered—he knew rescue had arrived.

Evan noticed his reaction and immediately counterattacked, gripping his arm.

Ethan moved swiftly, dodging to the side and kicking away the person with the gun behind him.

A deafening gunshot shattered the air. The bullet streaked toward Christina and Henry, severing the rope in a single, violent flash. Henry’s support gave way instantly, and he plummeted toward the pitch-black sea below.

"Henry—" Ethan roared, lunging toward the railing, watching helplessly as his son fell.

Evan took the opportunity to press the gun against the back of his head, his voice vicious: "Ethan, you have no choice. The Carter Family abandoned me before. From now on, between the two of us, only one can survive."

Ethan leaned against the railing, watching Henry fall from above. Fortunately, at the last moment, another rope caught him, and Henry hung suspended above the sea surface as cold waves continuously battered his body.

The cargo ship surged ahead, ruthlessly dragging Henry through the wake. He was at the edge of his endurance, his body limp and his cries silenced by exhaustion and the freezing water.

"See that? That's what you get for stalling." Evan's gun pressed firmly against the back of his head. "You're waiting for rescue? It's useless. In five minutes, this ship will be out of territorial waters. Look at your son—he's basically as good as fallen already. He might already be dead, and even if he's still alive, he might get swallowed by sharks."

"And Christina—should I shoot and break her two ropes, or let her be dragged by the waves like Henry?" Evan's smile was cruel.

"Don't!" Ethan roared, his voice cracking as he finally broke. "I'll do it. Just tell me—what do you want from me to pull Henry up?"

"I told you from the start," Evan spat, his voice cold and jagged. "I want you dead—and I want you to be the one who chooses to end it."

On the sea surface, Henry suddenly coughed a few times, clearly still alive.

Christina looked at her son, making hoarse sounds from her throat, her eyes full of despair. The way she looked at Ethan cut him like a knife.

"Fine, I agree." Ethan gritted his teeth. "As long as you let Christina and Henry go, I'll do whatever you want. The grudge between us has nothing to do with them. Tell me—should I jump, or use some other method? I'll do it."

Evan watched him surrender and laughed wildly: "Smart choice."

Evan signaled a subordinate, who brought out a second tray holding another syringe and medicine. "The last one was just an anti-inflammatory—a test," Evan said, his eyes gleaming. "But this? This is new drug. It won't kill you right away Instead, it will instantly shatter your mind and body, leaving you a shell who can neither think nor move."

"We are brothers after all. I don't want to kill you with my own hands and bear the infamy of fratricide. But if you die on your own, it has nothing to do with me." Evan leaned close to his ear, his smile twisted.

"I hope you keep your word," Ethan said, his voice heavy with the weight of a man who had already surrendered everything.

Evan scoffed, "You have no choice. If you don't do it now, I'll cut Henry's last rope and make sure his body is never found."

Just beneath the crane, a bodyguard stood ready, his gun leveled directly at the rope holding Henry suspended over the abyss.

Ethan hesitated no more. He picked up the syringe from the tray, rolled up his sleeve, inserted the needle into the vein in his arm, and slowly pushed in the liquid.

The moment the drug entered his body, Ethan felt dizzy and disoriented. His hands and feet gradually went numb. The syringe fell onto the deck, and he could barely stand.

"Is this... enough now?" Ethan managed to rasp, turning with agonizing slowness to face Evan one last time.

Evan holstered his weapon and stared at Ethan in a heavy, unsettling silence. Then, without warning, he erupted into a fit of jagged, mocking laughter.

After laughing enough, his face darkened: "Of course not. This is just the beginning. What I want is for you to die."

Ethan stared back at the pitch-black abyss behind him, the infinite dark reflecting the total despair in his heart.

"Jump from here, and I'll pull Henry up." Evan pointed at the railing. "I'll give you ten seconds to think. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six..."

With the countdown to his demise echoing in his ears, Ethan’s legs felt like lead. He staggered, his hands trembling as he hauled himself onto the narrow railing.

Christina found strength from somewhere and shouted against the sea wind: "Ethan..."

"Three, two..."

Ethan turned his head and looked deeply at Christina. In that gaze were reluctance, concern, and determination. The instant Evan shouted the last number, he leaped forward and jumped into the dark sea.

"No!" Christina’s voice tore through the air in a desperate scream. A crushing wave of agony hit her; she would have traded her life in a heartbeat, wishing she could be the one to plunge into the abyss if it meant saving both him and Henry.

The moment Ethan hit the water, he was swallowed by the surging waves. On the dark sea surface, only ripples remained—his figure was nowhere to be seen.

Evan leaned over the railing, looking at the sea, laughing maniacally: "Ethan, you're finally dead!"

He looked at the drug in his hand, his face full of satisfaction.

The drug was a relic of Evan’s twisted experiments, a poison born of his own obsession. He never imagined it would become the perfect instrument to erase Ethan. As he watched his brother falter, Evan felt a grim satisfaction; the years of living in the shadows and enduring his own agony had finally, perfectly, paid off.

"Why? We're twins—why were you born the heir, easily getting everything from the Carter Family?"

Evan roared, venting years of rage. "The Carter Family abandoned me, the Robinson family didn't care for me. I struggled alone out there, barely escaping death so many times, while you lived so smoothly."

"If fate is unfair, then I'll rewrite the ending myself! Ethan, you lost—you lost completely!"

His laughter echoed across the empty deck, bleeding into the howling of the waves. It was a jagged, hollow sound—sinister, terrifying, and laced with the madness of a man who had finally won.

And Christina, suspended in mid-air, looked at the dark sea surface, crying out in pain, but powerless to do anything.

Already seriously ill and now suffering such a severe shock, Christina finally couldn't take it anymore and passed out...