Chapter 7

"Forget it," Mia interjected suddenly, lifting her head from Liam's chest and choking back tears as she wiped her eyes. "Thankfully you arrived in time. I wasn't actually hurt."

She cast a timid, fearful glance at Serafina in the wheelchair before shrinking back into Liam's embrace.

"But I really was terrified today, so she should still be punished. Otherwise, what if she hurts someone else in the future?"

Ethan frowned, while Liam absently stroked the armrest of Serafina's wheelchair, seemingly weighing the options.

"I heard..." Mia's voice grew smaller, yet every word was enunciated with deadly clarity, "that Sera has severe thalassophobia. We happen to have a yacht—why not put her on it and let her drift at sea for three days?"

"That—" Liam instinctively looked at Serafina, a flicker of hesitation in his eyes.

"Isn't that too dangerous—" Ethan began, but Mia burst into tears again before he could finish.

"I knew it!" She sobbed, backing away a few steps. "In your hearts, Serafina will always be more important than me! Even when she wants to destroy me, you can't bear to punish her!"

Mia turned as if to run. "Fine, I won't bother you anymore! Damn it! I'll just leave!"

"Mia!" Ethan caught her arm, turning his head to look at Liam with uncertainty. "It's only three days; she should be fine, right? We'll leave her enough food and water."

Liam looked at Serafina's pale but stubborn face and, ultimately, nodded to appease Mia.

...

On the deck of the yacht, the sea breeze carried the damp, salty scent of the ocean.

Ethan personally secured the wheelchair inside the cabin. He even meticulously tucked a wool blanket around Serafina. "We'll come to pick you up in three days. This is just to help you reflect on what you've done."

He crouched down, attempting to meet her eyes, but her gaze remained fixed on the distant horizon.

Liam knelt on one knee, holding her ice-cold hand. "Be good, Sera. It's just three days, and then I'll come back for you. Besides, if you stay in the cabin and don't look at the sea, you won't be so afraid. This is already a very light punishment considering how badly Mia was frightened."

"You won't be able to pick me up," Serafina said suddenly. Her voice was as calm as if she were discussing tomorrow's weather. "Mia will never let me leave this boat alive."

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Ethan stood up abruptly, his brows furrowing deeply.

Liam tightened his grip on her hand slightly. "Stop it, Sera. Stop slandering Mia—"

Seeing their disbelief, Serafina simply turned her head away. "Believe what you want."

Liam's expression stiffened, a nameless unease rising in his chest.

"Let's go," Ethan pulled at him. "Let her cool off by herself."

The moment the two men stepped off the gangway, Serafina's phone vibrated.

She glanced at the encrypted number on the screen and gently pressed the answer button.

"We have arrived, Miss Blackwood," the voice on the other end was cool and professional. "Please provide your current coordinates. The recovery team is in position."

Serafina whispered the yacht's longitude and latitude in a barely audible voice. Then, she slowly raised her head, gazing into the distance, silently bidding farewell to Liam and Ethan in her heart, knowing she would never see them again in this life.

...

Not far away, Liam and Ethan walked Mia toward the marina parking lot, flanking her on either side. For some reason, that final look from Serafina made their hearts race with panic, as if an invisible hand were squeezing their chests.

They exchanged a brief, knowing glance, preparing to speak. But before they could utter a word, a deafening explosion erupted behind them.

Ethan and Liam froze in their tracks, turning around in horror. The scene that greeted them would become the nightmare that haunted them for the rest of their lives.

The yacht named *The Siren*, carrying Serafina, had suddenly exploded in the middle of the sea. A massive fireball rushed toward the heavens, the shockwave instantaneously tearing the hull into jagged fragments. All that remained was a sea of fire, a chaotic blend of wreckage and burning fuel.