Chapter 279: Leah Sinclair, Let’s Die Together

After rolling across the deck, both men slammed into the hull. They lay stunned for a few seconds, then simultaneously scrambled back to their feet, panting heavily as they faced off against each other.

Asher Keating and Morgan Sterling had both trained in martial arts; for a time, they had even shared the same coach. Now, with both of them injured, they were more or less evenly matched.

Leah Sinclair backed away toward Hugh Sterling, her voice urgent. “Untie me! Hurry!”

Hugh Sterling was so stunned by the sudden turn of events that he’d frozen. He didn’t know the first thing about fighting. Hearing Leah’s voice, he stammered, “Oh, right,” and quickly began to untie her. He trembled uncontrollably the entire time.

Leah snatched his phone and called Shawn Grant. “Shawn! Shawn, get here now!”

As soon as Shawn Grant got the call, he didn’t bother asking for details. He just yelled for them to start the boats. The engines of two speedboats roared to life, and they took off at full speed, chasing the vessel ahead.

At almost the same instant, Asher Keating and Morgan Sterling moved. Asher ducked low, landing a heavy punch square on Morgan’s body. Morgan staggered back, and as Asher lunged, Morgan quickly rolled to the side to evade him.

He swept a leg out, tripping Asher to the deck, and threw his full weight on top of him. He had noticed Asher’s face pale for an instant just before. ‘His chest must be injured.’ This time, Morgan held nothing back, slamming his body down with brutal force.

Asher let out a pained grunt, his face as white as a sheet, but he still fought to hold Morgan’s hands down, keeping him from breaking free.

“Asher Keating! Just die!”

Morgan Sterling roared, his eyes bloodshot, and slammed down again. The pain made Asher’s grip falter for a split second, and Morgan immediately went for his throat. Asher grabbed his wrist, desperately trying to pry his hand away.

Leah’s eyes went wide with panic. Without a second thought, she grabbed a nearby wooden plank and slammed it hard against Morgan Sterling’s back.

Morgan’s assault faltered. He whipped his head around to look at her, and Leah instinctively took a step back. Her eyes darted around the deck and finally landed on the knife Morgan had flung away earlier.

She scrambled toward it, but Morgan saw what she was doing. He let go of Asher and lunged for the knife as well.

Leah got to the knife first, but Morgan was on her in an instant. Asher, clutching his chest, struggled to his feet to intervene. Just then, a large wave slammed into the boat, making it lurch violently and causing everyone to stumble.

In the struggle for the weapon, the knife somehow plunged into Morgan’s body. Leah didn’t know where it had struck him, only that her hand was now covered in something warm and sticky.

When Leah opened her eyes, she saw the knife was embedded near Morgan’s ribs. She screamed, let go, and scrambled backward.

Morgan looked like a demon crawling up from hell. With his last ounce of strength, he grabbed her hand. “Leah, we’ll die together!”

They were too close to the edge of the boat. In an instant, Morgan had dragged Leah overboard with him. Asher lunged forward but was too late to grab hold of either of them.

“Leah!”

In a daze, Leah heard Asher’s heart-wrenching scream of her name. Icy seawater enveloped her, and she choked on several mouthfuls before managing to hold her breath. She tried to swim for the surface, but Morgan’s hand clamped around her ankle.

Morgan kept dragging her deeper. Leah kicked frantically. Soon, she saw a figure swimming toward her. It was Asher, fighting his way through the water to get to her.

Hope surged through Leah, and she kicked at Morgan with all her might. The blows forced him to let go. Asher, having spotted her, swam desperately to her side. The moment he grabbed her arm, he began pulling her toward the surface.

They had just broken the surface, not even having time to gasp for air, when Morgan dragged Leah back under. This time, she choked violently as the cold, salty water flooded her lungs. She tried to cough, but only bubbles escaped her lips. A crushing pressure built in her chest, making it impossible to breathe.

Asher dove back into the sea and kicked at Morgan. Morgan released his grip on Leah, and Asher gave her a push toward the surface. But in that moment, Morgan seized him in a tight grip.

At some point, Morgan had pulled the knife from his own ribs. As he dragged Asher down, he plunged the blade deep into Asher’s chest. Asher managed one last kick before his remaining strength vanished, and he choked violently on the seawater as the feeling of suffocation overwhelmed him.

Leah swam back to grab Asher. Seeing his state, her eyes filled with terror. She desperately began pulling him toward the surface. More people splashed into the water—it was Sean Yates and Shawn Grant.

Riley Sterling saw Leah struggling to hold up Asher, and his eyes grew wide with alarm. He swam over frantically and helped her pull Asher toward the surface.

Sean Yates and Shawn Grant swam toward Morgan Sterling. Having seen Asher’s condition, Sean was enraged, wanting nothing more than to kill Morgan on the spot. Shawn stopped him, gesturing for them to get to the surface first.

The two of them dragged Morgan upward. He had reached his limit and was hauled out of the water like a dead fish.

Hands reached down to help Leah and Riley Sterling, pulling Asher and then the two of them onto the speedboat. The moment she was on board, Leah knelt beside Asher to check his injuries. The knife was still protruding from his chest. Her hands trembled, and she didn’t dare touch it. “Asher, Asher! Are you okay? Asher!”

Tears streamed down her face. Her throat felt raw, as if scraped by razor blades from all the seawater she’d inhaled. She looked up and screamed, “Get us moving! An ambulance! Call an ambulance!”

“Miss, they’ve already been contacted! We’re going now!”

Someone shouted back quickly. Shawn and the others had their own boat to get back. Not daring to delay another second, the crew of this speedboat fired up the engine, spun around, and raced toward the shore. Asher regained a sliver of consciousness, his lips moving as if trying to speak.

“Asher, what are you trying to say?”

The roar of the wind and waves was too loud for Leah to hear. She leaned down closer to Asher. He struggled to make his words clear. “Don’t be afraid… I’m… fine.”

But bloody foam bubbled from his mouth with every word. Leah hugged him tightly, her tears falling without end. Riley Sterling frantically screamed at the pilot, “Faster! Go faster!”

「On the shore, it was now past one in the morning.」

Mabel Grant, Brandon Jacobs, Theodore Keating, and Ruth Hughes were all there. Ambulances and police cars lined the waterfront. Mabel stared out at the dark, churning sea, her hands trembling uncontrollably. Brandon Jacobs had an arm around her, his lips pressed into a thin, tight line as he also gazed out at the water.

By the time they had arrived, the rescue party had already departed. They had no idea what the current situation was.

“Brandon, Leah… she’ll be all right, won’t she?” Mabel Grant’s voice held a barely perceptible tremor.

“She will be! Our daughter will be fine. With Shawn and Asher there, she’ll come back safe and sound. She’ll be fine!”

Brandon Jacobs spoke with conviction, but he was trying to convince himself as much as her. He refused to believe anything could happen to Leah. ‘She’s my daughter, Mabel’s daughter,’ he thought. ‘How could anything happen to her? It won’t. It definitely won’t!’

After what felt like an eternity, the roar of a speedboat’s engine finally echoed from across the water. Riley Sterling was on board, holding a megaphone and yelling toward the shore, “Get the doctors! Get the doctors! Asher’s been stabbed! Hurry!”