Chapter 1331:
“In the previous generation, your father stood out,” Myron continued.
“He nearly lifted the Bennett family into a fourth powerhouse. The light he cast even eclipsed another key figure.”
Millie’s focus tightened.
“Who do you mean?”
Instead of answering directly, Myron asked, “Has Charles ever told you what caused all the fighting in the Evans family?”
Millie nodded. She knew Napier’s three grandsons were half-brothers. Their father had cared more about chasing women than managing the family business, leaving Napier to watch and wait for his grandsons to fight it out until a true heir emerged.
“Charles’s father is Napier’s second son,” Myron said.
“But I’m not talking about him. I mean Napier’s eldest boy.”
Stories flickered through Millie’s mind. She had heard about Napier’s oldest son—a legend for his brilliance—who died far too young and left no children behind.
And his end had come at sea, vanishing without a trace.
She kept her gaze fixed on Myron, waiting.
Myron nodded, his voice quiet but certain.
“That’s right. The place I checked is rumored to be where Napier’s first son was laid to rest. I caught wind of it during my years on the water. The island you mentioned—I can’t drop a pin on a map, but I know it’s close. It’s just under a hundred nautical miles from where Napier’s eldest son’s grave is said to be.”
In that fleeting moment, Millie’s mind became a whirlwind—thoughts colliding and flashing like sparks from a fire.
Napier’s eldest son, brilliant and full of promise, was gone, and yet Napier had never sought answers. His second son had sunk into a haze of despair, drowning himself in the arms of countless women and leaving a trail of children behind.
Meanwhile, men of Wade’s generation likely knew more about that island than anyone dared admit. Adkins, for his part, clearly knew something too—but no matter how many times Millie visited him, he clung to silence.
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What secrets lay hidden on that island?
What could possibly have silenced Napier—even after the death of his own flesh and blood?
And her father’s death… was the key to that mystery buried there as well?
Wade had specifically mentioned “next March.”
Did that mean the island remained off-limits, invisible, or inaccessible at any other time?
“It’s probably a gathering that takes place every March,” Millie finally murmured after a long pause.
“But what they trade… that’s still a mystery.”
“Could be anything,” Myron replied evenly.
“It all comes down to the price you’re willing to pay.”
Gatherings like that—remote, secretive, perched on islands lost to the sea—were steeped in danger. Ambushes and betrayals could be waiting around any corner.
Yet those hidden markets were also the only place to find things that were impossible to get anywhere else.
Millie stayed quiet. She only turned toward the window, her gaze settling on the glass. Her reflection stared back at her—pale, solemn.
Wade had told her the answers she wanted could be found there.
.
.
.