Chapter 282: The Infernal Sea
Outside, several rescue boats braved the raging storm after receiving an emergency distress call from the CEO of Archon Group.
The authorities had been forced to move against nature itself to reach the isolated island as quickly as possible. When they arrived, they were stunned to find so many prominent figures in complete disarray.
Among them were a thoroughly exhausted Jade and Andrew, who gave a brief statement explaining the horrors that the Prescott family and their co-conspirators had orchestrated.
Cora was still alive and conscious. After Cillian had doused her with water and forced her to undo her hypnotic commands, he had gagged and bound her.
Once she was handed over to the police, she confessed every detail with complete honesty. She had no idea Cillian had used his demonic compulsion to force her to reveal all of their atrocities while carefully omitting any mention of human experiments.
He had also compelled her to tell the authorities that the cult had planned to burn the mansion to destroy the evidence. It provided the perfect cover for what was about to happen. Once the mansion went up in flames, no suspicion would fall on either Gavriel or himself.
The guests who had been under mind control were freed the moment Vorra’s statue was shattered. Haggard, bleeding, and bewildered, they were carefully escorted onto the boats to be evacuated.
When the authorities prepared to raid the underground tunnels, the entire mansion suddenly began to tremble violently. The floor cracked beneath their feet, while sections of the ceiling began collapsing around them, forcing the officers to immediately retreat outside the mansion.
That was when Cillian had emerged from the garden path, carrying the unconscious Aliana in his arms while Cedric’s lifeless body was slung over his shoulder.
Jade and Andrew, already aboard one of the rescue boats receiving treatment for their shallow wounds, never saw his arrival.
Cillian urged everyone to move the rescue boats as far away from the shoreline as possible.
Knowing it was only a matter of time before Gavriel blew the entire estate, Cillian had told the authorities that the cultists had set fire to the tunnels, cautioning that volatile chemicals stored in the basement could detonate at any second.
With the estate crumbling around them, no one questioned Cillian’s warning. The officers immediately ordered the rescue boats farther from shore.
After Cedric’s body was transferred onto a separate boat where his parents were waiting, Cillian moved to board another with Aliana still in his arms.
The moment Richard and Clara saw their only son, they broke down completely. Clara collapsed in grief, while Richard wept bitterly, cradling Cedric’s lifeless body in his arms.
The heartbreaking sight left many of the onlookers in tears.
In another boat, Jade and Andrew looked up just as Cillian stepped aboard carrying Aliana in his arms.
Without a second thought, Jade abandoned her medical treatment and rushed over as Cillian gently laid the unconscious woman onto one of the cushioned lounge sofas.
"Ali! What happened to her?" Jade cried, her voice trembling as her eyes frantically searched Aliana for any visible injuries.
The paramedics immediately moved in to check her vitals while Cillian stood silently beside the sofa.
When he offered no answer, Jade looked up at him. Only then did she notice he wasn’t looking at Aliana, but out to the island.
"Cillian?" She stepped closer and gently placed a hand on his arm. "What happened?"
Andrew, standing nearby, watched Jade and Cillian intently. Seeing the grave expression on Cillian’s face, a sinking feeling settled in his gut that something had gone terribly wrong.
Cillian let out a quiet breath. "Honestly... I don’t know everything," he admitted quietly. "But I think the shock made her lose consciousness."
Jade swallowed hard, her grip on Cillian’s arm tightening. "Why?"
Cillian knew there was no gentle way to deliver the blow.
Looking directly into her eyes, he told her softly, "Cedric... he didn’t make it."
The rescue boat lurched as its engines roared to life, slowly pulling away from the island. Jade stared at him in disbelief before slowly shaking her head.
"No..." she whispered. "That can’t be..."
Once the mind control had broken, she had been so certain the ritual had been stopped in time and that Cedric had been rescued. She had never once imagined that something like this could actually happen to her friend.
The truth crashed over her all at once, and her knees gave way beneath her.
Before she could collapse, Cillian caught her in his arms.
The moment he did, Jade finally broke down. Heartbroken sobs tore free from her as she buried her face against his chest, mourning the loss of a friend she had never imagined saying goodbye to.
Not far away, Andrew stood frozen in place.
His first instinct was to walk over and comfort Jade himself.
But seeing the way she clung to Cillian, and the quiet tenderness with which Cillian held her, he stopped.
A complicated expression crossed his face before he quietly turned around and walked away.
While everyone grappled with the horrific turn of events in their own way, the one who had endured it all stirred in her unconscious state.
Unwanted flashes of memories raced behind her eyelids before a few lingered longer than the rest... Cedric being pierced through the chest, Vorra being struck down, and finally, her husband staring down at her with crimson eyes, his voice laced with raw worry as he called out to her.
"Ana."
A sharp gasp escaped her lips as her eyes snapped open, startling the paramedics who were securing an IV drip into her arm.
The sound immediately drew Jade and Cillian’s attention. Hastily wiping away her tears in a futile attempt, Jade rushed to Aliana’s side.
"Ali! How are you feeling?" she asked, her voice still trembling as she looked at her friend through tear-filled eyes.
Instead of answering, Aliana blinked up at her before her gaze darted frantically around her. Her brows knit together in confusion as she pushed herself up to sit with the help of a nurse, searching through the crowd until her eyes met the exhausted, tear-stained faces of some guests seated nearby.
When she failed to spot the one person she was looking for, her voice dropped to a soft, frantic whisper. "Where is Gav?"
Jade’s brows furrowed as she too scanned the boat, finding no sign of him until her gaze settled on Cillian.
Cillian pressed his lips into a tight line. "He’ll be here soon. Don’t worry."
Aliana stared at Cillian before attempting to stand. Her legs felt weightless, as though every drop of energy had been drained from her body.
Jade quickly caught her before she could fall. "Careful, Ali."
But anxiety had already begun to tighten around Aliana’s heart. Gavriel was nowhere to be seen, and Cillian’s reassurance did little to ease the growing worry settling deep within her.
"Where is he?" Aliana demanded, panic creeping into her voice.
Before anyone could answer, the rumble of the rescue boat’s engines reached her ears, and her eyes widened in alarm.
"Why are we moving?!" She looked around before her panic deepened. "No! Where is my husband? Stop the boat!"
Ignoring the weakness in her body, she tore the IV line from her hand, scrambled to her feet, and stumbled outside as fast as her trembling legs would carry her.
The cold night breeze whipped through her hair as her eyes fell upon the island, now growing farther and farther away.
Before she could scream for the captain to turn around, the island lit up against the night sky right before their eyes.
Boom!
First came the towering wall of bright crimson flames, soaring so high they seemed to lick the night sky. Seconds later, a deafening, powerful explosion ripped through the air, forcing everyone to instinctively clamp their hands over their ears.
While everyone else stood frozen in stunned silence, the raging inferno reflected in a pair of glassy light-grey eyes.
Silent tears tracked down her cheeks as an excruciating ache crushed her chest. Pressing a fist against her chest, all she could do was watch the island burn while the horrifying memories continued to echo through her mind.
"No..." she whispered, her voice breaking.
Then, with a heart-wrenching scream that jolted everyone aboard the rescue boat, she cried, "Gavriel!"
She lurched toward the railing, attempting to leap into the open, stormy sea to swim back to her husband.