Chapter 3

Nathan's cruel words echoed through her mind once again. "Elena I wonder when you will die, I wish you could go to hell and join Marcus."

Tears rolled down her cheeks. “Nathan, so you wanted to kill me from the very beginning and never planned to let me freely go, right?”

"Elena, don't waste time talking to them. Those bastards clearly want us dead, on someone's order. There's a huge reef over there. If we swim toward it with all our strength, and clench our teeth, we'll make it."

Following his finger, Elena looked over and spotted a dark, towering rock in the blurry night. She nodded. The two of them swam with all their strength towards the reef.

The icy winter sea felt like blades cutting into their bodies again and again, making every moment unbearable.

Luckily, the reef was close, and they soon reached it. But Elena was too weak to pull herself up.

“Elena, step on my shoulders and climb up. Hold firmly onto the rock and don't let go."

Elena panicked and said, "No! When I get up, what about you?"

"Don't worry, I still have enough strength to climb up on my own. You go first.”

Elena didn't know whether he was telling the truth, but seeing that he refused to let go, she clenched her teeth and climbed up with all her strength.

After finally finding her balance, she quickly reached out her hand. "Brother, come up quickly! I'll pull you up."

Daniel just smiled. The icy seawater had turned his lips and cheeks dark blue, and his teeth chattered as he spoke.

"Elena, I don't have the strength to pull myself up. You can't pull me up either, you might fall back into the water, and we'll both die. This part of the sea isn't too isolated. There is still a chance that a ship will pass by.” He spoke in broken breaths, “Listen to me, you need to conserve your strength and wait for someone to come and rescue you.” His body slowly sank beneath the water.

Elena looked at him in disbelief, unable to accept that he was gradually vanishing beneath the waves, it felt as though a rock had crashed into her chest, breaking her heart.

She cried, "Brother, please don't give up! Don't leave me.”

***

"Noooo!" Elena woke up suddenly, sitting upright in bed.

The warm sunlight came through the window, and she was breathing heavily, covered in sweat.

She just had another nightmare. It was the same dream that had haunted her for the past seven years. She was lying on a cold stone, helplessly watching Daniel being swallowed by the sea, feeling completely hopeless.

Elena closed her eyes for a moment, trying to put herself together and catch her breath. At that moment the bedroom door opened and a little boy rushed in.

"Mummy, mummy!"

Elena's expression quickly softened. "You are here?”

The little boy Ethan climbed onto the bed and gently touched the sweat on her face, "Mummy, did you have another nightmare?"

She forced a faint smile. "No, mummy only did a little exercise and got a bit sweaty."

"Mummy, you're lying. Exercise doesn't make your face red, but your face is pale so it's obvious you had a nightmare. Did you dream about uncle again?"

Elena froze.

This little boy was incredibly smart. After Elena was rescued abroad, she had planned to have an abortion because she hated Nathan and didn't want any reminder of him.

But when she was in the waiting room, she changed her mind. She couldn't bear the thought of those cold instruments reaching into her womb and hurting her baby, so she left at the last moment and gave birth to her son.

Seven years had passed, and watching her son grow into an adorable and intelligent little boy, with remarkable talents and sharp minds, she couldn't help but feel so grateful.

Elena couldn't hide it from him anymore and smiled, "Yes Mummy dreamed of uncle again. Uncle's greatest wish was for you to study hard and keep improving every day. So why did you skip school today?"

Ethan said coldly, " Actually, I knew you were returning to New York today, so I came to remind you.

Elena found it funny. "What exactly do I need to remember?"

"A lot of things mum. First, when you return to the country you can't pay attention to other children. You will always be mine."

She held back her laughter and nodded. “Okay, I promise. Second?"

"Secondly if someone bullies you, you need to tell me immediately. And I will fight them for you.”

A warm feeling filled her heart. "Okay, I will.”

"Is there anything else?" She asked.

Thirdly, and most importantly, you must never fall in love with that man again, even if he is my father. You have to do everything you can to bring him down, and leave him on the ground so he can never get up. Okay”

Elena was shocked. This boy clearly knew something about her and Nathan.

It wasn't that she wanted to hide the truth from him, but keeping it from him was nearly impossible. Who knew how this little one had learned such advanced hacking skills at his age?

He could dig up almost anything online, and no matter how carefully she tried to keep things hidden, he would eventually find out. So she decided to tell them only what they were old enough to understand.

Elena remained silent for a few seconds before nodding. "Okay, I get it. But I needed to be the one to tell you, Ethan. Not online."

“You can't let this make you hate him, it's not good for you to carry that kind of anger. You know?”

Those painful grudges were already enough for her to carry alone. All she wanted was for her son to grow up healthy and safe.

Ethan quickly replied, "Mummy, I understand."

She finally smiled and gently ruffled his hair.

Just then a servant was at the door. Miss Elena, Mr. Carter wants you to meet him at the garden.