The deck of The Sovereign Pearl descended into a chaotic frenzy. For a few heart-stopping seconds, the elite guests of Haven City stood frozen, their champagne flutes trembling in their hands. Then, the silence broke. Shouts erupted from the Security Detail of the luxury liner, and Sebastian Sterling’s personal bodyguards—men trained for high-stakes intervention—abandoned their posts, sprinting toward the railing to dive into the dark, churning waters of The Haven River.
Caroline Lynn rushed toward Conrad Stone, her face a mask of panicked crimson. She looked as though she might hyperventilate right there on the polished teak wood. "You’ve done it now! You’ve actually gone and done it!" she hissed, her voice cracking with terror. "You threw Sebastian Sterling—the scion of The Sterling Fam
