Billionaire Tycoon's Ruthless Demands Met by a Diver's Shocking Revenge
Previously: A desperate diver faces a smug yacht tycoon demanding her business. She retaliates with a treasure that shatters his world and reclaims her future.
The Galleon's Secret
The silence that followed Carter’s threat was deafening, broken only by the hiss of the gas ranges and the frantic thumping of Ruth’s own heart. Carter smirked, mistaking her silence for defeat. He’d underestimated the resilience forged in the unforgiving deep. Ruth took a steadying breath, the briny air filling her lungs, and reached for the massive, barnacle-encrusted Pelican case resting on the immaculate tiled floor.
With a grunt of effort that showcased her powerful physique, Ruth slammed the pressurized titanium case onto the gleaming chrome prep counter. The metallic crash was earth-shattering, echoing through the hushed kitchen. Prep bowls skittered across the surface, and a nearby chef’s wine glass shattered, the sound sharp and final. Carter flinched, his mocking smile freezing into rigid paralysis. His eyebrows twitched upward in a flicker of unease, the first crack in his arrogant facade.
“You searched the surface reef, Carter… I breached the sunken galleon’s hull,” Ruth stated, her voice a low, icy rasp that promised retribution.
Carter stared, his mind clearly struggling to comprehend. He’d dismissed Ruth’s latest expedition as a fool’s errand, another desperate gamble by a woman on the brink. He’d expected her to beg, to fold, to hand over her vessel and her future for a pittance. He hadn’t expected this.
Ruth moved with deliberate speed, her wet dive gloves finding the heavy steel buckles on the case. With a loud, hydraulic hiss of escaping oceanic brine, she unlatched them. The tension in the air ratcheted up another notch as she lifted the lid. Inside, nestled amongst protective padding, lay a towering 17th-century Spanish royal galleon monstrance. Crafted from solid 24-karat gold, it blazed with the light of the halogen lamps overhead, its sunburst rays studded with uncut emeralds that pulsed with an inner fire.
“Eighty million dollars in Spanish Crown gold… and the maritime court just deeded it all to me,” Ruth declared, her voice resonating with thunderous precision.
Carter’s breath hitched violently. His pupils blew wide, swallowing the reflected flames. The color drained from his face, leaving him ashen and gaunt. His Adam's apple bobbed convulsively as he struggled to swallow, the reality of Ruth’s discovery hitting him with the force of a rogue wave. The treasure he’d dismissed as a fairy tale was now the instrument of his downfall.
”The treasure he’d dismissed as a fairy tale was now the instrument of his downfall.