Ch. 226..230: Inherit Billions Chapter 226-230
Chapter 226
B
The Desolate Island
Finished
"It's fine. I'll leave the company in Grandpa's hands. Expand the search area; the surrounding waters are just as important."
His voice was hoarse and rich, with a deep, magnetic tone. Orion's gaze was somber and intense.
Ken sighed. He turned away to continue monitoring the search signals.
Justin was still holding out, too.
With Emeris in the hospital and Sivir having to take care of both the company and their father, Justin stepped up to aid in the rescue efforts.
His attitude toward Orion had noticeably shifted over the past few days.
What started as disdain had turned to frustration and anger upon learning the reason for Seraphina's departure. Now, it had morphed into sorrow. Sivir was right. Objectively speaking, this wasn't Orion's fault.
How could they place all the blame on him?
Over the past few days, Orion seemed more dead than alive.
The internet's attention came quickly but faded just as fast.
The plane crash news was already old. Seraphina had become just another name, memorialized online.
Soon enough, a new trending topic had replaced the number one spot. No one believed Seraphina could have survived.
Nearly a thousand nautical miles away from the search area, on a tiny, deserted island battered by the relentless sea. The place was void of human life.
Dense, towering pines blocked out the sun. Beyond the forest lay the crashing waves and the cold, salty sea breeze.
Seraphina had wandered this forsaken place for three days, unable to find fresh water or food. She hadn't had a drop to drink or a bite to eat.
Her lips were beginning to crack painfully.
Luckily, she had been faster than everyone else. In the split second before the plane exploded, she had opened the emergency exit and jumped with her parachute without hesitation. That split-second decision had thrown her miles off course, but it saved her life.
In the aftermath, the reality of her situation settled in. She felt a deep sorrow for the others who weren't as fortunate.
Soon, she began to question whether she could survive on this island.
Her phone had fallen into the sea, and all communication devices were lost.
The Desolate Island
She had no choice but to wait for rescue.
There was nothing here, especially not fresh water.
Without water, a person can survive for at most seven days.
Now, she was approaching her limit.
She sat on a rock, feeling as though she could no longer hold on, overwhelmed by despair.
Why wasn't anyone coming to save her?
So many days had passed without a single sign of rescue.
Did they really think she was dead?
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And that damn Orion! Why did he have to hand her that cursed invitation and send her straight to hell?
Of course, anything related to him was trouble.
Right now, she has a million reasons to hate him.
In her despair, she also thought that if he could come to save her now, she could forgive everything from the past..
At a loss, Seraphina looked out at the distant waves. She felt as if they were swallowing her whole as wave after wave crushed on the shore. Was she really going to die here?
She sniffled. Her eyes stung, and tears threatened to fall.
"I'm starving. How could I be so rich and still starve to death?"
Mumbling to herself, she mustered the last bit of courage she had and re-entered the forest.
Maybe she could find some berries to eat among the trees.
She was fortunate to have changed into comfortable flat shoes before boarding the plane; otherwise, her fate would have been certain.
The trees here were tall, towering dozens of meters into the sky-not as lush and dense as in a tropical rainforest, but each tree was so wide it would take several people to encircle them. These were species she had never seen before. Exhausted, she trudged on. Her hands were already bloodied from the branches that had scratched her. The bloodstains were stark and noticeable, but she didn't care.
After all, her life was at stake.
She forced her weary body forward, her legs heavy, her head spinning with fatigue.
Something tripped her, and she stumbled, falling hard onto the muddy ground.
The nain brought a moment of clarity
The Desolate Island
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The intense hunger and weakness caused her vision to darken, and she gradually lost consciousness.
Seraphina wanted to open her eyes, but her body no longer obeyed her. It seemed like she could hear heavy footsteps nearby and voices speaking in a language she couldn't understand.
Chapter 227
Finally Realizing What He Has Lost
What language was this? She had mastered seventeen languages since childhood, but she couldn't make sense of this one. Were there people on this island?
What a miracle! After searching for so long, she hadn't found any sign of life-until now.
However, the rescue she imagined didn't seem quite right.
Why were they grabbing her limbs and carrying her like livestock?
She was being jostled so much along the way that it felt like her joints were about to dislocate.
A picture she had seen once popped into Seraphina's mind-of a plump sheep being carried into a kitchen.
Maybe she wasn't miserable enough yet.
She swore that if Orion had sent these people, she would thank him properly.
If the Crosses were there, she would tell Sivir how rude and unprofessional they were-no patience.
If they were rescuers from a different source, she'd just have to endure it.
After what felt like an eternity, they still hadn't arrived. The constant jolting finally pushed her consciousness into darkness.
A thousand nautical miles away.
Two helicopters met. Ken had to persuade Justin to come over, thinking that coordinating their efforts would make the rescue mission more successful and swift. Orion was already on the brink of madness and obsession.
If this continued, he might collapse.
Justin approached with a bottle of strong vodka. When Orion lifted his head, it showed that his eyes were bloodshot from days without sleep.
Orion's eyes were somber, showing no reaction to Justin's arrival.
It appeared that saving her was the only thing that mattered in his world right now.
Justin sat down by a crate. He carelessly opened the bottle with his teeth, spitting the cap into the sea.
There wasn't a moment when they didn't loathe the ocean.
And yet, they were powerless.
Justin tilted his head back. He took a few swigs of the vodka. As he looked at Orion, his bloodshot eyes
Finally Realizing What He Has Lost
"Is this necessary? What are you trying to prove?"
Orion's jaw tightened, and his lips pressed into a thin line.
His gaze swept indifferently over Justin and focused instead on the tumultuous sea.
The silence was suffocating.
He didn't need to explain himself, nor could he.
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Orion was someone who, in the eyes of the Crosses, had hurt Seraphina in an unforgivable way.
Now, he had pushed her to the brink of destruction.
He couldn't forgive himself-how could Justin?
Justin snorted coldly. His eyes shifted from anger to a chilling calm.
He, too, was suppressing a massive storm of emotions.
"My dad said you've done enough. You don't owe us anything. You don't have to die for this. Orion, you should go back. I'll find my sister myself."
With the accompanying wind, the air around them grew colder, plummeting.
Orion's dark eyes suddenly fixed on him. His expression was icy, and his voice was hoarse.
"I'm not doing this for your family, Justin. I'm doing it for Seraphina."
For a sliver of hope!
As long as she remained undiscovered, there remained a chance. How could he leave her behind?
Justin paused slightly as he spoke, each sentence striking straight at Orion's heart.
"Then why did you treat her like that before? Our entire family couldn't bear to say a harsh word to her, and you threw her away like trash."
In that instant, Orion's face turned pale.
Orion's lips parted slightly, but he didn't know what to say.
Justin took another swig of vodka and spoke without care.
"When she studied abroad in Etopia, my dad hired eight maids to take care of her-she secretly dismissed them all. Sivir wanted to fly there thirty times a month to cook for her. Sergio gave her all his research grants, and I only took roles that were filmed in Etopia. We thought that was the farthest she would ever be from us. But when she married you, she didn't contact us for three years. She severed all ties with everyone. Orion, she valued you more than us, and what was the result?"
Justin's voice broke as tears began to fall uncontrollably. He wiped them away and tilted the bottle to drain the last drops.
Ken and the pilot, sitting in the front, didn't dare make a sound.
Finally Realizing What He Has Lost
The silence in the air was suffocating and filled with despair.
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Chapter 228
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A Performance Without an Audience
Orion couldn't hear the sound of his heart breaking, but he could feel it-someone was tearing at his heart, trying to crush it, to rip it out of his chest and toss it away.
Justin stared at his pale face, feeling an inexplicable sense of relief. The alcohol coursing through Justin's veins brought a twisted sense of relief to the turmoil in his chest. Everyone kept telling him not to blame Orion; after all, he wasn't the one who crashed the plane.
Justin couldn't help it. If it weren't for Orion, Seraphina wouldn't have gotten on that plane.
If it weren't for Orion, Justin would still have his sister. She could have bought yachts, mansions, islands, etc. She could still be alive.
Justin stood up, his clothes whipping in the cold wind, his hair already disheveled.
He didn't care.
Justin threw the bottle in his hand, watching as it vanished into the void, swallowed by the sea below.
"Orion, just go. Whatever guilt you're carrying, it's too late now. Go back to your life."
Orion's brow furrowed deeply, and his voice was hoarse and strained.
"I can't leave. What if she's still alive?"
"Haha!" A bitter laugh escaped Justin's lips, followed by uncontrollable tears. His gaze turned icy, and he spoke each word with deliberate, cutting precision. "You don't know her at all, Orion. Seraphina ... she couldn't swim."
There was no "what if."
The vast, endless ocean had already swallowed everyone.
The silence between them was suffocating, filled with a cold and desperate despair.
Justin's words were the final blow, breaking the last thread holding Orion together.
His face turned ashen. He clenched his hands at his sides, trembling with the force of his emotions.
Her hand, resting at her side, suddenly clenched into a fist, veins bulging, as her entire body trembled.
Could there be any other outcome if a person who can't swim falls into the ocean?
No, it couldn't be.
He didn't know her at all. He didn't know anything about her, not even that she couldn't swim.
How pathetic.
Was this what he thought was love?
A Performance Without an Audience
No, maybe Justin was lying to him.
Orion took a few shaky steps forward, desperate for answers.
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His body trembled, and his hand slipped from the door of the helicopter, sending him lurching forward.
Half of his body was hanging out, staring into the dark, endless sea below. In that moment, he thought he saw Seraphina smiling at him. Maybe it was better this way. He should have been on that plane with her.
Panic erupted around him.
"Mr. Dros-"
""Be careful-".
The cold wind lashed against his face, and the salty sea air filled his lungs as the waves below roared.
In a split second, Justin grabbed Orion's arm and yanked him back into the helicopter with all his strength.
With his other hand, he slammed the door shut, sealing out the sea and the wind.
"Orion, what the hell are you doing? Do you think acting like this will bring my sister back? She's gone, Orion! Who are you trying to perform for?"
To everyone around them, Orion's actions looked deliberate, as if he'd let go on purpose.
Ken rushed over to hold Orion back, fearing he might do something reckless again. "Mr. Dros, are you okay?"
Orion closed his eyes. He slumped lifelessly into his seat and gave no response.
Ken instinctively checked his pulse and sighed in relief, casting a grateful look at Justin.
"Thank you, Mr. Cross. Mr. Dros is probably just exhausted; he hasn't slept in days." Justin gave Orion a complicated look.
He said, "Take him home. Leave your men here to assist me."
Ken quickly agreed. If Justin hadn't insisted on taking the men with him, Ken would have worried that Orion might wake up and skin him alive.
Justin had already called for backup. After hanging up the phone, he noticed Ken was hesitating.
"Is there something else?"
Ken pursed his lips, contemplating before he spoke.
"What did you say to Mr. Dros earlier? I know it wasn't easy to hear, but I understand you wanted to make
him give lin"
A Performance Without an Audience
Justin turned away. Whether Ken guessed right or not, it didn't matter.
He wasn't as kind as people thought, but he wasn't heartless either.
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Ken continued, "After they divorced, he's been consumed by regret and pain. Some misunderstandings weren't his fault, but they still hurt Ms. Cross deeply. He's been trying to make amends, even if it's too late. Mr. Dros's feelings were always genuine. His regret is real, and so is his love."
Ken felt he had said too much, crossing a line he shouldn't have.
If Ms. Cross had been there to hear those words, who knows how she would have reacted?
Justin remained silent for a few seconds. Without another word, he boarded the helicopter that had come to pick him up.
He couldn't help but think that. If not for everything that had happened between them, Orion and Seraphina would have been a perfect match in every way.
But it was too late now...
Sadness welled up inside him as the helicopter ascended. Whether Orion harbored feelings for Seraphina or not, it did not alter her irrevocable loss.
The sea breeze whipped across Justin's face as he stood on the deck. He ignored the freezing cold, letting the wind batter his skin.
The once flawless and unmarked face now bears traces of hardship. The eyes that once sparkled with life were now dull, filled with nothing but grief.
Chapter 229
The Primitive Man
On a small island that is located a thousand nautical miles away.
Seraphina slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was a chaotic mess of damp leaves scattered on the ground.
She tried to move but couldn't; something was binding her tightly.
As she turned around, she was startled to see a wild-looking man squatting next to her. He was making exaggerated facial expressions. His face, darkened with dirt and adorned with various colored markings, sent a shiver down her spine. She couldn't help but scream in fear.
The wild man actually smiled at her.
He was bare-chested, with long, tangled hair falling over his shoulders. Necklaces made of what appeared to be animal bones hung around his neck, while a makeshift skirt of leaves covered his lower body.
Seraphina trembled in terror. Was death smiling at her?
She sat up in fear, trying to move away from him as she scanned her surroundings.
All around, there were crude, tent-like structures made of branches still covered in leaves. She recognized these branches from the forest nearby.
Bending into flexible arcs, the branches thickly layered themselves with leaves. It could provide some protection from the elements, but the space inside was cramped, with no gaps for ventilation, making it damp and dark.
Seraphina's face grew paler. She was cold, thirsty, and starving, and as she fully awakened, the sensations became unbearable.
I still trap in this godforsaken place?!
Her fingers clenched tightly, turning white at the tips.
The wild man took a step closer, as if to touch her. Seraphina screamed and shrank back.
Glancing to the side, she saw, not far off, a group of dozens of wild-looking men. They all dressed similarly.
They had fierce features, deep-set eyes, and pronounced facial structures. They looked like... foreigners, but savages!
Yes, savages!
Her heart sank deeper.
What... what kind of place is this?
The realization hit Seraphina like a ton of bricks. She felt a shiver run down her spine. Were these people carrying her here like an animal?
In front of the group, a fire had already been set. A strong-looking man, clearly the leader, was sitting near
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The Primitive Man
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Another man was using a slender stick to drill into a piece of wood. He was trying to start a fire, and smoke began to rise.
As the fire gradually took hold, it was transferred to a pile of dry leaves. Within moments, the fire blazed and consumed the wood rapidly.
Starting a fire by friction? Is this some kind of primitive skill?
Seraphina's face was a picture of disbelief. It was as if the universe was playing a cruel joke on her.
Before she could wallow in despair, she noticed one of the burly men pointing in her direction. He gestured toward the fire, then to his mouth, mimicking the action of eating. There was no need for translation-anyone could understand that these savages planned to roast her.
What horrible luck!
Seraphina's body shook uncontrollably as she watched the wild man stare at her.
She forced a smile that was more of a grimace.
"Sorry to interrupt; I'll be leaving now," she stammered.
She scrambled to her feet and tried to run, but she barely made it two steps before tripping over the tangled mess of sticks and branches on the ground.
Already feeling feverish and dizzy, Seraphina's head spun as she fell hard to the ground. Her mind went blank with the shock.
She lay there for a long time, unable to gather her thoughts.
Another wild man approached. He spoke in a strange, rapid-fire language with the man standing over her, making gestures as they conversed.
Wait a minute-this wild man was wearing shoes. Although they were caked in mud, obscuring their original appearance, she could see the laces peeking out. How could there be shoes with laces in a primitive tribe?
Seraphina's eyes lit up. With a sudden burst of energy, she lunged at his shoes.
The man was tall, broad-shouldered, and incredibly strong-there was no way Seraphina could move him.
But she could make out a familiar logo under the mud-Nike, a world-famous sports brand!
Could it be that someone else like her was here?
Instinctively, she looked up at the wild man. Colors painted his face, obscuring his features, but his eyes shone brightly. He winked and smiled at her. As their eyes met, a wave of familiarity washed over her.
"You're...
A fake wild man!
Chapter 230
Inherit Billions 2 x 60%
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The Sacrifice
"Help me, I'm..."
Before she could finish, someone suddenly yanked her by the arm and dragged her towards the fire.
Seraphina never imagined that in her lifetime, she'd be roasted by a bunch of savages who looked like they belonged in a museum.
"No, no, no
Help! Somebody, help me!"
She screamed as more and more people gathered around her. When she swept her glance across them, Seraphina couldn't identify the fake wild man she had encountered earlier.
She was surrounded by a dense forest. The sky was dark, and the area was pitch black. The wind's distant howling echoed around them, like a beast lurking in the shadows, ready to devour everything in its path. The bonfire blazed brightly. The savages stared at her like a predator eyeing its prey.
They varied in height, but all were shirtless, their bodies filthy, faces painted with various colors, and wearing skirts made of leaves and branches. They looked terrifying and fierce-the very image of savages. -"Hello?"
"10000?" ""Hola?"
"10000?"
She tried sixteen different languages, but the savages didn't react. They were chattering away in their own incomprehensible tongue.
The silence deepened her despair.
Where was the fake savage with the shoes?
She wasn't sure if she was imagining it, but amidst the incomprehensible chatter, she suddenly heard a distinct, mocking laugh. It was the kind of laugh that only someone like her-someone from modern society-would make. She quickly looked up and met a pair of bright eyes.
Before she could feel any relief, the savages hoisted her up and carried her towards the bonfire.
She was freezing. A thought consumed her mind-were they going to roast her alive?
"Help!"
Her terrified scream echoed as the savages abruptly dropped her to the ground.
Ignoring the pain, she tried to stand up. Then she saw them grab some burning sticks/from the bonfire
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The circle they formed was just the right size-not too big, not too small. Gradually, more and more savages joined, making the circle larger.
They held up their torches, forming a ring around her, dancing and chanting in a bizarre, unsettling
manner.
Seraphina's panic grew with each attempt to escape the circle, only to be driven back to the center by the heat of the flames. They wouldn't let her leave.
The temperature soared. The flames were licking her skin, and the thick smoke was making her cough uncontrollably.
Seraphina was frantic, spinning around in circles, utterly clueless about what to do.
Just when she thought she was going to be burned alive, the savages suddenly stopped dancing. Their expressions turned solemn.
All at once, the chanting ceased. It was now replaced by an eerie silence as they all looked up at the sky.
The only sound was the crackling of the fire-a chilling, fear-inducing sound.
At that moment, the leader of the savages, who was holding a staff, took a few steps back. That movement created a gap in the circle.
An older woman with a face full of wrinkles stepped into the circle, holding a large leaf.
She looked up at Seraphina and placed the leaf on the ground in front of her. Then she spoke something in a language Seraphina couldn't understand.
The woman pointed at the items on the ground, then at her own mouth, mimicking the action of eating.
She then untied the tough branches binding Seraphina's hands and left.
The circle closed back around her.
The crowd watched Seraphina in silence, their eyes glowing like beasts in the dark.
Seraphina glanced down at the leaf and saw that it held dried meat, fish, and two wild fruits.
Her stomach, which hadn't seen food in days, growled in response.
Swallowing her saliva, she grabbed the food and stuffed it into her mouth.
There was no need to worry about poisoning in a place like this; where would they even get such sophisticated toxins?
All her manners, her upbringing, and her poise vanished in that moment..
She didn't know what kind of meat it was, but it tasted surprisingly good-salty and flavorful, though lacking in seasoning. Still, it was probably the best meal she had ever had. The savages watched her devour the food with satisfaction.
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The Sacrifice
Suddenly, before Seraphina could react, they threw their torches to the ground.
In an instant, the flames formed a ring around her. She was trapped in a circle of fire.