CHAPTER 413: CHAPTER 413: STEPHANIE WAS WORRIED FOR KANE

Half an hour earlier, Railer had told everyone he saw a pink dolphin and asked the guards at the stern to help him look for it. Then he called Kane and Stephanie over and pretended to inject them with a tranquilizer. After that, he blew the whistle. A few people surfaced from the water and climbed onto the yacht using the ladder Railer had lowered. They put oxygen masks on Kane and Stephanie, then dragged them underwater. The only ones left were the woman who had met with Railer and her men, which meant the true mastermind was still hiding in the background.

But the kidnappers weren’t skilled enough. Their actions caught the guards’ attention. To make it all seem believable, Railer ran to the other side of the yacht to distract them. That gave the kidnappers enough time to move Kane and Stephanie into their submarine. They were just about to discover who was behind it all when one of the men roughly threw Kane inside, causing his head to hit the floor hard enough to knock him unconscious.

After what had happened to Chantelle in the bathroom before, Philip had made sure everyone wore a life monitor. At the same time, Daniel had secretly sent a team to follow the submarine. When Kane’s monitor sent out a danger alert, Daniel immediately stopped the mission and intercepted the enemy’s sub.

"Kane, don’t you ever risk your life like that again!" Chantelle’s voice shook in anger and fear.

Normally, she would never have allowed her children to take part in something so dangerous. But Kane and Stephanie had insisted. And deep down, Chantelle knew her own health was failing. She wouldn’t be around forever. She needed to know her children could protect themselves. That was why she had approved the operation.

What she didn’t expect was for Kane to hide his injury. And worse, she had sensed something was wrong that morning, but she ignored it. She had let Kane go. And now, she couldn’t forgive herself for it.

Kane stopped making excuses when he saw how pale and worried his mother looked. He wrapped his arms around her. "I’m sorry, Mommy. I won’t do it again."

Lately, Kane had been apologizing too often, and Chantelle was starting to doubt if he really meant it.

"I’m to blame too, Mommy. You can punish me," Railer said, standing beside his brother. The two of them held hands and looked at Chantelle with guilty eyes.

"Mommy, let them go fishing," Stephanie suggested. "Uncle Philip said he almost caught some, but those bad guys scared them away."

In truth, Stephanie had been the one who was really terrified. She and Kane had planned to gather information from inside the submarine. But once they got there, Kane wouldn’t wake up no matter how hard she tried. It was a fear unlike anything she had ever felt before. With tears streaming down her face, she contacted her father.

Daniel’s submarine had been following closely behind the enemy’s. When he received Stephanie’s distress call, he ordered his men to intercept the submarine immediately. The moment he saw Kane lying unconscious and Stephanie crying uncontrollably, Daniel lost all restraint and beat the kidnappers to a pulp.

"Go fish, then. No parasols for you. If you wander off, you’ll never come with us again," Chantelle said coldly.

Russell took Kane and Railer outside. He gave Kane a tired look and warned him not to cause any more trouble. Kane just shrugged. Fishing required patience, something he didn’t have. But with Railer beside him, maybe he’d manage to stay out of trouble this time.

"Calm down, Mommy. Look, Kane’s acting normal again," Stephanie said, handing her mother a glass of water.

Chantelle smiled softly and patted her daughter’s head. "You did the right thing, Steph. You must’ve been so scared in there."

"I was," Stephanie admitted. "But then I wasn’t, because Daddy was there." She leaned against her mother, listening to the stable beat of Chantelle’s heart.

Ever since Trenton attacked their base, Chantelle had made her triplets’ safety her top priority. No matter how much Kane insisted, she refused to take risks with them again.

Still, Stephanie couldn’t stop wondering why her mother had agreed to such a dangerous mission this time.

One night after dinner, she hid in Chantelle’s wardrobe and overheard a conversation she was never meant to hear. Her mother might lose her life because of the medication she was taking. Chantelle wanted to make sure her children could stand on their own before that happened.

Stephanie had slipped back into her room afterward and cried silently into her pillow. She didn’t tell anyone. She knew that if Kane found out, he would confront their mother immediately.

"You look like you’re about to cry. It’s okay to be scared," Chantelle said when she saw Stephanie’s puffy eyes. Her children had been through too much these past few months. All Chantelle could do was hope for peace to return.

"Mommy, we’ll always be together, right?" Stephanie’s voice trembled as she looked up at her mother.

Chantelle thought her daughter was still shaken by what happened. She comforted her gently, "Of course, we will. Your brothers are still young, but when they grow up, they’ll protect you."

Stephanie wanted to say something, but she choked back her words. She buried her face in her mother’s arms, looking for comfort.

Daniel walked into the cabin and saw the tender moment. He quietly sat beside them.

"Is Steph okay? Is she traumatized or something?" he asked.

"I’m not a coward," Stephanie mumbled.

"Then go out and get some air. It’s not that hot outside anymore." Daniel picked her up. He had been terrified when he got Stephanie’s distress signal, but he was relieved to see his daughter was safe.

"Daddy, you’re a superhero!" Stephanie exclaimed as she remembered how her father saved her. She didn’t want to make her parents worry about her problems, not while they were still taking their medications. So, she exaggerated the story of Daniel’s rescue when she told it to Chantelle. Daniel, of course, just grinned while enjoying the praise.

When they reached the deck, Kane and Railer were sitting with their fishing rods. Railer was silent. He could stare at the sea for hours. But Kane could never sit still. He always needed something to do. One moment, he was touching Philip’s fishing rod, and the next moment, he was fiddling with Alexander’s bait.