’Fuck...’

Wren drove his fingers into the damp coarse sand lining the bottom of the deep pit.

He put his hand inside the chest, his fingertips brushing past a lining of faded, brittle red velvet, and brought out the locket.

It was a small, oval piece of tarnished brass that was heavy for its size.

He felt around inside the dark interior of the wooden box for more stuff... searching for a stack of cash, or even another cryptic letter but there was nothing else.

The damp velvet was bare.

He pulled out the locket, holding it up into the blinding glare of the tropical afternoon sun. The dull metal barely reflected the light.

"All of that searching... for a simple locket, huh?" Isa asked, leaning her weight against the wooden handle of her steel shovel.

She didn’t really sound offended, and she really wasn’t.

Her chest heaved and her athletic clothes were sticking to her sweaty skin, but a relaxed smile rested on her lips.

Since at the end of the day, she had gotten to spend some intimate uninterrupted time with Wren without those other women butting in and ruining her mood.

But still, the physical exhaustion was catching up to her burning muscles.

’Did it really warrant searching around like that the whole afternoon?’ Isa thought, lifting the back of her wrist to wipe a thick bead of salty sweat from her forehead.

Standing just a few feet away, the guy who had lost the race looked at the tiny piece of antique jewelry dangling from Wren’s fingers.

He exhaled a massive breath with his shoulders dropping. He smiled, a genuine look of profound relief crossing his flushed sunburned face and walked off toward the jungle edge.

"I am glad it wasn’t me," the man said with his boots kicking up clumps of wet sand as he retreated.

Wren ignored the retreating loser.

He looked down at the locket resting in his palm. The metal felt remarkably cold despite the tropical heat, and it looked pretty old with the brass deeply scratched and worn smooth from years of handling.

Wren found the small stiff clasp on the side and pressed his thumb firmly against it. He opened it with a sharp metallic click.

CLICK!

Inside the dual frames were two small faded portraits. Two black-haired girls with bright brown eyes stared back at him as both sported wide genuine smiles frozen in time.

’I see...’ Wren thought, his dark eyes narrowing at the tiny painted faces. ’The older one has a smile on her face and glasses too, while the younger one looks cute. I am guessing this is Isabel and her younger sister...’

His jaw tightened, the muscles ticking beneath his skin.

The younger one in this specific picture was the exact woman who had married his father and had a daughter with him.

That immediately soured his triumphant mood.

Wren sighed with a hot breath escaping his lips. He snapped the brass locket closed.

"What’s wrong, Ren-Ren?" Isa asked, noticing the immediate rigid shift in his posture.

"It’s nothing Isa," Wren said, slipping the cold jewelry deep into his pocket. "I just feel a bit tired."

Then the first butler in the crisp, immaculate black suit stepped forward, his white gloves pristine against the messy backdrop of the beach.

"Congratulations for winning the Treasure Hunt," the butler said, offering a stiff practiced bow. "And for being the first people to do so. You will receive special rewards alongside the original rewards that were prepared for you, and it will be prepared before you leave Ivory Island." 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"Okay," Wren said, gesturing vaguely to his pocket. "What about this locket?"

The Butler gave another small, polite bow, keeping his hands clasped behind his back.

"Lady Isabel said that the winners of the Treasure Hunt should keep it, since she doesn’t have any use for it anymore."

Wren and Isa nodded, accepting the strange condition.

They turned their backs to the sparkling turquoise ocean and began leaving the sandy cove.

Behind them, the Butlers took firm hold of the steel shovels and began violently putting the dirt back into the deep hole that they had made, burying the empty wooden chest beneath the white shore.

Once they were far enough from the place, walking back into the welcoming shade of the dense jungle canopy,

Isa let out a huge exhausted sigh. She turned her body to Wren, offering a bright, genuine smile that reached her green eyes.

"Hey, at least that was fun..." Isa said, playfully bumping her shoulder against his bicep. "Though the end of it was a bit weak."

Wren nodded his head in agreement.

He smiled with the dark tension finally leaving his jaw as they navigated the winding dirt path. "Hey, at least we won prizes... even if they will take a few days to arrange it."

"I had fun." Isa said with her voice softening.

"I did have a lot of fun as well, despite all of the running..." Wren replied, looking at the dried mud caking his boots.

They stopped walking.

The ambient noise of the jungle birds faded into the background as they looked directly at each other.

Wren’s cheeks turned a little red under her intense gaze.

"So," Wren asked. "Do you want to finish what we started?"

Of course, they both knew exactly what he was referencing.

The memory of the weeping cave, the damp stone, and her slick mouth was fresh in his burning mind.

Isa’s face lit up a bit and a blush colored her cheeks as they stepped out of the thick jungle foliage and onto the paved civilized resort pathways.

"If you wan—"

"Isabella!"

Someone yelled out.

The sharp voice shattered their intimate bubble like fragile glass. They both faced forward to see her Manager standing squarely on the manicured green lawn.

The stern woman was wearing a tailored dark business suit and a tight pencil skirt, somehow not shedding a single drop of sweat even in the blistering island heat.

The woman folded her arms strictly across her chest.

Isabel sighed and a highly annoyed breath escaped her lips as she rolled her eyes toward the sky.

The Manager walked briskly forward, her sharp heels clicking aggressively against the pavement.

She stopped right in front of them, looking Wren up and down with a poker face.

"Mister Wren, this is the first time we are officially meeting each other..." the Manager said with her voice devoid of warmth.

Wren looked to the side, actively avoiding her piercing gaze.

The only other time they had truly met was when she was furiously chasing both him and Isa down the grand, carpeted hallways back when they were in the Celestine.

"My client," the Manager explained, her tone leaving zero room for negotiation, "Isabella, currently has a shoot to do for our primary sponsor for Ivory Island. So I would like to borrow her."

And with that said, the Manager reached out, took firm hold of Isa’s bare wrist and began pulling her away down the paved path.

"She can’t delay this one anymore," the Manager said over her shoulder, her grip unyielding. "After this, the two of you can spend time together as usual..."

She pulled Isa away and Isa stumbled slightly in her boots but she regained her footing and waved back at Wren as she was being dragged relentlessly toward the commercial district.

"Wait for me, Ren-Ren!" Isa called out, her blonde hair whipping around. "I’ll come back and then we can watch some movies~"

Then they turned a sharp corner past a row of tall palm trees and left, leaving Wren standing all alone on the paved ground.

He let out a long frustrated sigh with the air whistling through his teeth, as he kept walking forward.

’Right when I was about to finish the mission...’ Wren thought, reaching up and massaging his hair.

His other hand brushed his pocket, feeling the cold hard brass of the locket resting against his thigh. ’Well, I guess I should go check what the others are doi—’

"Excuse me, Mister Wren."

A familiar polite voice popped up directly in front of him and Wren blinked, snapping out of his thoughts.

The neatly dressed Attendant that had initially led him into the VIP spa earlier was standing on the path, her hands clasped perfectly in front of her uniform.

"Lady Isabel is calling for you," the Attendant told him, her posture rigid.

Wren blinked, genuine confusion replacing his lingering frustration. "Where is she?"

The woman raised her hand and pointed her index finger straight up at the massive, towering glass structure of the grand Massage Building nearby. The sun glinted off the highest windows.

"At the top." the woman said.

Wren adjusted his shirt, rolling his aching shoulders. "Alright, let’s go."

He didn’t really know why his estranged aunt was calling him out of the blue, but he guessed he could go... just to return the antique locket. He walked side-by-side with the attendant.

They crossed the sun-baked courtyard and entered the expansive air-conditioned lobby of the Massage Building again.

They bypassed the standard reception desk, walking past the flowing water features, and entered a private, gold-trimmed Elevator.

The attendant swiped a black keycard, and the heavy metal doors slid shut, sealing them in silence.

The machine hummed afterward, ascending rapidly and opening precisely on the top floor.

Initially, when he and the others had done their group massages, they hadn’t gone to the very top but this specific level was the very peak of the Building, and Wren could see the extreme wealth in the design as the Elevator opened.

It was pure luxury.

The walls were paneled in rich dark mahogany wood that gleamed under the soft recessed lighting.

The massive, floor-to-ceiling windows offered a breathtaking, panoramic view of the crashing ocean.

The plush, thick carpets silenced their footsteps as everything they passed looked incredibly expensive and pristine.

The Attendant led him down the quiet scented corridor to a set of big imposing double doors at the very end of the hall then she tapped her knuckles against the polished wood with a soft knock.

"Come in..." a smooth voice came from inside.

Only the Attendant reached out and opened the heavy mahogany door for Wren to enter.

Once he stepped across the threshold, the door clicked securely closed right behind him, locking him inside the suite.

The penthouse smelled richly of lavender, expensive massage oils and sea salt.

In the center of the vast, sunlit room, resting directly on a long, highly expensive massage table overlooking the bright blue ocean, a beautiful black-haired woman with striking brown eyes sat upright.

She was currently wearing only a thin, white cotton towel wrapped tightly around her torso.

The damp fabric did very little to hide her voluptuous curves and her milky, flawless skin as her bare shoulders gleamed in the natural sunlight pouring through the glass.

She sighed, her lips curling into a soft smile as she turned over to face him.

"Welcome, Wren," She said. "Come sit next to me."

Wren walked forward, his boots sinking deep into the thick carpet, entirely unsure of what to say to the powerful woman.

"Afternoon, Aun—"

The woman raised a slender, perfectly manicured finger to her lips, cutting him off instantly.

"Don’t call me aunt... Don’t dare..." she said firmly with her brown eyes narrowing slightly.

And so Wren kept his mouth shut.

He walked around the edge of the table and sat down beside her on the edge of the padded Massage table with the expensive leather squeaking slightly under his weight.

"I assume you finished the Treasure Hunt," the woman then said, resting her bare hands elegantly in her lap. "Did you win?"

"Yes, we did..." Wren replied. He reached deep into his pocket and pulled out the heavy brass. "And I got this."

He showed her the worn metal casing of the locket. "I assume that this is you and your younger sister in here, right?"

The woman looked down at the antique jewelry, her brown eyes tracking the deep scratches on the surface.

"Yes, it is. I didn’t think you would know."

"It was obvious," Wren said, pointing his finger at the tiny, painted photo inside the frame. "Since the girl here has the same Hair color and eyes as you... Plus she looks cute here."

Then he paused, staring at the woman sitting mere inches from him and his mind raced, comparing the faded image to the striking reality.

’But damn, do they look different?’ He thought with his brow furrowing. ’The girl in the picture looks so happy, even wearing those plain glasses. However, the rich woman sitting next to me looks so different. It’s quite surprising at how growing up can change someone so much.’

Isabel chuckled. "You’re insinuating that I don’t look cute now?"

Wren’s eyes widened with a spike of panic hitting his chest as he realized his blunt blunder.

He immediately opened his mouth and tried to frantically explain his logic however Isabel laughed.

"I was joking," Isabel said, waving her hand dismissively to stop his rambling. "And you can keep the Pendant... I have no use for it right now."

Wren looked at the brass locket resting heavily in his palm. What was he going to use it to do?

He didn’t even truly know the woman but he pocketed the jewelry, keeping it securely at his side.

"So why did you call me here?" Wren asked, his voice steadying.

The woman cleared her throat. She shifted her weight on the padded leather table and scooted physically closer to him.

The thin white towel shifted precariously, and he felt the soft, yielding heat of her large breasts pressing deliberately against the side of his bare arm.

The intoxicating scent of her perfume clouded his senses making his heart beat a fraction faster.

"Bring out your Penis... I want to see it," Isabel said.

Wren blinked.

"...Huh?"