Chapter 1

The Hargrove shipping dynasty had a long-standing belief that the more children a family had, the more prosperous it would become. The family even made it a publicly announced rule.

A new wife who had one child would receive a million dollars a month in living expenses. With two children, she'd get ten million a month. With three, a hundred million.

I was one of the lucky ones. After I married Spencer, I conceived triplets on my first try.

But when I left the delivery room, the money deposited into my account amounted to just a hundred dollars.

I fainted on the spot.

When I woke up, my phone had already been confiscated, and I'd been shipped off to recuperate in a tiny fishing village with no running water or electricity.

After five months of living on dried fish, I couldn't take it anymore.

I snatched a passing tourist's phone and started a livestream.

"I'm auctioning off Spencer Hargrove's children! Six hundred dollars each, or take all three and get twenty percent off!"

The stream quickly filled with viewers.

Spencer joined the livestream using his max-level, verified account.

"So I didn't buy you a private jet. Celeste, do you really have to throw a fit over it?"

"Even with all my money, five hundred million in cash is already my limit. Stop pushing your luck!"

I froze, clutching my three babies. They were just as starved and emaciated as I was.

How much? Five hundred million?

But in all the time since giving birth, I'd received only five hundred dollars!

The moment Spencer spoke, the comments came pouring in.

"Took five hundred million and still plays poor? She's gone money-crazy."

"A woman like her should be thrown in the river. She's using her own kids as bargaining chips!"

"Mr. Hargrove, call the police. This is straight-up extortion!"

I watched the screen fill with abuse.

I felt nothing. Not a thing.

Let them curse. Hunger is worse than any insult in the world.

Ever since giving birth, I'd been stuck in this remote fishing village.

There was nothing on the island but dried fish.

Fresh water had to be bought with money. Vegetables and fruit cost a fortune.

As for formula, I didn't even dare to dream of it.

I held my three babies in my arms, their little faces gaunt and sallow with hunger. Even their cries had dwindled to faint whimpers.

Just then, Spencer's request to join the stream popped up.

I accepted his request.

The screen lit up, but my eyes went straight to the sandwich beside Spencer's hand. I swallowed hard.

"Celeste, there's a limit to how far your tantrums can go."

"I've had Vanessa tell you over and over that I’ll buy you that jet. Just be patient."

"Have you been spending so much time lounging around on your private island that you've got nothing better to do than pull this ridiculous stunt?"

Spencer's voice was thick with disappointment.

Someone in the livestream chat who knew the backstory started explaining.

"Oh my God, isn't that the island Mr. Hargrove bought right after his wedding?"

"I heard that for that island, Mr. Hargrove passed up a villa right next to the financial center downtown!"

"I heard that too! Supposedly, it was all because Celeste mentioned online that she wanted to spend her postpartum recovery by the sea, lounging in the sun."

The chat filled with comments expressing envy and admiration.

I was completely lost.

A private luxury island?

On the other side of the screen, Spencer spoke, holding down his anger.

"I named that island Treasure Island. Celeste, you should understand what that means."

I laughed. I laughed until tears filled my eyes.

"I know. How could I not know?"

"That was the vow you made me when we married."

For five months, with no money to my name, I'd gone down to the shore every day to collect dead fish no one else wanted and boil them into soup.

Every time, I'd pass the stone monument at the island's entrance, with the words Treasure Island carved into it.

The monument also bore a story about a husband who sacrificed himself to save his wife and daughter.

When I first arrived, I didn't even have a place to live.

All I could do was hold my children and sleep beneath that stone.

Night after night, I'd stare at those two words—Treasure Island—and feel my heart break a little more.

When Spencer married me, he'd promised to cherish me as his most precious treasure.