The Treasure of Blackwater Cove

The storm raged as Liam Grayson gripped the ship’s wheel, guiding The Sea Hawk through the towering waves. Lightning flashed, illuminating the jagged cliffs of Blackwater Cove—the legendary resting place of Captain Elias Drake’s lost treasure.

“We’re almost there!” he shouted over the howling wind.

Beside him, Tessa Monroe clung to the railing. “Assuming we don’t crash first!”

The sea churned violently, but Liam navigated through the narrow passage. With a final surge, the ship broke through the storm’s grasp, gliding into the eerie calm of the hidden cove.

The towering rock walls shielded them from the raging ocean. At the center of the cove, half-buried in the sand, lay the remains of an ancient shipwreck.

Tessa exhaled. “That’s The Revenant.”

Liam grinned. “And where there’s a ship, there’s treasure.”

They dropped anchor and rowed to shore. The wreck loomed before them, its hull cracked and broken. Skeletons littered the sand—remnants of pirates who had died protecting their captain’s fortune.

Tessa shivered. “This place gives me the creeps.”

Liam ignored her unease and climbed aboard. The ship groaned under his weight, the wood brittle with age. He reached the captain’s quarters and pushed open the rotting door.

There, in the center of the room, sat a massive chest.

“Jackpot,” Liam whispered.

Tessa joined him, her eyes wide. The chest was reinforced with iron bands, its lock rusted with time. She pulled a crowbar from her pack and jammed it into the latch.

With a snap, the lock broke. Liam lifted the lid—

Gold coins, rubies, and emeralds spilled out, glistening in the dim light.

Tessa let out a breathless laugh. “It’s real.”

Liam reached in, letting the coins run through his fingers. “We’re going to be rich.”

A low creak echoed through the wreck.

Tessa stiffened. “Did you hear that?”

Liam frowned. The air suddenly felt heavy, as if the ship itself were holding its breath.

Then came the whisper.

“You should not have taken what is mine.”

A chill ran down Liam’s spine. The shadows in the room seemed to shift, forming the outline of a figure—a ghostly pirate with hollow eyes and a spectral cutlass.

Captain Elias Drake.

Tessa gasped. “We need to go.”

But the ghost moved swiftly, its blade slicing through the air. Liam grabbed the chest and bolted, coins spilling behind him.

The wreck groaned, the ship breaking apart. The cove trembled as if the very earth rejected their presence.

They leapt into the rowboat just as The Revenant collapsed into the sea, taking the ghost with it.

Panting, Liam held up a single gold coin.

Tessa glared. “Was one coin worth nearly dying?”

Liam grinned. “Ask me after we sell it.”

But as they sailed away, the water behind them swirled—an eerie whisper carried on the wind.

“I will come for what is mine.”