Chapter one: The restlessness of normalcy
It had been a couple of weeks since the chaos aboard the ship—the frantic chase, the heartbreak of losing the cross to Ward and Rafe, and the group's near-miraculous escape. They'd been stranded on that island for a day before rescue came, and now they were back in Kildare, trying to piece their lives back together but the scars—both physical and emotional—remained.
The Chateau, once a place of carefree adventures, now housed the remnants of their fractured lives. Cleo was now a permanent fixture, having easily slipped into their tight-knit group as though she had always been there. Kiara, after a massive blow-up with her parents, was crashing at the Château too. Disappearing with no explanation had been the last straw for them. JJ, as always, was along for the ride, his dad on the run, leaving him homeless after their house was foreclosed.
Sarah had nightmares almost every night. In the darkness, her brother's face twisted into a snarl as he chased her, or her father's cold eyes stared her down before pushing her off a boat. The memories played on repeat, her sleep filled with restless tossing and turning. She was strong, always had been, but the weight of her past was pressing down on her, suffocating her.
She had transferred to the public school to be with John B and tried to settle into a routine. Between school and picking up odd jobs to make ends meet, she was running on empty. The only place that brought her any sense of solace was the Chateau, where she could hide away from everything for a little while.
But even the Chateau didn't offer the same comfort it once had. John B was wrapped up in something new—his dad's journals. He would spend hours sitting on the porch or at the kitchen table, flipping through the weathered pages, his brow furrowed in concentration as he tried to piece together the mystery his father had left behind. Sarah understood why he was so obsessed. It gave him something to focus on, something to work toward that wasn't tied to their pain.
Still, she missed him. The version of John B that was carefree and wild, the boy who had once made her feel like they could conquer anything together. She knew he was still there, buried under the weight of it all, but lately, they both felt more like survivors than anything else.
"Yo, you've been out here for hours," JJ called out as he stepped onto the porch, breaking Sarah's thoughts. He was holding a beer, the bottle already half-empty, as he flopped down into the chair next to her.
"Can't sleep again?" he asked, though he already knew the answer. It was a question he'd been asking her for weeks.
Sarah shook her head. "Nope. Same as always."
JJ nodded, taking a long drink before setting the bottle down. "Yeah, I hear you. I don't think any of us are sleeping too well these days."
Inside the house, she could hear Cleo and Kiara talking in the kitchen, the low murmur of their voices blending with the sound of John B flipping through another page of his father's notebook.
JJ leaned back, looking up at the sky, his expression unreadable. "You know, it's kinda weird, being back here. Like, after everything… I thought we'd feel more… I don't know, normal."
"Nothing's normal anymore, JJ," Sarah muttered, pulling her knees up to her chest. "Everything's different."
He nodded again, but there was a small smile on his lips. "Maybe, but at least we're still here. And, I mean, we've got the Chateau, right?"
Sarah couldn't help but smile a little at that. The Chateau was their safe haven, even if it didn't feel as carefree as it once had. It was still theirs.
Sitting on the porch of the Chateau that evening, John B absently flipped through one of his dad's old notebooks. It had been buried deep in the stacks of papers his dad had hoarded over the years. The title on the cover was worn, but still readable: The Lost Galleon – San José.
The San José, a Spanish galleon loaded with treasure, had sunk off the coast of Colombia in 1708. It was said to have carried an unimaginable fortune in gold, silver, and jewels. But what really caught John B's attention was a name scrawled in the margins of the notebook: Anne Bonny.
John B's heart raced as he scanned his father's notes. Big John had always been obsessed with the idea that the San José carried more than just treasure. He believed that Anne Bonny, the infamous female pirate, had stolen a portion of the treasure before the ship sank and hidden it on an island, leaving clues behind in celestial events—tides, star patterns, things only a true seafarer could decipher.
His dad's handwriting was messy, and some of the notes were hard to follow, but the theory was clear. If this was true, if Anne Bonny had hidden part of the San José's treasure, then finding it wouldn't just be about gold—it would be about finishing what his dad had started.
Before John B could get too far into his thoughts, he heard the familiar sound of JJ's boots crunching against the gravel as he walked up to the porch.
He kicked at a loose board on the porch, plopping down beside John B. "Yo, what're you reading, man?"
John B glanced at him, flipping the notebook closed. "It's my dad's notes. He had this theory about the San José. You ever hear of it?"
JJ's eyebrows shot up, curiosity piqued. "What's that? Another treasure?"
John B smirked. "Yeah, but it's not just another treasure. The San José was this Spanish galleon loaded with gold, silver, you name it. My dad thought it went down with almost $20 billion worth of treasure, but there's a twist."
Kiara, hearing the word "treasure," stepped out onto the porch, wiping her hands on a towel. "What's the twist?"
John B's eyes gleamed with excitement. "He thinks it didn't go down with all the treasure. He had this theory that Anne Bonny—you know, the pirate—stole part of it."
"Anne Bonny?" JJ leaned forward, his grin spreading wider. "Wait, you're telling me some pirate chick made off with a billion-dollar haul? How do we know it's even true?"
Kiara rolled her eyes, giving JJ a shove. "Anne Bonny was a total badass, and yes, she could've pulled it off. She was one of the most feared pirates on the seas, fought alongside men, and didn't take crap from anyone."
JJ raised his hands in mock surrender. "Alright, alright. I get it. Girl pirate. Queen of the seas. Still sounds like a long shot."
John B flipped the notebook back open, the excitement bubbling up again as he traced his finger along one of his dad's sketches of a map. "If she did steal part of the treasure, and if my dad's notes are right, we might have a shot at finding it."
Kiara's eyebrows knitted together as she glanced over the pages. "This looks pretty rough. Are you sure it's enough to go on?"
John B shrugged. "It's a start. I'm thinking we track down more clues. Maybe there's something we're missing. There's gotta be a trail she left behind."
JJ leaned back against the porch railing, hands behind his head. "Well, I'm down for a treasure hunt. Beats sitting around waiting for life to blow up again."
At that moment, Sarah stepped out onto the porch, her hair still damp from a shower. She looked tired, like she hadn't slept well in days. Her hand lingered at her temple, massaging away the beginnings of a headache.
"You good?" John B asked, glancing up from the notebook, his concern evident.
Sarah gave him a weak smile, tucking herself at his side. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired. I think I might be coming down with something."
JJ shot her a look, smirking. "Great, patient zero's gonna infect the whole gang."
Kiara gave JJ a quick smack on the arm. "Shut up."
John B chuckled, sliding an arm around Sarah's shoulders. "You sure you're okay? You were napping for hours."
Sarah leaned into him, closing her eyes for a moment. "Yeah, just a headache. I'll be fine."
Her voice was soft, but her mind was miles away, replaying everything that had happened with her family. The nightmares had been relentless lately—her father and Rafe chasing her, trying to kill her. She hadn't told John B how bad they'd gotten, but she didn't want to burden him with more than he already had on his plate.
"So, what're you guys talking about?" she asked, nodding toward the notebook on John B's lap.
John B's eyes lit up again. "Dad's notes on the San José. He thinks Anne Bonny might've stolen part of the treasure before it went down. We're thinking about checking it out."
Sarah smiled, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Sounds like we're about to get ourselves into more trouble."
JJ, ever the daredevil, grinned. "Trouble's what we do best."
Kiara raised an eyebrow. "And how are we supposed to go treasure hunting when we're broke?"
JJ winked at her. "We'll figure it out. We always do."