Chapter 2028 The men moved aside, revealing a path toward the ship. “It‘s time to board your ride, ma‘am. The ship sets sail 15 minutes later.”
Sandy was more than excited to take up the offer. The men led her to her bedroom before immediately asking, “Sorry for the inconvenience, but please pass your phone to us, ma‘am.” Sandy was confused. “Why?”
“Mr. Matthews worries that someone might have bugged your phone to find out where he is. It‘s pertinent that you switch your phone off and hand it to us before we reach the Eastern Islands.”
The woman hesitated, but she remembered how cautious Donald was and obliged. The liner left the pier. The shore seemed to be retreating away while Sandy paced in her room. She felt strangely uneasy. She opened the door and walked out to the corridor before making her way to the deck.
Two men appeared to be talking to each other while smoking, but Sandy quickly realized that none of them were her previous escorts. They did not look like Orasians at all. She had never seen either of them by Donald‘s side. Sandy began to backpedal from the deck, careful to be as quiet and undetected as possible. She did not make it far before she was stopped in her tracks by a bump against her back. Her eyes twitched. She turned behind her sharply. Strangers had emerged in droves. A few men in black emerged from the floor above the deck and blocked every escape route. Quivering, Sandy asked, “W–Who are” A familiar voice answered her from above. “Don‘t recognize me already, Mrs. Pruitt?” A man was standing on the floor above the deck with his back against the light. His features were obscured by the shadow until he descended the stairs, his shirt billowing in the wind. Sandy‘s shock struck her as soon as she recognized the man. “Coleman Goldmann!?” ‘How could this be!?‘ Colton fell into steps before his bodyguard, and a smile shadowed his lips. “Curious? How did I know that you‘re the one Donald‘s hoping to receive?”
A nasty glower overcame Sandy‘s mien. “Y–You have your people following me!” she bellowed. “You promised you would let me go! You lied! You broke your own promise!” Colton‘s smile vanished. “No.You broke yours first. I simply learned from you. Besides, had I not let you go, I would have never known about your secret contact with Donald.”
The woman trembled.
“I didn‘t send anyone to follow you, Mrs. Pruitt. The only thing I did…” He produced the woman‘s phone from his pocket. “Was adding a little something to your phone. I heard everything between you and Donald. Everything.” Sandy felt her strength escaping her. Her knees had grown so weak she almost crashed onto
the floor. Never had she ever suspected herself to be caught in a trap because someone had the foresight to bug her phone.
She gnashed her teeth. “So… You would do anything it takes to send me to prison over that b* tch, Frejya?”
Colton tidied his sleeves noncommittally. “She‘s just part of the story,” he intoned. “My brother–in–law, Nollace Knowles, is still missing. Nobody knows if he‘s dead or alive.
“See, you chose to stand with Donald. That means you‘re prepared to sink with that ship.” Sandy felt a burst of emotions clocking up her throat. ‘No one knows if he‘s dead or alive‘ meant there was no certainty in his death. It suddenly occurred to her that she had been a sitting duck this whole time–since she called Donald up till the moment she received the news of Nollace‘s “death.” A hollow laugh crawled out of Sandy‘s throat. Despair… and relief. “I‘ve underestimated all of you, and God, I‘m so bitter! But it doesn‘t matter anymore, does it? I‘m dead! Doesn‘t matter if I go back or be imprisoned. What‘s left for me to fear?” 1 Colton felt a sharp sense of foreboding. Sandy pushed the bodyguards surrounding her and dove toward the rails. The men reacted quickly. They grabbed hold of her as hard as they could, and Sandy‘s body was half thrown overboard.
Below her, violent waves snarled and crashed onto one another, hungry. Had she succeeded, she would have never survived.
