CHAPTER 320: SPARE THEIR LIVES (6)

Georgia’s POV

The voices brought back my consciousness.

"I can’t drop you off at the next port, Nancy. Our deal is a pickup at sea," a man said.

"I know," Nancy replied. "But that woman is dangerous. She’ll jump overboard with a child if she has to."

Pain throbbed at the base of my skull, a migraine pounding behind my eyes. The back of my neck ached as if someone had hit me with a baseball bat. For a dizzy second, I wondered if the world would tilt and swallow me whole.

I forced my eyes open.

Nancy stood there, smug and too calm, and beside her a man in a captain’s uniform whose face was half-hidden by a mask. My body tried to move, but failed. Tight ropes bit into my wrists and ankles. I was strapped to the chair, every joint protesting.

"Katie?" I spat, panic clawing up my throat when I didn’t find her in the small cabin. "Where is she?"

Nancy and the masked captain turned as if I’d asked a polite question about the weather.

"Oh, look who woke up," Nancy said, amusement cooling her tone. "Princess Mulan. Katie’s with Amara in the other room." She flicked a glance at the captain. "Go. I need to talk to her."

The captain stepped away, and the moment he closed the door, Nancy closed the distance between us.

Her palm connected with my face like a cracking whip.

*SLAP*

Pain flared. My cheek burned.

"What the fuck! What do you want, Nancy?" I roared, fury blazing hotter than the pain.

"Easy," she purred, voice soft enough to make the words poisonous. "Open your mouth too wide and you’ll regret it. As you can see, your life and Katie’s depend on my mood. I could toss you overboard right now, tied up just like they did to David."

Heat surged through me, raw and relentless. The name landed in me like an acid burn, David. My brother.

"You knew," I hissed, every syllable a blade. "You knew who killed my brother. Were you one of them?"

"Oh, darling, no..." Nancy’s voice was so sure. "I wouldn’t want to dirty my hands before until you forced me to. If you hadn’t fallen from Raymond’s ship, we wouldn’t be here now. All of this... is your fault."

"My fault?" I snapped, rage burning away the fear. "You pushed me! And that’s what you did to my brother, too, you murderer! You’ll rot in hell for what you’ve done!"

Nancy’s lips curled into that familiar, sickening smirk. Her heels clicked against the metal floor as she came closer, each step echoing like a countdown.

*SLAP!*

Her palm struck my face, snapping my head to the side for the second time. The sting radiated through my cheek, my eyes flooding with tears. But not from pain, but from fury.

"Don’t you dare accuse me of something I didn’t do," she hissed. "If you’re looking for answers, maybe you should ask Raymond... or Reagan. But even then, you’ll never know everything. Because you’ll never see them again." She laughed, a cruel, hollow sound that made my stomach twist.

"What do you want, Nancy?!" I screamed, struggling against the ropes cutting into my wrists. "You want me to retract the case? Fine! Done! Just let us go, let Katie go! She’s a child; she has nothing to do with this! If you want revenge, take it out on me!"

Nancy tilted her head, watching me break with delight. "Oh, dear... are you crying now?" she mocked. "Too late for tears. You stained my name, ruined my career, destroyed everything I worked for. All because you couldn’t keep your mouth shut. You wanted revenge yourself even after you already got your happy ending. you’re evil, Georgia."

Her smile faded into something darker, something broken. "I wanted Raymond. I’ve always wanted him. If you had just stayed quiet, if you hadn’t filed that damn case, I would’ve had him. But because of you and Nick, my career’s gone, Raymond’s gone, and my father disowned me. Everything that was mine is gone!"

She paced slowly, her rage building like a storm. "But don’t worry. I won’t hurt Katie. David was good to me once. I did love him at some point, it’s just that I love Raymond more... David worshipped me like a goddess, in his own way. So as soon as I am safe, I’ll let Katie go. But you, Georgia—" she stopped and faced me, eyes blazing— "you’re a different story. You ruined my life, and there’s no way I will not ruin yours. I will not let you be happy. You took everything from me, and I will make sure you lose everything too. You’ll beg for death before I’m done, but death is too merciful for you."

"I didn’t do anything to you, Nancy!" I cried. "You destroyed your own life! It’s not too late, please! Let me talk to Nick. I’ll tell him to withdraw the case. I’ll give you money, I’ll talk to your father, I’ll fix everything! You can start over. Just let us go... please."

Her expression hardened. "No. It’s far too late for that. Even if you fix everything, Raymond will never look at me the same way again—and that’s your fault. You took the one thing I can’t buy back."

Her voice dropped to a chilling calm. "So here’s how this works... stay quiet. Don’t test me. Try anything stupid, and maybe I won’t be so kind to your precious niece."

She turned and started toward the door.

"No... Nancy, please, don’t go! Let’s talk this through!" I begged, the ropes biting deeper as I thrashed. "NANCY!"

The door slammed shut.

Silence swallowed the room.

My chest heaved. Tears blurred my vision. Fear. Anger. Desperation. Every emotion twisted together until it hurt to breathe.

"Nick..." I whispered into the darkness. "Please... find us. Please..."

And then, the only sound left was the hollow creak of the ship moving through the waves—and my own broken sobs.

*******

Thank you for the Golden Ticket!

KATHLEEN_COLL