The man grabbed Jacqueline and ripped the tape off her mouth with a look of disgust. He then untied the ropes binding her and tossed her into the sea.

“Wash yourself clean. You smell terrible.”

The boat was docked at the pier. Although there were no sharks in this part of the sea, Jacqueline couldn’t swim, so throwing her into the water still put her life in danger. It was clear that the person who threw her overboard didn’t know that.

Jacqueline flailed in the seawater, screaming for help.

At first, the man thought she was pretending and watched her struggle with amusement from the shore. “Yeah, keep thrashing like that. Clean yourself off properly so you don’t stink up the place when you see our boss.”

The “boss” he referred to was Stephen’s subordinate, Lawrence Wallace.

The port where the boat was docked was located in the coastal city of Lindwell. Though Lindwell was a southern city, it was situated farther north, with winter temperatures around freezing.

The seawater was icy cold. Jacqueline trembled uncontrollably, her lips darkening to a sicky purple as spasms wracked her limbs.

She swallowed a lot of seawater, and it became increasingly difficult to breathe. After struggling for a while, she gradually lost her strength.

Seeing her shouts weaken and her body starting to sink, the man watching began to panic.

He cursed, “Damn it! She really can’t swim? Do I seriously have to jump in and fish her out?”

It was far too cold, and he was unwilling to dive into the sea to save her.

Looking around, he spotted an orange life ring hanging nearby.

The man grabbed the life ring and tossed it into the sea. “You stinking woman, grab the life ring and get out on your own! I’m not jumping in to save you in this cold!”

Although Jacqueline reached for the life ring, she was too weak to swim toward it.

Seeing that she couldn’t grab the floating device and was about to sink, the man cursed under his breath, reluctantly diving into the sea to pull her out.

He managed to fish her out, but Jacqueline had swallowed a lot of seawater and was so cold that she had already lost consciousness.

“That woman won’t die, will she?” The man muttered a curse.

A nearby companion frowned. “Seriously, dude? You were supposed to take her

to get cleaned up, and this is how you did it?”

The man shivered from the cold. “You have no idea how bad she smelled. I couldn’t stand it and had no choice but to throw her into the

sea. How was I supposed to know

she couldn’t swim the ol

Bad luck

“Now I’m freezing and had to fish her out myself. I’m going to change into some

dry clothes. You take her to find a doctor. Don’t let her die.”

“Fine. Hurry up, or you’ll be in trouble if the boss arrives to find you missing.” “Got it, got it.”

Jacqueline opened her eyes again about three hours later. As her consciousness slowly returned, she rolled her eyes around to observe her surroundings.

It was a dark and cramped space, much like the room on the boat. As she felt the movement beneath her Jacqueline guessed she was in a moving vehicle. The dark space seemed to be the cargo compartment of a large truck.

Her clothes were still soaking wet, but a thick blanket had been thrown over her, indicating that those people were at least afraid of her freezing to death.

Jacqueline clutched the blanket tightly, wrapping her arms around herself as she cried, her shoulders shaking with each sob.

This journey had been so bitter and

full of hardship. She no longer resembled a pampered heiress. Even without a mirror, she knew she had to look like a homeless beggar.

She sobbed softly for a while, and once exhausted, she leaned against the cold metal frame of the truck to rest.

Even with the blanket, her wet clothes clung to her skin, sending an unbearable chill through her body as if she were trapped in an icy cavern.

Jacqueline guessed that the truck was headed toward Rivertown. In a few more hours, she should be able to see Stephen.