Chapter 4

Tyler stared intently at Sylvia. "Where's the USB drive?"

Sylvia's face turned ashen immediately, and her tears came on cue.

"Tyler, Winnie tried to give me drugs. How could I trust any information she gave me? I was afraid it was a trap set by Lucas!"

She wept, and her voice trembled. "I was scared something would happen to you. I can't live without you…"

The crowd in the square was swayed by her act once again.

"Ms. Sylvia is right! You can't trust a single word from a drug dealer!"

"She was protecting Captain Lowell!"

Tyler gazed at her. His eyes were swirling with a storm of emotions. In the end, he pulled her close again, as if trying to convince himself.

The scene abruptly shifted, showing a cargo ship in international waters.

Tyler, disguised as a buyer with a baseball cap, appeared at the deal. When I saw him, my heart skipped a beat.

I forced myself to stay calm as I approached. When I passed him, I whispered urgently, "What are you doing here? It's a trap! Get out!"

Before he could even react, an alarm blared through the ship.

A drug dealer shouted in panic, "There's a mole on board!"

Tyler's hand went to the gun at his waist. His eyes were locked on me, and disbelief was written all over his face.

I felt my heart sink, and I made a decision in that instant.

I raised my gun and pointed it straight at Tyler, shouting, "No need to look! He's the mole!"

My voice rang across the empty deck as I commanded, "Tie him to the mast!"

Several drug dealers rushed forward and pinned Tyler to the ground.

I walked over to him, raised the butt of my gun, and slammed it down on his old shoulder wound.

Tyler grunted, and cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead. He looked up at me, and his eyes were filled with icy hatred.

"Winnie, I really misjudged you!"

I leaned down and whispered in his ear, "Too bad, Captain Lowell. Be a better judge in your next life!"

I straightened up and laughed. But what no one could see was that my tears were falling, mingling with the rain.

Just then, the roar of helicopters grew closer, circling above the ship.

Lucas descended on a rope ladder. With a nod of his chin, his men moved and delivered a chop to the neck that knocked Tyler unconscious.

Then, without warning, he raised his hand and smacked me across the face, sending me sprawling to the ground.

Lucas crouched down and grabbed my chin with his fingers.

"That's some good acting, Winnie. You hit your ex-husband so hard that I almost believed it. What's next? Faking his death so he can slip away? Huh?"

The screen went black after that.

The crowd in the square exchanged uneasy glances. For the first time, doubt crept into their certainty about my crimes.

"Was she… actually putting on an act to save him?"

"Even Lucas said so. Something's off here!"

Some had even noticed the tears that were mixed with the rain on my face.

For the first time, voices rose up from the crowd to defend me. They were weak, but undeniably real.

Tyler stiffened up. Had it not been for the memory that played, he'd already have forgotten that I had told him to get out.

A chill shot up his spine.

The light from the giant screen flickered back on, and after a few flashes, the footage stabilized.

Tyler's head snapped up, and his eyes widened. What appeared on the screen was something he never could have imagined.