Chapter 3

The people who spoke up were all influential, so everyone else could only go along with them.

It felt like a blade was lodged in my throat. I couldn't make a sound anymore and could only shake my head desperately, but no one paid me any attention.

My eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

After they dumped me onto the yacht, they became so busy trying to keep Zachary entertained that they completely forgot about me.

I lay sprawled across the deck, barely clinging to life. Everyone who passed by covered their noses and walked around me.

After gathering what little strength I had left, I grabbed hold of a passing cleaning lady.

"Ma'am, please save me…"

She jumped in fright when she realized I was a person. Panicked, she pulled out her phone and called for an ambulance.

I thought I was finally going to be saved, but then the yacht suddenly set sail. The ambulance couldn't reach us.

The woman panicked as well. Her voice started trembling.

"Young man, who did this to you? This is just awful! Ms. Sinclair rented this yacht to make her younger brother happy. Now that it's left the dock, it'll be out at sea for an entire month!"

I gripped her hand tightly. Tears streamed down my face as I silently begged her for help.

The wounds covering my body were too horrifying to look at. She couldn't bear to meet my eyes and could only pat me gently in comfort.

"Young man, I'll go beg Ms. Sinclair. Since her brother's in such a good mood, maybe she'll agree to dock the yacht and let you go to the hospital."

She hurried off to plead on my behalf.

The place where they were celebrating seemed to be just one deck above me. The deafening music and laughter pounding overhead made my head feel like it was splitting apart.

It wasn't long before the cleaning lady found Sophia. She actually dropped to her knees in front of her.

"Ms. Sinclair, there's a young man who's badly injured. He's dying! Please dock the yacht and send him to the hospital!"

Sophia frowned in confusion. "Someone's injured? Who?"

The woman shook her head repeatedly. Anxiety was written all over her face. "I don't know, but he looks so pitiful! Ms. Sinclair, please save him!"

Sophia nodded, but instead of docking the yacht, she sent over the private doctor who always accompanied her.

I should have felt hopeful now that help had arrived, but it was as if an invisible hand were squeezing my heart mercilessly and filling me with unbearable pain.

When it came to me, her own younger brother, she refused to show even the slightest bit of mercy. Yet for the anonymous young man the cleaning lady described, she was willing to lend a helping hand.

For Zachary's sake, she had truly abandoned her own brother.

The private doctor recognized me immediately. Her eyes widened in shock.

"Mr. Steven! What happened to you?"

I opened my dry, cracked lips, but no words came out.

She frantically searched through her medical kit, only to realize she didn't have the supplies needed to treat injuries this severe. In a panic, she immediately called Sophia.

"Ms. Sinclair! The injured person is your brother! I can't treat him here. Stop the yacht and get him to a hospital!"

Sophia's voice trembled with alarm. "I only left Zachary alone for a moment. How did he get hurt?"

She immediately ordered the captain to turn the yacht around and head back to shore.

The next second, the doctor explained, "It's not Mr. Zachary, but Mr. Steven!"

The moment Sophia heard my name, she let out a relieved sigh. She canceled the order to return and snapped angrily, "So he had you call and lie to me just to trick me into seeing him? He's even bought you off? I don't keep dishonest people around. You're fired!"

She hung up without another word.

The doctor was on the verge of tears. Having just lost her job, she no longer cared about me.

However, the cleaning lady was kind. She stayed by my side the entire time, constantly reassuring me and giving me hope.

Still, it was becoming harder and harder to breathe.

Almost my entire body had gone numb. I stared blankly at the ceiling, waiting for death to arrive at any moment.

The music on the upper deck finally stopped. It was replaced by the lively chatter of the guests.

Suddenly, I heard my sister's voice. My entire body began trembling uncontrollably.