PlotlumeTen minutes after I got engaged to Eugene, the werewolf tycoon, on a luxury cruise ship, he cut my safety line and shoved me into the ocean.
The deck was full of wealthy guests whistling and jeering:
"Eugene, you really threw your newly engaged fiancée overboard to feed the sharks, just to avenge your adopted daughter Sylvie?"
Eugene adjusted Sylvie's shawl, his voice gentle:
"Sylvie said she was seasick and wanted something exciting. Why shouldn't I give her what she wants?"
Sylvie leaned over the railing, clapping and laughing, and tossed my life ring in the opposite direction.
I clung to the edge of the ship and begged for help, but my three childhood-friend big brothers stepped on my fingers.
Lennox Pryce, the heir, looked down at me. "Sylvie is timid. She only enjoys herself when she sees you miserable. Stay in the water a while longer."
Felix Shaw, the boxing champion, pried my hand off the railing. "You're a strong swimmer, you won't die. Don't come up and spoil Sylvie's fun!"
They ordered the ship to pull away, leaving me to fend for myself on the open sea.
An encrypted call came through my earpiece: "Chief, the evidence of Eugene's family money laundering is fully locked down. The submarine is in position, ten meters underwater. Shall we close the net now?"
I floated on the sea, watching the cruise ship's lights drift away, and nearly laughed out loud.
This self-sacrifice ruse to take over Eugene's business empire is finished. Their twisted game? I'm done playing it!
1
I pressed my earpiece and gave the order:
"Everyone, stay silent and hold your positions."
I cut the encrypted channel.
Seawater flooded my nose.
Water rushed and churned beneath the surface.
A small submarine rose up. The hatch opened, and a mechanical arm reached out of the water and pulled me inside.
The hatch sealed shut, shutting out the waves.
My second-in-command, Amy, ran over and handed me a towel.
She stared at the bruises on my arm and the blood on my fingers, her eyes red:
"Chief, your injuries..."
"Get the first aid kit. Your nails are torn back!"
I took the towel and dried my hair, peeled off my soaked evening gown, and changed into combat gear:
"A self-sacrifice ruse has to look real."
"This little bit of damage is nothing. It won't kill me."
Amy gritted her teeth as she wrapped my fingers, her hands trembling:
"Those scumbags! Eugene is an animal, and those three, Lennox, Felix, and Rowan, are ungrateful backstabbers!"
"If you let me lead a team up there, I'd take every one of them out right now!"
I pulled my hand back and flexed my bandaged fingers:
"Pull up the cruise ship's live surveillance."
Amy tapped the console a few times, and the main screen lit up.
On the screen, the open-air deck on the top floor was blazing with lights.
Lennox, Felix, and Rowan were gathered around Sylvie, holding champagne glasses and laughing.
On top of that, my phone buzzed with an Instagram alert from an account I had on special notifications.
Sylvie had just posted a nine-photo grid, with the caption:
"The sea air is a little salty, but my brothers' love is so sweet. Tonight, I'm the happiest little princess in the whole world!"
In one photo, Eugene was bending down to tie the laces of her high heels.
The comments were full of likes from the werewolf high-society crowd.
Lennox commented: "As long as you're happy, I'll buy the whole sea for you."
Felix commented: "Anyone who upsets you will answer to me. I'll make her pay for it!"
Rowan commented: "My little princess, don't stay out in the wind too long. You'll get a headache."
Amy slammed her fist on the console:
"They pushed you into the sea only ten minutes ago!"
"These heartless wolves are popping champagne to celebrate!"
"Chief, give the order. Our torpedoes can sink this ship any time!"
I stared at the wolf-head brooch pinned to Sylvie's chest on the screen:
"The plan has changed. We can't close the net yet."
"I need to be rescued, so I can get back on board."
Amy froze and turned to look at me:
"Chief, we already have enough evidence of money laundering. Why risk going back?"
"That ship is full of Eugene's private army and hundreds of werewolf elites. If you go back, you're a lamb walking into a tiger's den!"
"They really wanted you dead in the sea just now!"
I pointed to an encrypted signal source in the bottom right corner of the screen:
"Look closely. Eugene's personal bodyguard has just taken over the backup communications room at the bottom of the ship."
"We have the money laundering ledgers, but the key to the 'Deep Sea Vault,' which their four families share, is still on them."
"If I don't empty that vault, how can I make sure they never get back on their feet?"
Amy still blocked my path: