"I swear, everything I'm about to say is true," my mother's voice came over Daley's phone. I could hear the frustration and despair in her voice, as if she were saying her last words.
"My name is Serena Wilson and I am Mikeal Green's wife. My husband is a businessman on the surface, but he has been dealing in arms secretly. To win over the officers, he presented me as a gift to an officer named Mickle Blanton. I was forced to behave like a p.rostitute for a month. And Mikeal Green was able to conduct an arms deal here. Not only that, but I also know that Mickle Blanton used his power to privately resell the arms purchased by the state to third-world countries through Mikeal. Their actions have seriously violated the law of the country. I was so tortured by Mikeal that I wanted to kill myself, but I couldn't. Because I'm pregnant, and the baby I'm carrying belongs to Mickle Blanton. As much as I hate Mickle, the child is innocent. I can not take their lives. I taped this evidence in the hope that one day the truth would come out."
Even after the recording was stopped, I could still hear my mother's voice. A sharp pain stabbed my nerves, and I trembled all over. My mother, my dear mother, went through such a traumatic experience before she passed away. I despise Mikeal Green and Mickle Blanton.
"I'm sorry about your mother," Daley said.
"Get out," I growled at him.
"I told you not to do anything rash."
"Shut up." I pulled the bedside lamp to hit him, but the bedside lamp just fell in front of him. The ground was covered with broken glass, and he didn't even look at it.
"You're the one holding the tape and negotiating with Mickle Blanton, aren't you?" I propped my hand against the bed and tried to get up but to no avail.
"You used me, you've been using me," I cried. "You bastard."
"You're my Lucky Star." Daley stood up and approached me. "I told you, I won't let you leave me. When we get to Mexico, you'll forget everything, including Frade."
"You should stay in Hell forever," I said, and felt a pain in my stomach. My stomach felt like it was tumbling. The sick feeling came straight from my stomach to my throat.
I started throwing up on my knees, and Daley rushed to my side to help me up. But I kept resisting him. So he had to shout Rita's name.
"Don't touch me." I threw up and glared at him.
"Okay. I won't touch you. I'll let Rita take care of you." Daley backs away with his hands up.
Rita almost burst into the room. She didn't even have time to knock. She said nervously to Daley, "Daley, there are people surrounding our boat. I think you should go take a look."
"You stay here and take care of Eva."
After Daley left, Rita put me to bed. She wiped my mouth with a wet towel and gave me some hot water. She asked me nervously as I lay in bed.
"Eva, do you have a fever?" As she spoke, she put the back of her hand on my forehead. "Your temperature is normal. Do you feel any discomfort in your body?"
"I feel sick," I said wearily. "I just want to lie down."
Rita looks at me suspiciously for a few seconds, then hesitantly asks me, "Eva, when did your last period end?"
When was the last time my period ended? I couldn't remember, and then I realized I hadn't had my period for a long time. A month or almost two.
"Oh, Eva," Rita said worriedly, "You might be pregnant."
Am I really pregnant? I can't believe it's true. Is the child I once lost coming back?
"If Daley knew you were pregnant with his baby, he'd be thrilled," Rita said excitedly. "I'm going to tell Daley right now."
"No, Rita," I told her hastily, "Not yet. Promise me you won't tell him."
"Why?" Rita looked at me quizzically.
"Because..." because I wasn't sure if Daley was the father. Maybe it's Frade's kid. Oh, I have a headache.
"I don't want Daley to know if I'm pregnant until I've been cleared by my doctor. Maybe I'm just having a delayed period..."
"I'm sure you're pregnant," Rita said confidently. "Believe me, for a person who has had a child, I can tell at a glance whether someone else is pregnant or not."
As I tried to find another excuse to jam her, gunshots rang out from outside the door. Startled, Rita quickly stood up and looked warily in the direction of the door. The door slammed open and Daley burst in with a pistol.
"Come with me," Daley said, tugging at my wrist. "There's a gang attacking us."
"Daley, I'm afraid Eva can't walk yet," Rita said anxiously. "She's still very weak."
"Yes, I can." I struggled on my feet. "Who attacked us?"
Did Frade come for me?
"Don't talk nonsense. Come with me." Daley put my arm around his shoulder and helped me out of the room quickly. Rita's right behind us.
"Don't talk, follow me."
Daley walked me carefully on the boat. Then there were several shots from the deck. Daley looked around warily, and then he looked out to sea.
"Jump," Daley told me. "Jump into the lifeboat below."
"Rita, you follow Eva."
I saw a lifeboat floating in the dark, and Rita was behind me, holding me by the waist and letting me climb over the railing. At that moment, the sound of the bullet suddenly shot through my back.
"Rita!" I screamed.
Rita was hit in the head and blood spurted from her head like a fountain. She fell slowly to the ground, her mouth moving as if to say something.
"Jump," Daley said, shoving me off the boat after firing a few shots at the attacker. He jumped out right after I jumped into the lifeboat.
With a gun in one hand and the lifeboat's steering wheel in the other, Daley steered the lifeboat away from the freighter. Gunfire continued behind him, and two bullets nearly hit the stern of the lifeboat.
"Where are we going?" The lifeboat moved in the dark and Daley didn't turn on the lights to avoid detection.
"We have to go back," Daley said with a hint of frustration as he gazed into the darkness.
"Who's attacking us?" I asked, tugging at his arm. "Who is it?"
He steered the lifeboat toward the shore, and there was no immediate response to my reply. So I said, "Answer me, who is it?"
When the boat came to shore, he took my hand and pulled me to the shore. He glanced off into the distance, then whispered to me, "I think the men who attacked us were sent by your biological father."
"Mickle Blanton? Why would he do that?"
"I was hasty," Daley said bitterly. "I thought Mickle would come to terms with it, but his real intention was to kill us."
Is that him? I gasped. Then the sound of cars in the distance, and I looked at Daley nervously, thinking it was Mickle's men again. But Daley said to me calmly.
"Don't worry, I told Frade to pick you up." He looked at me deeply. "I knew I was going to die on the boat, so I told Frade about this place in advance. You go with him."