Chapter 122: Chapter 122

Victoria Sinclair finished her breakfast and strolled back to her room.

Outside the expansive balcony, the boundless ocean stretched out before her, an unobstructed view, the clear blue seemingly pulling her in, allowing her to momentarily cast aside all worries, making her feel light in body and spirit.

She retrieved a book from her travel bag and nestled comfortably into a recliner, leisurely flipping through its pages.

Tranquil, comfortable, and pleasant, she thoroughly enjoyed these peaceful moments alone.

Lost in her reading for who knows how long, her ears suddenly caught the sound of intentionally muffled footsteps.

"Knock, knock, knock," the sound of knocking startled her, followed by Jenny Vaughn’s voice: "Victoria, are you in there?"

Upon hearing the voice, Victoria put down her book and stood up to open the door.

She saw Jenny looking flustered, and upon seeing her, Jenny grabbed her like a lifeline, pulling her quickly along, speaking rapidly, with unmistakable urgency: "You need to come quickly! Vivian has suddenly fallen ill, fainting on the floor and completely unconscious. My husband and the others are out hunting, but you’re a medical researcher, you’re the only one who can save her."

Victoria was forcefully dragged into the room, where Vivian Miller lay rigidly on the floor, completely motionless.

Sarah Lowell and Renee stood nearby, their brows furrowed, faces filled with feigned anxiety.

"Please take a look at Vivian, what’s wrong with her?" Sarah asked, flustered.

Victoria didn’t go forward to examine Vivian, instead stood quietly where she was, her eyes sharp, scanning the three women present one by one, her gaze suddenly turning severe, filled with scrutiny and insight.

"Did you call them?" Victoria asked calmly.

"Not yet; they don’t know medicine, calling them won’t help, and there’s no doctor here..." Sarah’s eyes reddened, her hands trembling uncontrollably, her face full of fear, almost bursting into tears, "What should we do? Will she die? Victoria, you know medicine, please save her."

A faint smile appeared at the corner of Victoria’s mouth, her demeanor exceptionally composed, speaking slowly yet firmly: "I don’t know what your little scheme is, but please, don’t test me with such a low-level trick. I’m not that easy to fool."

Having said this, without even lifting her eyelids, not glancing at Vivian on the ground, she turned and walked out.

Jenny, seeing this, panicked, rushed forward a few steps, spread her arms to block Victoria, and said angrily: "Victoria, what do you mean? Leaving her to die? How can you be so cold-blooded?"

Victoria sighed deeply in exhaustion, dealing with these people truly wore her out.

She didn’t hold back anymore, speaking plainly but each word piercing: "If Vivian truly fainted on the ground, wouldn’t your first reaction be to call Eugene Vaughn and the others, and then move her to the bed?"

Jenny, confronted by Victoria’s all-knowing gaze, swallowed nervously, her eyes avoiding, instinctively seeking help from Sarah and Renee.

Victoria took in their panic completely, continuing: "You might not know, but Sarah definitely does; we’re both of the same academic background. Though her pharmacological knowledge might not be as deep as mine, our fundamental medical knowledge is identical. What I know, she knows too."

Upon hearing these words, the faces of the three instantly turned pale, their panic evident.

Victoria found their performance amusing and ridiculous, coldly bypassed Jenny, and walked out of the room.

At that moment, Vivian rose from the floor, pursed her lips, her eyes icy, dusting off imaginary dirt from her clothes.

Jenny stomped in frustration, muttering softly: "How did she see through our plan so quickly?"

Sarah said helplessly: "Victoria is always smart; she saw through our disguise but surely doesn’t know our true plan, so we’ll have to think of another way." ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novｅlfire.net

Vivian asked, "What way?"

Sarah shrugged, looking mystified: "I don’t know."

Jenny turned to Renee: "Renee, you came up with the plan, do you have any other ideas?"

"I do!" Renee’s lips curved into a meaningful smile, "Soft tactics failed, then it’s time for the hard approach."

They immediately fell silent, looking at each other.

Originally, they planned to use Vivian’s fainting as a pretext, exploit Victoria’s kindness, trick her into helping escort Vivian back for treatment, thereby luring her onto the boat.

Ethan Vaughn was currently waiting for them on that boat.

Renee, arms cross, sat on the sofa, continued: "But going hard, I’m afraid of offending Eugene Vaughn."

Vivian looked at Sarah.

Sarah was terrified, her face paled, nervously swallowed, stepped back a bit, shook her head frantically: "Vivian, I can’t either. I’m too afraid to offend Eugene."

Vivian gritted her teeth, her face ashen, her fists clenched tight, knuckles turning white.

Jenny suddenly stepped forward, looking righteous and indignant: "Let me do it, I’m not scared to offend my big brother."

They looked at Jenny, exchanged smiles, their plan quietly taking root in their minds.

Soon, they concocted an even harsher plan, determined to get Victoria on that prearranged boat.

In the forest at the center of the island, the foliage was dense, sunlight streaming through the layers of leaves, casting mottled shadows.

A group of people held hunting rifles, dispersed in various spots, embarking on their hunting trip.

Eugene Vaughn and Charlie Spencer walked side by side, their steps both light and steady, eyes bearing the sharpness inherent to hunters.

Before long, their efforts proved fruitful, with two plump wild chickens, a nimble wild rabbit, and one large-sized crab caught.

Arriving at a creek, Eugene noticed Miles Shaw and Tiffany Rhodes in the distance.

"Where’s Ethan?" Eugene’s heart stirred with a hint of suspicion.

Miles placed the wild chicken on the ground gently, sat on a nearby rock, wiped the sweat from his brow, "Not long after we started, he said his stomach hurt and went back to the villa."

Eugene’s face immediately darkened, an inexplicable unease rising within him.

Charlie on the side hurried to comfort him: "Probably just ate something bad, don’t worry too much, let’s keep hunting."

However, Eugene seemed like he didn’t hear, urgently pulling out his phone and starting to dial.

Seeing Eugene looking so solemn, hurriedly making calls, Miles and Tiffany couldn’t help but joke.

"Oh, you seem pretty concerned about your little brother."

"Who would’ve thought, you two brothers are so close."

But unknown to them, Eugene was calling Victoria Sinclair’s number.

The phone rang in the silent air for what felt like an eternity, but there was no answer.

Eugene’s heart suddenly raced, a sense of unprecedented panic enveloped him. Without a second thought, he turned and sprinted toward the villa.

Miles and Tiffany saw this and also panicked, hurriedly grabbing the game and rifles off the ground, quickly following behind Eugene.

Eugene ran swiftly, the dead leaves crunching underfoot.

He ran while picking up his phone again, dialing Ethan Vaughn’s number.

On the other end, Ethan’s lazy and slightly displeased voice came through, "What’s up?"

Eugene Vaughn was already panting heavily by then, trying to suppress the anger in his heart, "Where exactly are you?"

"I don’t need to tell you." Ethan replied coldly and then hung up with a "snap".

The hand holding the phone trembled slightly, and a strong sense of foreboding, like a surging tide, instantly overwhelmed him.

Eugene sprinted all the way, with the wind howling past his ears, burning with anxiety, he repeatedly called Jenny Vaughn and Vivian Miller, but only the monotonous dial tone responded, no one answered.

At this moment, his heart was full of regret, each step he took was laden with self-reproach, he regretted leaving Victoria Sinclair alone, how could he let her stay with those women?

Finally, the villa came into view, Eugene swept into the living room like a gust of wind, heading straight for Victoria’s room.

The four women leisurely eating snacks in the living room were startled by this sudden commotion.

"Eugene, what’s going on?"

"Big brother, what’s wrong?"

Ignoring these inquiries, Eugene only focused on finding Victoria.

He rushed into the room, which was empty, only seeing that Victoria’s luggage was still there, with a book lying quietly on the floor.

This scene made Eugene’s heart clench as if an invisible hand had gripped it hard, causing intense panic.

He charged downstairs again, eyes red, shouting anxiously and angrily, "Where’s Victoria?"

Vivian slowly stood up, putting on an innocent and confused expression, and said, "I haven’t seen her."

Sarah Lowell chimed in, "I don’t know either."

Jenny Vaughn bit her lip, as if making a huge decision, suddenly raised her hand and said loudly, "It’s me, I don’t like her, so I got rid of her."

"Got rid of?" Eugene’s fists clenched with a cracking sound, flames of fury burning in his eyes, "Where on earth is she?"

"At this time, she should be on the boat heading back." Jenny forced herself to appear calm, relying on her status as a cousin, still with a touch of willful arrogance, "Don’t worry, she’ll be fine, Ethan will take care of her."

Being alone with Ethan only made her more dangerous.

Eugene’s face turned terrifyingly dark, without a word, he turned and dashed out again, desperately running toward the dock.

By the time he reached the dock, the yacht they had taken was still quietly moored at the shore.

Looking at the calm and waveless sea in front of him, Eugene felt as if his heart was in turmoil, looming anxiety threatening to completely engulf him, feeling like he was about to lose his mind.

Victoria’s head was groggy, as if wrapped in a mist, her consciousness slowly returning.

As her vision cleared, a luxuriously decorated room came into view, but her body was gently rocking with the movement of the room.

She immediately realized that this feeling was like being on a boat.

Victoria shot up, quickly moving to the window, looking out.

She saw the sky filled with warm orange hues of sunset, the sea shimmering beautifully, like a dreamlike painting.

But right now, she had no mind to appreciate the beauty, only confusion and anxiety filling her heart.

It’s evening? How did she end up on a boat?

Memories surged like tides, Jenny stormed into her room aggressively, and before she could react, a cloth swiftly covered her nose and mouth...

"Eugene." Victoria subconsciously called out softly, her voice filled with panic, fear spreading like vines in her heart.

She ran onto the deck, looking at the unfamiliar yacht and the endless sea, panicking.

Just then, Ethan slowly walked from the side corridor, with a leisurely expression, as though everything was under his control, "Finally awake?"

Seeing Ethan, Victoria’s throat tightened with tension, involuntarily swallowing hard.

She tried to compose herself, taking small steps back while pretending to be calm, questioning, "What exactly do you want? Why conspire with Jenny to bring me onto this boat?"

Ethan shrugged, a mischievous smile on his face, step by step closing in on Victoria, "They don’t like you, didn’t want to vacation with you, so asked me to send you back."

Victoria watched him warily, continuing to step back, "I was knocked out in the morning, now it’s almost sunset. If you were sending me back, I would’ve arrived long ago, why are we still sailing on the sea?"

Ethan raised an eyebrow, his lips curving into a sinister smile, pressing closer step by step, pushing Victoria to the railing, leaving her nowhere to retreat.

Their proximity made Victoria extremely uncomfortable.

Victoria’s heart was full of resistance and disgust, her body desperately leaning back, trying to dodge him, "What exactly do you want?"

Ethan’s voice was hoarse and ambiguous, "Victoria, give me a chance to get along well. This boat is large, with enough supplies and food for us to live here for a long time."

"What do you really want?" Victoria asked sternly again.

"I want to be alone with you on this vast sea, to cultivate our relationship properly." Ethan’s ambiguous smile lingered, his face slowly leaning toward hers, whispering softly, "As soon as you agree to be my woman, I’ll take you back home."

Victoria clenched her fists, turned her head to avoid his touch, gritting her teeth and shouting angrily, "What if I never agree?"

"Then I’ll take you to another deserted island, where it’ll just be you and me." Ethan’s eyes showed madness and persistence.

"You pervert!" Victoria cursed, using all her strength to shove him away, turned, and dashed off.

Ethan staggered back a few steps but quickly regained his composure, turned, and swiftly caught up with Victoria, grabbing her hand and forcefully dragging her back.

Victoria, being slender and weak, stood no chance against the strong Ethan. Suddenly, he wrapped an arm around her, forcefully lowering his head, moving to kiss her lips.

"Let go!" Victoria struggled desperately, turning her head to dodge as much as she could, trembling with fear, shouting loudly, "Help!"

Ethan missed her lips several times, hugging her tighter, breathing heavily, his voice hoarse, "Shout all you want, on this vast sea, it’s just you and me, no one will save you even if you scream."

Victoria tried to calm herself, despite her voice choked with panic, "Ethan, if you truly like me, shouldn’t you at least show some basic respect?"

"Respect?" Ethan sneered, burying his face in her hair, greedily inhaling the scent of her tresses, "Didn’t my brother respect you enough? Yet it seems he hasn’t won your heart either."

Victoria only felt a wave of nausea, her stomach churning, goosebumps rising all over her body.

"Victoria, you smell so good." Ethan’s voice tinged with desire, closing his eyes, murmuring indulgently.

Terrified, Victoria trembled all over, knowing well the disparity in strength between men and women. If Ethan truly intended to use force on her, she had only two outcomes.

Either be violated, or find a way to escape from him, and then jump into the sea, burying herself amidst the vast waves.