Selina Hughes groped around and, by the moonlight streaming through the ventilation shaft, she saw it was a quilt. A thick layer of grime covered its surface, so black and filthy that the original color was unrecognizable. It exuded a nauseating stench, making it clear it hadn’t been washed in a long time. Selina Hughes retched instinctively. She had already vomited several times during the day due to seasickness. Having not eaten, her stomach was filled with acid, and nothing came out even as she dry-heaved. Feeling utterly disgusted, she kicked the quilt away with disdain. Back at The Jennings Family, she had led a life of luxury and never suffered such hardship. Even when her mother was alive and working as a maid, she hadn’t endured such misery. Selina Hughes hugged her knees and sobbed quietly. Her faint cries were drowned by the sound of the waves. The temperature was already low in winter, and being on the sea made the nights even colder. Shivering violently from the cold, her lips turned a blue-purple as if all the blood in her body was freezing. Finally, she picked up the filthy, stinking quilt again. To survive, Selina Hughes had no choice but to wrap herself in that foul quilt. Selina Hughes was jostled around and finally arrived in Veridia. After several days at sea, she couldn’t eat well or sleep well, losing weight in the process, and she hadn’t bathed for days, leaving her with a lingering stench. Even those who came to drag her off the ship were nauseated. "Damn! So damn smelly!" The person picked up Selina Hughes, pulled the tape off her mouth with disdain, untied the ropes binding her, and tossed her into the sea. "Clean yourself up, you stink to high heaven." Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹✦𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖✦𝓷𝓮𝓽 The boat was docked at the pier. Though there were no sharks, Selina Hughes couldn’t swim, and being thrown overboard was still life-threatening! Obviously, the person who threw her over didn’t know this. Selina Hughes splashed in the water, yelling for help. At first, the person thought she was faking it and watched mockingly from the shore, "Yeah, that’s right, splash around some more, clean yourself up a bit so our boss doesn’t have to smell you." The "boss" he referred to was none other than Adrian Jennings’ subordinate, Luke Langdon. The ship was docked at Lindell port, located in the northern coast, where the early spring temperatures hovered around freezing. The icy water was bone-chilling. In the water, Selina Hughes trembled, lips turning blue, as her hands and feet began convulsing uncontrollably. She inhaled quite a bit of seawater, struggling more and more to breathe, and after a while, Selina Hughes gradually weakened. Watching her cries become faint and her body begin to sink, those watching started to panic. The man swore loudly, "Damn it! You really can’t swim? Dammit, do I have to jump in to save you?" On such a cold day, the man was naturally unwilling to jump into the sea to save her. He glanced around and saw an orange life buoy hanging nearby. Taking it down, he threw it into the sea, "Grab the life buoy and get back yourself, I’m not going in the freezing water to save you!" The life buoy was thrown out, but Selina Hughes reached out weakly, unable to muster the strength to swim towards it. Seeing her unable to reach the life buoy and beginning to sink, the man cursed under his breath and reluctantly jumped into the sea. He managed to haul her up, but Selina Hughes had already swallowed a lot of seawater and passed out cold from the exposure. "Is she dead?" the man cursed again. A nearby man frowned slightly, "No way, did you really wash her when you were told to take her for a clean-up?" Trembling from the cold, the man replied, "You have no idea how awful she smelled, I couldn’t stand it and had to throw her in, how was I supposed to know she couldn’t swim? What bad luck, now I had to get in myself, I’m freezing to death. You take her away and get a doctor to check her out, make sure she’s not dead, I’m going to change out of these wet clothes." "Alright, make it fast, the boss will be pissed if you’re not back when he shows up." When Selina Hughes opened her eyes again, it was three hours later. As her consciousness gradually returned, she rolled her eyes to survey her surroundings. The dark and cramped space was much like the room on the ship. Feeling the motion, Selina Hughes guessed she was in a vehicle. This pitch-black place was probably the compartment of a large truck. Her clothes were still wet, but a thick blanket had been added, seemingly to prevent her from freezing to death. Selina Hughes huddled tightly in the blanket, wrapping her arms around herself, her shoulders quaking as she cried. This journey had been so incredibly hard. No longer did she resemble the wealthy heiress she once was; even without a mirror, she could imagine that now she looked more like a street beggar. She whimpered and sobbed, and when exhausted, she leaned against the metal panel of the truck to rest. Even with the blanket, her soaking wet clothes remained icy cold, causing her to shiver as if in the bowels of a cold, dark cave. Selina Hughes guessed the truck was headed to Oakhaven. In a few hours, she would likely see Adrian Jennings. The large truck finally came to a stop. Selina Hughes was violently dragged down from the vehicle. She glanced up and recognized the place as Adrian Jennings’ base. She had been here before but never entered the place. This place couldn’t be entered without Adrian Jennings’ permission, not even by the elder Jennings. Arriving at Adrian Jennings’ base, did it mean she was about to see Adrian Jennings? At last, the day had come. Selina Hughes was thrown into a basement. No heating, no sunlight, it was cold and damp. Soon after, Luke Langdon entered. "Miss Hughes, long time no see." The man squinted, his tone icy, "You were really hard to find." Selina Hughes trembled, her voice shaking, "What... what do you want?" Luke Langdon grinned, "What do I want? My task was to bring you back, and now that the task is complete, it’s up to the young master to decide your fate." "Has he... has he come?" Selina Hughes bit her lip, a hint of expectation surfacing on her pale face. Luke Langdon, seeing her expression, couldn’t help but chuckle, "Miss Hughes, don’t tell me everything you’ve done was for the young master? Do you harbor some unspeakable intentions for him?" Even in the face of death, Selina Hughes remained defiant, "What’s it to you?" "Right, none of my business, but you might want to think about what comes next. The young master won’t let you off." "No way, Adrian wouldn’t be so heartless to me! He used to spoil me, don’t try to scare me, Adrian treated me so well, he wouldn’t bear to dispose of me!" Luke Langdon’s smile twisted strangely, "Should I say you’re a romantic fool or just plain stupid? The young master treated you well before because you were the adopted daughter of The Jennings Family, his sister in name. But now? You’ve sided with Vincent Fletcher, and there are lives on your hands, you’ve opposed The Jennings Family, do you think the young master would still be lenient now?"