Chapter 5
1176 Words
"Who did I think it was? Isn't this Mr. Harris?" Joe said, glancing around.
Joe was from Ridgefield, trained in martial arts since childhood, and later practiced MMA. He had won second place in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and was noticed by the influential Powell family of Ridgefield, who hired him. This time, he was accompanying Finnley abroad as a bodyguard.
"Joe, you're still alive?" Ernie recognized him as Finnley's lackey and spoke coldly.
"What's that supposed to mean? If a loser like you can survive, why couldn't I?" Joe sneered, his eyes leering at Myra.
Seeing the man's lecherous gaze, Myra angrily zipped her jacket up to cover her naked neck.
"Where's Lily?" Ernie blurted out.
Although Lily had wronged him, they had been married for three years and had shared loving moments. Ernie couldn't just let her off his mind so easily.
"Who else is with you?" Joe's eyes landed on Myra's shoes and the large backpack beside her. The mismatched gear made him suspicious.
"I asked, where is Lily?" Ernie's face turned cold.
"Rest assured. Mr. Powell and Lily are fine, so there's no need for you to worry," Joe said, brazenly walking up to the grill and grabbing a clam to eat.
It seemed he had no intention of leaving.
"Where is she?" Ernie grabbed Joe's hand.
Ernie disliked this sinister, aggressive thug from the Powell family. He had no intention of teaming up with Joe to face their shared ordeal. He just wanted to find out about Lily's situation from him.
"Ha, you poor bumpkin! You thought you were a big shot, but now you've lost everything. Your wife's been sleeping with Mr. Powell, so stop f*****g acting high and mighty!" Joe sneered, shaking off Ernie's hand.
Ernie felt Joe's strength and knew he had some training.
But he didn't care about street thugs or so-called MMA fighters. In the army, he had been trained in lethal combat techniques, and even after leaving the service, he hadn't stopped training.
"Hey, that's our food!" Myra yelled in frustration as Joe grabbed another grilled fish.
"Heh, if you don't let me eat the fish, I might just eat you," Joe said with a sleazy grin.
He was genuinely hungry. On the lifeboat, Finnley had only given him half a bottle of water, but the food meant for him had been given to Lily and Zain. Finnley had treated him like a slave, which left him deeply resentful. But Finnley was his employer, so he had no choice but to swallow his pride.
Finding Ernie here was an unexpected bonus. This could be his chance to move up, so he had already started planning murder. Should he kill Ernie first and then r**e and end Myra, or subdue Myra first and then finish off Ernie? After all, if one of them escaped and they had more companions, the plot could be exposed.
"You scoundrel, watch your mouth!" Myra cursed, sensing Joe's ill intentions as she tugged at Ernie's sleeve.
Ernie had already noticed something suspicious about the shark-repellent knife Joe was carrying. This kind of thing wouldn't be allowed on board; it was only issued with the lifeboats.
It seemed that Lily and some others hadn't died but had safely reached this island on a lifeboat.
Yet, Joe's evasiveness made him wary.
This guy didn't approach them directly but instead hid and spied on them, clearly with bad intentions. Ernie wanted to subdue him and extract more information about Finnley and Lily. He was increasingly convinced that Lily's sudden decision to divorce wasn't as simple as he had thought.
"Here, have this too!" he said, pretending to be completely unsuspecting as he casually picked up another grilled fish and handed it to Joe. He planned to catch Joe off guard and subdue him as he reached for the fish.
But Joe sprang up first, pressing the shark-repellent knife against Ernie.
"Brat, don't play tricks with me. This is a deserted island—no one will know if I kill you," Joe said, his face twisted with malice.
"Let's talk it out. Just don't do anything rash." Ernie stepped back, but Joe's knife followed him.
"Don't do anything reckless! The rescue team is almost here, and hurting someone is illegal no matter where you are!" Myra shouted loudly.
"Rescue team? Hahaha, you think a rescue team is coming? We're stuck here, and they won't come. But if you sleep with me, I won't kill him!" Joe said with a lecherous grin.
"You scumbag!" Myra cursed angrily.
"Haha, curse all you want. I am indeed a scumbag..." Joe's expression suddenly turned vicious, and he moved to stab Ernie.
"Ms. Lewis, someone is trying to steal your bag!" Myra quickly thought on her feet and shouted loudly towards Joe's back.
"Huh?" Joe instinctively turned around to check.
Ernie seized the opportunity and kicked the burning charcoal towards Joe's face. As Joe tried to protect his face, Ernie struck his hand, knocking the knife away.
"Ah, damn it!" Joe screamed in pain, covering his eyes with one hand while flailing defensively with the other. But Ernie kicked him squarely in the chest and knocked him to the ground.
Ernie initially wanted to teach Joe a lesson and interrogate him about Lily's whereabouts.
"Go to hell, you scumbag!" Myra suddenly picked up the wooden stick used as a makeshift spear and struck Joe hard, but Joe easily snatched it away, nearly pulling her down.
"Get back!" Ernie pulled Myra behind him.
"Ernie, you were lucky to survive our shipwreck plan last time, but this time I'll definitely kill you!" Joe cursed as he jumped up, brandishing the stick menacingly.
"Did Finnley put you up to this?" Ernie was shocked.
He had suspected that the whale-watching boat had intentionally harmed them, but since the boat itself had also sunk, he didn't think much of it.
Although Joe was ruthless, he had no personal grudge or conflict of interest with Ernie. His sudden attempt to kill him must have been under someone's orders.
"Your wife cheated on you and found you in the way, so she wants you dead!" Joe continued to curse while wiping his eyes, but he didn't mention Finnley.
"Ernie, enough talk with this crazy guy!" Seeing Joe's ferocious face, Myra grabbed Ernie in fear.
Although Ernie wanted to get to the bottom of it, Joe was acting desperate. Besides, if Finnley wanted him dead, he might have sent others who could ambush nearby. He couldn't handle them all at once and risk endangering Myra's life.
It was better to lure Joe away first.
"Fight me in the woods if you have the guts!" Ernie picked up the shark-repellent knife, holding it in a reverse grip, and ran deeper into the forest with Myra.
"Damn you, Ernie! You won't escape! I'll definitely kill you!"
Behind them, Joe stumbled a few steps before tripping over a vine and falling to the ground. He covered his injured eye and screamed in agony, his voice echoing eerily in the empty forest.
- Writer
