Chapter 406 Three Months Pregnant
Courtney followed Fatso through the bamboo forest over to the northern side of the island. Neither of them spoke throughout their trek.
She was perpetually nervous. At first, she wondered if Fatso planned to find a spot where no one could find her before killing her. But then she remembered there was hardly anyone on this island. Couldn’t he just kill her anywhere?
As her mind ran through those scenarios, Fatso said, “We’re here.” She then stopped in her tracks.
In front of them was the shore of the river. A fishing boat was tied up among the reeds in the water. There was a skinny, unmoving figure on the boat as well. When Courtney got closer and took a look at the figure, her expression shifted. “Dawn?”
Fatso had an even look on his face as he said blandly, “Your raft isn’t usable. It’ll sink before it reaches shore. If you want to leave, you’ll have to use this boat.”
“You want me to take your daughter along?”
“If you want to leave, then you’ll have to take her.” Fatso’s face was blank. Courtney couldn’t make out much of what he was feeling. “I’ve packed some items for her on the boat. Once you two leave, don’t ever come back. If she ever asks, say that I’m dead.”
Courtney stiffened up a little, unable to understand what was going on. “I thought you wouldn’t let her leave the island?”
“She can’t possibly live the rest of her life here. She can’t end up like her mother. I cannot allow her to end up like that either.”
They were running out of time; the sun was about to come up. Courtney didn’t dare to keep questioning him. After she got on the boat, Fatso pushed the boat away, and the vessel proceeded to float toward the middle of the river.
Courtney watched Fatso from where she sat on the boat, a mixture of feelings welling up inside of her. However, it was only for a moment. After all, her heart was still thumping in joy from being able to leave the island. She couldn’t feel much of anything else now.
Not long after the boat left the island shore, Courtney could see smoke rising from the island in the distance. Soon, golden flames engulfed the entire island, burning their way up into the sky. Her heart stopped for a moment, and she stood up on the boat. What on earth is happening on the island?
Just as she was wondering about that, the sounds of engines could be heard in all directions.
Bam!
Courtney had no idea where that gunshot came from, but it had shot a hole right through their boat, making the boat shake violently. Courtney gasped in shock, at a loss as to what to do as she watched the water gush into the boat.
“Dawn, Dawn!” She hastily tried to wake Dawn up, but the girl slept like a log; maybe Fatso had drugged her. Even though Courtney had repeatedly tapped and lightly smacked Dawn until the girl’s face was red, she still didn’t respond.
The boat quickly sank. Courtney grabbed Dawn’s hand, choking on the water rushing into her mouth as she sank into the river.
Through the haziness of her consciousness, she heard some familiar voices. “They aren’t drug dealers; those are two females.”
Right after that, there were several splashes as people jumped into the river. The surface of the river was instantly abuzz.
Courtney continued to sink downward. In all her confusion, it felt like she was falling into someone’s embrace. She was instantly entranced by this feeling of familiarity that she hadn’t experienced in a long time, and she gave up struggling. She simply closed her eyes and fell into a dream. There, she dreamed of blue skies littered with fluffy white clouds, where two children freely ran to their hearts’ content in a field.
“Mommy? Mommy, where did you go? Why did you only come now? Jordan already taught me how to solve a Rubik’s cube.” Tina came running over to her, her clear, childish voice ringing by Courtney’s ears.
“Where’s Jordan?”
“Isn’t he here too? Hey Jordan, come here.” Tina waved at Jordan from a distance. “Mommy’s back.”
Courtney crouched down and opened her arms to coo at the little figure in the distance. “Here, Jordan, come to Mommy.”
Jordan, who usually loved clinging to her, suddenly seemed hesitant. He refused to come over from where he was several feet away.
Courtney pulled out some chocolate. “Jordan, here’s your favorite chocolate. Come over here and I’ll give you the chocolate.”
Jordan was hesitant as he took a few steps forward. However, he didn’t take the offered chocolate. Instead, he looked up and asked timidly, “Mommy, where’s Daddy?”
Courtney’s expression froze. Instantly, she was dimly aware of something. He’s right. Where’s his daddy? Wait, no. Me and Alexander broke up, and our wedding was canceled. Alexander’s still in a lawsuit with me, and he forbade me from seeing Jordan again. Just as all of those thoughts went through her head, the scene before her began to warp. Gray clouds immediately crowded the sky, and her two adorable children vanished without a trace. Courtney was left to stand alone in the heavy storm, lost.
“Ah!” She sat right up, drenched in cold sweat.
A large pair of warm hands grabbed her own, the owner unable to hide the joy in his voice. “Courtney, you’re awake!”
Courtney blearily turned her head. Slowly, the person in front of her came into focus. “Elijah.”
“Yes, it’s me.” Elijah held her hands and asked in concern, “Do you feel unwell? Does your chest hurt?”
All Courtney could sense was a headache. After she withdrew her hands from Elijah’s grip, she placed a hand to her forehead and asked hoarsely, “Where is this place?”
“Twin Peaks Manor. You were hospitalized for two days after you fell into the water. The hospital later said that we could bring you home to rest. I was worried about giving your Aunt Alicia a fright, so I made the decision to bring you here instead.”
The room seemed familiar. Courtney’s mind slowly came back online, and she nodded pensively. “I fell into the water. That’s right, I fell in.”
“When you left the island on your boat, the criminal investigation team thought that you were a fleeing drug dealer. They didn’t dare to just approach you because of that, so they opened fire and sank the boat,” Elijah explained.
Courtney remembered now. She had just managed to escape the deserted island, only for the boat to capsize after a bullet came out of nowhere and sank it shortly after she and Dawn left the island shore. The both of them then fell into the water.
“Where’s Dawn?”
“Huh?”
“The little girl who was with me.” Courtney gestured, suddenly anxious. “She’s about this tall, about twelve years old—she was unconscious the whole time, and like me, she can’t swim. Where is she? Did you guys save her?”
“We did save her, so don’t worry.” Elijah picked up the glass of water by the side and handed it to Courtney. “That girl’s hardier than you are. After we pulled her out from the water and performed CPR on her, she was fine. She’s currently having her statement taken at the police station.”
Courtney drank some water, soothing the parched feeling in her throat. “That’s good to hear.”
Elijah studied her, and after a moment’s hesitation, he said in a low voice, “There’s something that I think you should know.”
“What is it?”
“You’re pregnant.” Elijah had a complicated look on his face. “The doctor said that you’re already three months along.”
At that, Courtney’s hand shook. Fortunately, Elijah had quick reflexes, catching the glass in time and preventing the water inside from splashing out. “Are you okay?”
All Courtney could hear was a buzzing sound in her head, as though something had just blown up inside it. Everything was just a blank white.
The future was unpredictable. Just when one thought that they’d escaped from being forced off a cliff, fate would decide to toss another obstacle in their path. They were then forced into yet another thorny situation, just to struggle.
