Arnold rushed to the scene at once. He radiated an aggressive aura. Then, he saw Josie holding Josephine hostage and standing at the edge of the deck. They would be falling into the deep sea if they were to take another step forward.
At that moment, Josephine had completely lost her mind. “Robyn, save me!”
Arnold drew a gun, aiming it at Josie. Behind him, countless bodyguards also raised their weapons.
“Josie, let her go!”
“I’m just a woman. Is it really necessary to involve so many people, Arnold? Are you that scared?” Josie laughed, her hair dancing wildly in the wind.
Josephine’s movements noticeably paused. “What did you call him? What Arnold?”
Josie scanned the bodyguards around her, realizing that nearly the entire crew of the ship was present. She was confident that Dexter’s men could handle the escort ships nearby.
Arnold tried his best to remain calm, yet the tremor in his voice betrayed his anxiety. “I have no intention of jeopardizing your safety. Release the hostage, and once we reach the shore, I’ll let you go home.”
He was indeed deeply concerned about Josephine’s safety. However, Josephine merely registered that Arnold hadn’t answered her question. She fell into an utter daze. Is his name a fabrication?
Josie shook her head at Arnold. “Let’s make a deal.”
Arnold never gave a response the whole time.
“It seems I’ve made the right bet. Josephine means a lot to you. Here’s the deal. Have your men stop transporting the goods, and then I’ll let Josephine go.”
“What goods? This ship itself is what I’m supposed to transport!”
“You must think I’m a fool. Even without Dexter’s help, I can guess you have a backup plan, Arnold. I don’t care about this ship, but those transporting the goods must stop!”
Arnold held his gun steady, not a hint of hesitation in his movements. He still didn’t give a direct answer. Instead, he said, “You’ve got quite the nerve. Are you courting death?”
Josie raised an eyebrow. “Why don’t you try, then? Let’s see if Josephine or I will die first?”
She looked down at Josephine in her arms, who was trembling violently. “Save me. Whoever you are, save me.”
“Josephine, you’ll be fine,” he assured her.
The sniper’s voice came through Arnold’s earpiece. “My position is tricky, Mr. Carter, but I can take Josie out with one shot. I’m just waiting for your go-ahead.”
A gleam flashed across Arnold’s gaze. “Josie, if you die here, it means you’ll never see your daughter, your father, or even Dexter again. Is it worth it?”
Josie’s palms were drenched in sweat. From her vantage point, she could see, out of the corner of her eye, lifeboats, one after another, approaching the warehouse. Dexter had succeeded, and she had done her best to buy time.
“It’s not your first day knowing me. To me, being able to salvage more families is a form of atonement. Arnold, I don’t regret knowing you. My only regret is that I wasn’t able to guide you onto the right path.”
Listening to Josie’s heartfelt and caring words during the most critical and tense situation, Arnold remained silent.
“Of course, I yearn to return home. Do you feel the same, yearning for a reunion with your family and to no longer live under a false identity and do other’s bidding? Arnold, I’ve known you for a while now. I know you’re actually very lonely. You’ve done all these things because you had no other choice. You don’t want to stay a wanderer forever, do you?”
Two people were visibly shaken upon hearing her words. Josephine looked at Josie with an expression of disbelief. In her mind, Arnold was an ambitious man, not some pitiful wanderer. The way Josie described him was completely contrary to Josephine’s understanding of him.
At the same time, Arnold’s hand holding the gun discreetly shook for a moment.
The sniper anxiously said, “Mr. Carter, if we don’t act now, it’ll be too late!”
