CHAPTER 324: SPARE THEIR LIVES (10)

Georgia’s POV

"Madam, wake up."

A whisper jostled me awake, fingers shaking my arm like an alarm.

My eyes blinked open to Katie’s small face bending over me, and Amara working fast at the ropes. The coarse knot at my wrists gave with a soft snap; my legs felt wonderfully light as the bindings came loose.

"You!" I hissed, but Amara clapped a hand over my mouth and shook her head.

"I had no choice. I was forced to do it," she mouthed, voice urgent. "I stole a crew’s phone while he slept. I called the police, told them where my parents are. They’ll come. I returned the phone so nobody suspects. I heard them earlier about you planning an escape. Your husband owns a maritime company, right? You must know how to get off this ship."

Relief hit like warm sun through storm clouds. "Yes," I breathed. "Thank you."

She only shrugged, eyes hard. "I didn’t do it because of money or anything like that. I did it so my parents live. That woman threatened me. Please lead the way."

I pushed myself up, joints stiff but burning with adrenaline. Night had fallen outside the porthole—black water smeared with distant lights. Perfect cover. I pressed my palm to my face to steady the tremor in my hands.

"What time is it?" I whispered.

Amara peeked through the curtains. "I don’t know for sure, but they served dinner a while back. I put the phone back so no one would know anything had changed."

"Good." I slid Katie’s tiny hand into mine, felt the small, frantic pulse beneath her skin, and put a finger to my lips. She nodded, silent, brave.

We moved like ghosts. I scouted ahead, soft-footed and sharp, guiding them through corridors where the ship’s breath felt like a living thing—metal groans, distant engines, the occasional clank of a boot. Each shadow was a promise of discovery. Each echo could be the moment someone shouted. I felt like I was going to have a heart attack with every sound I heard.

At the stairwell, I paused and looked down into the black where the deck lights pooled like scattered coins. The davit, where the lifeboat hung, gleamed below. My heart stuttered. This was it: one wrong step and everything would come apart.

"Stay close," I breathed. "When I say go, run."

Katie swallowed and tightened her grip. Amara’s jaw set. I took one last steadying breath, and then we moved.

Before we could even take a single step out of the hallway, the blaring sound of an alarm ripped through the air.

"Oh no! Did they find us?" Amara’s voice trembled as panic spread across her face.

I grabbed both their hands and locked ourselves in the nearest cabin. I rushed to the porthole, peering through the small round window.

The deck was in chaos. Crew members scrambling toward the bow, shouting orders, arming themselves with water cannons. My stomach dropped. That wasn’t a search for us. It was something far worse.

"Wait," I hissed. "They didn’t find us. That’s not about us." I watched the frantic movements, the way the men pointed toward the dark horizon. My blood ran cold. "The alarm’s for a pirate attack."

"Pirates?!" Amara’s eyes widened. "There are still pirates in this modern time?!"

"Shh! Keep your voice down!" I warned, pulling Katie closer. "Yes, there are, and these ones aren’t movie characters in the Pirates of the Caribbean that you are imagining. The crew wasn’t expecting this. They’re unprepared, and that makes it worse. But it also means that we are not sailing in a pirate-prone area."

Before she could respond, footsteps thundered outside the door, followed by panicked shouts and the deafening rattle of gunfire.

Katie screamed. I clamped a hand over her mouth. "Quiet, baby," I whispered. Her tiny body trembled in my arms, and I could feel Amara shaking too.

"They’re fast approaching! They’ll board the ship any minute!" someone shouted from the hallway.

"Madam... we’re not safe here. We need to move! I don’t want to die!" Amara whimpered.

"Stay here. I’ll get something." I slipped out of the room as soon as I saw the hallway was clear before she could stop me, heart hammering as bullets echoed somewhere above deck. I darted toward the map framed on the wall I’d seen earlier, snatched it, and ran back.

I laid it on the floor and pointed at the stern. "Here," I whispered sharply. "There’s a lifeboat near the rear, far from the fight. If we get separated, you take Katie there and launch without me. I can swim. I’ll find you."

Amara nodded hesitantly, but Katie clung to me with teary eyes. "Don’t leave me, Mommy! Please!"

I pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I’m not leaving, sweetheart. But you have to be brave now, okay? Mommy’s a good swimmer. We’ll make it out together. It’s just in case something happens, just like how we practice emergency scenarios at home."

I took a deep breath, forcing my legs to move. "Let’s go."

The hallway was eerily empty. Everyone must’ve been up front fighting. It was our only chance. We ran, bare feet slapping against the cold steel floor, hearts pounding in rhythm with the distant gunfire.

But we kept running, silent and determined, the sound of war fading behind us as we slipped deeper toward the rear deck... toward freedom.

I took the life vest hanging near the door and knelt in front of Katie. "Arms up, sweetheart." I slipped it on her; it was too big, the straps dangling loose, but it was better than nothing. I tightened them the best I could.

"Can you swim?" I asked Amara.

She nodded, her eyes wide but determined.

I pushed the door open, the cold sea breeze rushing in. The ship swayed violently, and from afar, the echo of gunfire rattled through the air. My heart hammered in my chest as I scanned the deck. Then—I saw it. The lifeboat.

"There!" I pointed sharply.

We ran toward it, our footsteps pounding against the metal floor. The wind carried shouts from the bow, the clash of chaos echoing from the front lines of the ship. I could almost taste the salt and fear in the air.

Then—

"You! Stop right there!"

The voice sliced through the wind. I spun around. A man, one of Nancy’s men, stood behind us, a pistol in hand, eyes blazing.

"Run!" I screamed.

Amara didn’t hesitate. She scooped Katie into her arms and sprinted toward the opposite side of the deck, away from me and away from the man behind us. "You will need to jump!" I shouted after her. "There’s no time!"

"Georgia!" she cried, but I shook my head and yelled, "Go!"

With one last terrified look, Amara turned and leapt off the side of the ship, clutching Katie tight. My stomach twisted as they vanished into the black water below.

I darted toward the lifeboat, yanked the safety lock free, and slammed my hand down on the release lever. The boat groaned and dropped halfway down the hull, swinging dangerously.

But before I could jump in—

A violent tug on my scalp made me scream. "Ahh!"

The man had caught me. His fist twisted in my hair, yanking my head back so hard that tears blurred my vision. I clawed at his arm, kicked, but he was stronger.

Through the pain, through the blur, I saw it—Amara and Katie breaking the surface, the lifeboat landing just near them.

Relief flooded through me. They made it.

That was enough.

"Let go of me!" I snarled, twisting hard. His grip loosened for a split second, and I slammed my elbow into his ribs. He grunted, staggering back, and I took the chance—ripping myself free and sprinting for the edge of the ship.

Gunfire cracked behind me. Bullets tore through the air, sparks flying as they hit metal.

I didn’t look back.

I dove.

*******

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