Leah's POV
Just as I was about to ask more questions, a man rushed in and said desperately, "Diego! Cole and his soldiers are coming!"
Frank Skakxel heard this and immediately said to me, "Miss Lewyn, go to the back of this bar. There's a tunnel underneath the end of the corridor, which leads to the port. Hurry up before you miss the last ferry."
I stretched out my arms toward Darren and said, "Darren, let's go!"
Darren looked at me and then took a glance at Josephine. I could tell that he was hesitant.
"It's OK, Darren. Go ahead with her. Diego will take good care of me. He's like a brother to me." Josephine said.
Despite saying this, her hand was still holding Darren's arm tightly.
Darren lowered his head. Josephine stared at me with an evil smirk as if she knew Darren would choose to stay with her instead of running away with me.
"Come on, Miss Lewyn, this way! When the soldiers see you, they'll hurt you!" Frank said anxiously, trying to pull me away.
Just when I was about to give up and walk away with Frank, I heard Darren's voice.
"Jo," he said in a deep, calm voice. "I have to go with Leah now. And you're going with us."
"What?! No! I'd rather die to go away with that horrible woman!" Josephine said.
"I'm sorry, you have to. The soldiers are looking for you now. This place is too dangerous for you." Darren said as he was trying to push her wheelchair toward the corridor.
"No, Darren! Stop pushing me! I have to stay here!" Josephine exclaimed and held the wheel of the wheelchair.
"Josephine, listen to me..." Darren said.
"No! You listen to me! I don't want to go anywhere where Leah is! She bullied me while she was married to Lucas! I couldn't turn to anyone for help, because my brother passed away, leaving me all alone in this world. The more I put up with her, the more aggressive she got. She tortured me for five years, Darren! And I couldn't tell Lucas, because he was head over heels with that woman! After Lucas rejected her, she thought it was me who told her off to Lucas, so she humiliated me in public. She asked Lucas to banish me, or else she wouldn't sign their divorce papers. Do you know how manipulative and nasty that woman is?!" Josephine hissed in venom.
Seriously? I thought to myself. I knew Josephine was a pathological liar. I thought I had already seen the worst of it. But the way she fabricated the whole story, labeling me as the villain in her pathetic story in order to win sympathy from Darren, made me sick to my stomach all over again.
I wanted to argue, but I was too cross to say anything, and Cole and his soldiers were on their way to this place.
I wasn't afraid of them, but I didn't want Frank and Diego to get into trouble because of me.
I couldn't afford more people losing their lives because of my existence.
So, at that time, I pushed Josephine's wheelchair together with Darren and said, "You have to come with us. If you stay here, the soldiers will find you. Both Frank and Diego will get killed."
When Josephine heard Diego's name, her eyebrows flashed. This slight change in facial expression caught my attention.
Josephine gave me a dark look and gave up protesting.
"If Basil was alive, he would definitely protect me, so I wouldn't be bullied like this!" Josephine turned to Darren and pretended to sobber.
I rolled my eyes so hard that I could see the back of my head.
Darren took Josephine up from the wheelchair and held her in his arms. Together, we rushed to the end of the corridor, where Frank had already lifted up one of the tiles on the floor, waiting for us.
"Climb down and hurry up. If you missed the last ferry, you won't be able to get out of this island for another week!" Frank said.
I climbed down the ladder first. Darren carried Josephine on his back and climbed down after me.
The underground tunnel was dark and dimly lit. I could barely see Darren's figure.
In the darkness, Darren switched on his lighter.
"This way, Miss Lewyn," Darren said and waved at me.
I moved toward him but almost fell to the floor because of the water and silt on the ground.
Darren grabbed my arms and said, "Be careful, Miss Lewyn! The floor is covered by stored rainwater. It's very slippery."
I looked up and saw Darren staring at me with concern. But at the same time, I could see the flame of hatred in Josephine's eyes.
From this angle, she looked like one of the evil spirits in those black-and-white horror films, which was horrifying.
Josephine wrapped her arms around Darren's neck and said, "Darren, I'm afraid of the dark. Please hold my hands."
Darren had to let go of me and held Josephine's hand.
"Don't be afraid, Jo. I'm here with you," he said.
Josephine threw her head back and let out a joyful chuckle as if to say that she had won the prize that I had been vying for all along.
I took the lighter from Darren's hand and tossed it to Josephine.
"Hold it. Make yourself useful," I said.
Josephine had to take the lighter and light the way for us. Darren freed one hand and held my hand in the darkness.
"Everything will be fine, Miss Lewyn." He said in a tender voice.
I squeezed his hand in secret without saying anything.
As we walked down the tunnel, I asked Darren, "Do you know anything about the enforced ones?"
Darren paused a bit and said, "It used to be a military project, Miss Lewyn. But later on, it was called off for some technical reasons."
"Technical reasons?!" My eyes were wide open.