The figure of Dexter gradually faded into the distance. Calvin was frantic on the shore. He made a beeline for Wayne, only to be stopped by the bodyguards. “Can’t you control him, Mr. Dalton?” he demanded, his voice laced with desperation. “Don’t be so full of yourself. If something happens to Dexter, you’re going down with him!”
Witnessing all that unfold, Wayne hadn’t expected Arnold to be so audacious. He let out a muffled chuckle. “Your name is Calvin, right? You’re as naive as Dexter. Well, after watching all that unfold for a night, I’m beat. It’s time for me to leave.”
Wayne raised his hand, signaling for the team to disband.
His group was heading back when they saw a car driving against the traffic. It was unmistakably Mallory. She didn’t even properly park before she jumped out of the car, quickly running to Calvin’s side, brushing past Wayne as she did.
She said something, and the tension in Calvin eased somewhat. Only then did she turn around, narrowing her eyes at the retreating figure. “Is that Mr. Dalton? He’s nothing but a shady sewer rat!”
The large ship sped across the ocean, swiftly leaving the territorial waters of Wavery behind. Arnold holstered his gun, and the two men sat together on the deck, gazing out at the boundless sea.
“Was it worth it? The money wasn’t retrieved,” questioned Dexter.
“What I detested most was your demeanor, acting as if you had everything under control. Even when the woman you loved died, you remained utterly indifferent.”
“She, dead?” Dexter took out a pack of cigarettes, offering one to Arnold. “I don’t think so.”
Arnold narrowed his eyes, a sense of unease creeping in. “What are you implying?” he asked.
“You’ve said a lot of foolish things, but you got one thing right, and that is, I love her.”
At that moment, the sea breeze stirred the loose strands of hair on Dexter’s forehead. He didn’t appear lost like a prisoner, but rather, he exuded the contentment of a man who had just won a great victory.
Arnold didn’t take the offered cigarette, his entire body tense. “You rescued Josie? It’s impossible! The water dungeon was sealed from all sides. No one else could open it!”
“We share a common trait. We’re both rather self-assured,” Dexter said, a slow smile spreading across his face. He lit a cigarette and took a drag. “In truth, Josie didn’t die, which was a good thing for you. Otherwise, you won’t escape so easily. However, I believe you wouldn’t have let her die, right? There were mechanisms in the water dungeon, weren’t there? You were so decisive, but it was all to provoke me, to provoke Mr. Zabinski and the others. I have to admit, you succeeded.”
Dexter spoke slowly, his every word and sentence delivered with precision. He gazed into the distance where a fleet of ships was approaching head-on. “You’ve deceived Mr. Zabinski, and you’ve fooled Mark. He’s probably wishing he could kill you. Don’t you think so?”
Arnold’s eyes widened as he saw the fleet of ships approaching head-on, swiftly encircling his vessel. On the largest of those ships, there stood a remarkably spry elderly man, Mark.
“How could he be here? He clearly knows nothing! Josie wouldn’t let him find out either!” To a certain extent, Arnold truly understood Josie.
He had a grasp on her psyche and could accomplish half of what he set out to do. However, he fundamentally didn’t understand Dexter.
Mark’s stern voice echoed through the loudspeaker, “Arnold, you are surrounded by water on all sides. If I were to kill you here, no one would ever know. If you have any sense, you’ll abandon ship yourself.”
Though he was old, his voice still resonated with authority. It was laced with a mix of anger and sorrow that he struggled mightily to suppress.
It took Arnold a moment to regain his composure, and then it hit him. Back at the dock, Dexter had repeatedly said that Josie was dead. He was trying to convey a message.
