Chapter 847

847 Chapter 846

When Keira regained consciousness, she was already aboard the cruise ship.

The moment she opened her eyes, she realized she was in her own cabin. The sound of the wind gusted outside. Jolting upright, her first instinct was to grab her phone.

By all accounts, five days should have passed, and her phone ought to be out of battery. But when she powered it on, the display showed a battery level of 80 p>

This could only mean one thing—someone had brought her back to the ship yesterday and even charged her phone.

No, wait p>

Keira stared at her phone. Her social media accounts, even her private feed, had posts indicating she was still on the cruise.

There were even daily meal deliveries placed in her cabin.

This meant someone had been impersonating her the moment she disappeared.

The South family’s meticulousness was truly unparalleled. Even in the middle of the ocean, they’d gone out of their way to make sure no one noticed her absence by finding someone to play her role.

While she mulled over the situation, her phone buzzed with an incoming video call.

In the middle of the ocean, regular signals were nonexistent; only satellite signals worked. Keira accepted the call, and Lewis Horton’s face appeared on the screen.

In just a week, Lewis seemed to have lost some weight. The instant he saw Keira, his tense expression softened with visible relief.

“How have you been?” Keira asked.

Lewis wasted no time responding. “Erin’s guardian never returned to the South family with her, so I was able to pass myself off as her. But once at the South estate, I was confined to a villa. I’ve already sent you the layout. After observing the surroundings, I had a gut feeling that stepping outside would be a bad idea p>

Keira nodded. “Right. They’ve got infrared detectors everywhere. No matter how well we disguise ourselves, the moment we step out, we’d be caught p>

“That explains a lot,” Lewis replied with a nod.

“How have you been holding up this past week?” Keira pressed.

“Not bad,” he said. “Erin’s parents are very kind to her. Their home is warm and welcoming. I’ve just been staying out of sight in her room p>

After exchanging updates, Keira asked, “About the South family—there’s no shortage of well-paid staff there. How did you manage to get someone to pass me a note p>

A faint smirk touched Lewis’s lips. “Where there are people, there’s always drama. Erin’s mother has five husbands who constantly vie for influence, each backed by their own family. Her third husband—the least favored—helped me out. I promised him a night alone with Erin’s mother in exchange for passing the message p>

Keira blinked, completely taken aback. “What…what kind of family dynamic is this p>

She rubbed her temples, trying to make sense of it. “And he agreed so easily p>

“Not quite,” Lewis admitted. “Since marrying Erin’s mother, he’s never spent a single night alone with her. Erin is their only heir, so if he doesn’t curry favor with her, what other choice does he have p>

Keira was speechless. She almost wanted to roll her eyes. So, the reason she had such a hard time gathering intel in Jessica South’s household boiled down to the fact that Jessica had too few men competing for her attention?

As she mulled this over, Lewis cleared his throat. “Keira, once you meet other men…will you stop liking me p>

Keira, in the middle of sipping water, choked and sprayed it everywhere.

Was this still the same cold and aloof Lewis Horton she’d first met?

She vividly remembered their first encounter—how arrogant he’d been! Back then, he hadn’t even believed her when she told him they were married.

Shooting him a glare, she said, “Cut it out and speak properly p>

Lewis let out a soft sigh. “I’ve just been feeling a bit insecure lately. In Erin’s home, I noticed that even the slightest charm from a man could earn more attention from women. I never realized that kind of approach could be so effective p>

Keira arched a brow. “And what are you getting at p>

Lewis coughed lightly, his handsome face showing a rare hint of embarrassment. “Well, I’ve been using my time wisely. I learned a thing or two about pleasing women from Erin’s fathers p>

Keira gawked. “You…you learned what p>

“You’ll find out when I get back,” he replied smoothly.

Her cheeks grew warm as she stared at the screen, unsure whether he was joking or serious.

Avoiding his gaze, she muttered, “Anyway, I’ve been killing time myself and p>

“And learning how to handle men?” Lewis interrupted.

Keira’s jaw dropped. “Shut up p>

“Alright, alright,” he said, though his tone was tinged with mock hurt.

For a moment, Keira wondered if she’d been too harsh. Peering at the screen, she admitted, “I did something dumb. I disassembled a radio and tried to build a displacement tracker to figure out where I was. But I didn’t have a reference point, so all I got was a useless set of coordinates p>

Tracking coordinates without a baseline was like trying to map your position on a plane without knowing where zero was.

Keira had hoped to pinpoint the South family’s location to uncover their secrets. But alas, her efforts were in vain.

To her surprise, Lewis chuckled. “What a coincidence. I made a similar attempt and ended up with useless data too. But if we combine our results p>

Keira’s eyes lit up. “We could triangulate the South family’s location on Earth p>

“Exactly,” Lewis confirmed.

“Brilliant! Send it over…actually, no. Our phones are probably being monitored. Let’s wait until we’re back home p>

Lewis smiled faintly. “Home p>

The word slipped out before Keira realized it. She nodded. “Yeah. I think I’ll be back in Clance in about a day. What about you p>

“About the same. So…see you at home p>

“See you at home,” she echoed.