Hearing these words, a chill rose up my spine—I understood everything. I hadn’t expected them to use such a method to frame me. I watched helplessly as Linda Brooks searched around the cabin, identifying people, with the onlookers following her. Then her gaze landed on me.

She raised her hand and pointed at me: “It’s him!”

Although I already knew what I was about to face, I still turned around, looking left and right to see if there was anyone else behind me. But all I saw were the wooden planks of the cabin. When I turned back, I met Linda Brooks’s furious eyes: “It’s this person! I could never mistake him! He walked past me just now, I smelled a fragrance, and then I blacked out. It was this guy who drugged me!”

As soon as she said this, the passengers who had been sitting next to me and Annie immediately scrambled away as if avoiding the plague, rushing to huddle with others, while I was so angry I couldn’t speak.

Amid the insults from the other passengers, Annie forcefully pushed away Linda Brooks’s hand and shouted, “You’re lying! He didn’t drug you!” But her words couldn’t penetrate the barrage of abuse, and someone even took advantage of the chaos to push me away from Annie.

I was shoved around, and watched as the dark-skinned Uncle Clark and his nephew came up to me, quickly snatching the silver dollars from my pocket in the confusion. I couldn’t handle the situation, so I could only shout loudly, “It’s those two who are framing me, don’t listen to this woman’s nonsense…”

But no one listened to what I had to say. They all angrily accused me, shouting at me. Surrounded by their condemnation, my ears buzzed, and I couldn’t make out a single word as I looked at their furious faces. I felt utterly wronged. But looking at them, it seemed they felt even more wronged than I did. I stood there in a daze, suddenly realizing that their anger wasn’t just directed at me—they were venting, venting their frustration at the war-torn country, their abandoned homes, lost loved ones, and their fate of ending up on this black ship. Everyone was spewing the fire from their chests: “To hell with you! Die, child-snatcher!”

Unable to bear it any longer, I shouted back, “I’m not a child-snatcher, I’ve been wronged!” But still, no one paid attention. Just as I was at a loss for words, a voice boomed from outside the cabin like thunder: “What the hell are you all yelling about? Shut up, all of you!”

Almost at the same time, a shaggy head poked in from outside, and it was the bearded Frank Grant: “Damn it, what the hell is wrong with you people? The whole boat sounds like a pack of ghosts!”

The shouting stopped. Uncle Grant chuckled, “Frank brother, you came at the right time—we caught a human trafficker.”

“A human trafficker?” Frank Grant’s voice was full of surprise. “Well, well, old Grant, someone dares to steal your business? I want to see who this brazen trafficker is.”

Everyone’s eyes immediately turned to Uncle Grant, and his expression changed at once: “Old Grant, don’t talk nonsense. On Lord Jiao’s boat, I never make trouble.”

Frank Grant ignored him and shouted at the crowd, “Who’s the child-snatcher?”

Everyone stepped aside, all eyes on me.

“You again?” Frank Grant looked at me in mock surprise. “Pretty boy, aren’t you a doctor? Changed careers so soon?”

I was about to defend myself when suddenly my face stung, followed by a crisp slap. Frank Grant glared at me angrily: “I’m asking you a question—do you know whose boat this is?”

“It’s Lord Jiao’s boat…” Before I could finish, Frank Grant slapped me so hard my face swelled, my ears ringing so loudly I couldn’t even speak.

Frank Grant sneered, “You know it’s Lord Jiao’s boat and you still dare to mess around? You must be tired of living!”

“He really isn’t a human trafficker—” Annie shouted and rushed over, but Frank Grant shoved her aside with a big hand: “Someone, pack up this pretty boy’s things and bring him out. There are plenty of big fish in the sea—someone’s got to feed them!”

Everyone cheered in unison: “Drown him, drown him good! Throw the child-snatcher into the sea to feed the fish!” Uncle Grant and the dark-skinned Clark egged on gleefully: “Frank brother, you really are a hero!”

I stared in shock at everyone’s reaction, finding it completely incomprehensible. Just a few words, and they were going to throw me into the sea? With no evidence at all—even if I really were a child-snatcher, you can’t decide a person’s life or death so lightly! Looking at the passengers’ excited faces, I suddenly realized they didn’t care whether I was a bad person or not—they probably just wanted to watch a spectacle.

“This isn’t fair! I’ve been wronged!”

“Fine, then I’ll give you fairness! So you won’t go complaining about me to the King of Hell!” Frank Grant said smugly, glancing back at Annie, who was being watched by countless eyes. Two sea scavengers ran over—one picked up my rattan suitcase, the other grabbed me like a chicken and dragged me out.

Frank Grant strode ahead, the sea scavenger dragging me followed him up to the deck, and the crowd followed behind Uncle Grant and the others, cursing as they came out. After a few steps, Frank Grant stopped and, without looking back, said, “All of you, get back inside. There are rules on this boat.”