Chapter 4

“It’s terrifying, a young girl with such a vicious heart… Is she some kind of sociopath?”

Maya said.

“Paul was so innocent… Someone else deserved to die!”

Grant glared at me.

Leo, however, spoke up for me.

“We’re all in this together. I believe Jocelyn wouldn’t intentionally lure a tiger to harm a companion. Things aren’t clear yet; let’s not jump to conclusions.”

“What’s not clear? Jocelyn is a murderer! I refuse to stay with a sociopath like her! Who knows how we’ll end up dying!”

Maya retorted.

“Yeah! Why wasn’t she the one bitten by the tiger? She’s the one who deserves to die!”

Grant added.

Serena continued to sob. When Caleb approached, she immediately threw herself into his arms.

“Caleb, I was so scared just now…”

“Mr. Vance, Paul was indirectly killed by your precious niece. You at least owe us an explanation, right?”

Maya challenged.

Caleb’s eyes were bloodshot. After looking at Paul’s body, he walked up to me and asked,

“Did you really lure the tiger?”

I let out a bitter laugh.

“If I said no, would you believe me?”

“_Smack_—”

My left cheek burned with a stinging pain. Caleb, in front of everyone, had slapped me hard.

“Jocelyn, how could you have become so vicious?”

It hurt—my face hurt, and my heart hurt even more.

I lifted my head, my gaze utterly devoid of emotion.

“How could I be so vicious? Of course, it’s because my uncle raised me so well.”

“Say that again!”

Another slap was about to land, but Leo stepped in front of me.

“Enough! Stop it! This isn’t the time for infighting. Paul is dead; we should be uniting! I’m the captain. I vouch for Jocelyn. She would absolutely never do anything to harm anyone here! If she really did something, you can throw both of us into the sea!”

With Leo’s guarantee, and the fact that I had also been hit, the others finally quieted down a bit.

They dug a pit to bury Paul’s body, then returned to the shelter.

Caleb and Serena walked ahead, with Leo and me following behind.

“Does it hurt?”

Leo reached out to touch my face, but I flinched away.

“I’m fine. Thank you for earlier.”

Leo sighed, then pressed a piece of candy into my hand.

“No matter what, I’m always on your side.”

Unbeknownst to us, we had already been on the island for a week.

Food was nearly depleted, and fresh water was almost gone.

But rescue had still not arrived.

Every day, the few of us went to the beach to keep watch, lighting bonfires and arranging huge “SOS” signals on the sand.

We just hoped that a passing plane or ship would notice us.

Caleb’s injuries had healed considerably, so he joined them in heading out to sea every day.

Fishing, hunting, distilling fresh water.

Every day, the cycle repeated.

I hadn’t spoken to Caleb again. He spent every day with Serena. I had become the unwanted one.

During my university days, I had joined a wilderness hiking club, so I was quite skilled in survival techniques.

I couldn’t swim, but I was the one who caught the most fish.

Whenever I caught fish, Grant and Maya would wait nearby.

As soon as I pulled in a fish, they would immediately rush forward and snatch the largest and fattest one.

They claimed it was punishment for me luring the tiger.

In reality, it was just bullying.

“Are you ever going to stop?”

When I caught a fish, Grant and Maya once again picked out the biggest one.

And then they also drank the purified fresh water I had just distilled.

I had reached my limit and yelled at them.

“You lured the tiger and caused Paul’s death, so you should atone for it! What’s wrong with catching a few fish for us? Now you’re playing the victim!”

I refused to back down. I shoved Maya away and snatched back the fish I’d caught.

“If you want fish, go catch your own.”

Grant, who had a short temper, raised his hand and shoved me.

My shoulder ached intensely, and I stumbled, falling to the ground.

“What the hell do you think you are? Daring to yell at me like that!”

Grant’s face was contorted in a snarl. The next second, he climbed directly on top of me.