Mr. Sterling, Mrs. Sterling is Multifaceted!-Chapter 280: Boarding the Ship

Y Nation.

Ethan Sterling proactively hung up the phone, his breathing somewhat erratic, suddenly feeling the temperature by the sea drop.

After a long while, he tossed the phone to the subordinate waiting beside him, "Go back now, and make sure no one finds out I’ve left the hotel."

"But Young Master Sterling, your hand..."

The burning sensation was now slowly becoming perceptible, fresh blood oozing from the purplish-red wound, making the subordinate uneasy about letting Ethan leave like this.

He withdrew his hand, his tone indisputable, "Go back."

"Yes." The subordinate had no choice but to comply and leave.

As a final remark, the subordinate added, "Young Master Sterling, from what I understand, you’ll have to squeeze into the bottom hold of a cargo ship with all the other refugees later. Avoid any conflicts, or you’ll be thrown into the sea."

Who cares about the lives of refugees?

He thought about slipping some money to have someone take care of Young Master Sterling, but reconsidered, thinking it might be more dangerous. They are all desperate criminals; who cares about promises?

Moreover, Ethan’s identity is special; if anything happened, killing him won’t solve the problem, and he couldn’t bear that responsibility.

Even if nothing goes wrong, the subordinate was still worried sick, fearing that the people on the ship might not act convincingly enough and would be stopped at customs, ruining all the plans.

Besides, from Y Nation to Z Nation, there would be many checkpoints, and Ethan might suffer considerably.

"Okay, I got it." Ethan nodded, his eyes darkening slightly.

He took off the expensive watch on his wrist and threw it to his subordinate.

Now, as a refugee, he couldn’t have anything on him that didn’t fit that identity.

After triple-checking to make sure there was nothing inappropriate, Ethan decisively turned and headed towards the throng of refugees.

He imitated their posture, hunching his back, walking unsteadily, and blended into the crowd with his head down.

The subordinate watched, feeling heartbroken, seeing the once high and mighty Young Master Sterling reduced to this.

Miles Harrington and Nathan Ayers had blocked all official ways for Ethan to return to the country, but they would never guess that Ethan would disguise as a refugee for Seraphina Redgrave, hunching his back, becoming lowly and insignificant, just to return to his country.

...

Z Nation, The Directorate.

"Done with the call?"

Miles Harrington approached her, crouched, and asked quietly, a bit puzzled, scratching his head, "Were those words just now meant to stop Ethan from holding any longing for you, or do you truly feel that way?"

Seraphina Redgrave’s reaction just now was too real. If not for knowing how well Ethan treated her, anyone would have believed it.

Nathan Ayers, already feeling bitter, exploded at Miles Harrington’s words, ignoring his status, he retorted, "Are you a gossip? Want me to buy you some sunflower seeds so you can sit here and munch?"

"..."

Miles Harrington was speechless but couldn’t argue back.

"He still wants to come back."

Seraphina Redgrave dropped her facade, having expended too much energy pretending to be relaxed in front of him, now lay on the floor, panting for air.

She looked at Miles Harrington, "If you’re going to kill or torture, do it quickly."

Only with her death could everything temporarily end.

"He can’t possibly come back."

Miles Harrington asserted. Now, all routes from Y Nation to Z Nation had been totally shut down; there was no way he could come back, without teleportation.

Suddenly, he frowned, "Ethan wouldn’t join forces with other countries’ presidents to pressure me, would he?"

He knew Ethan’s capabilities well enough that such a thing wouldn’t be beyond him.

But if he really did, it might border on treason.

No.

He probably wouldn’t do such a thing.

But what if he really lost his mind and acted recklessly?

"I’ll head back to The Presidential Palace first, need to handle some things." After considering this, Miles Harrington felt a bit troubled, and then reminded Nathan Ayers, "You should head back too."

"..."

Nathan Ayers refused to leave, stubbornly sitting in place.

Miles Harrington sighed, glanced at Seraphina Redgrave with blood seeping from the corner of her mouth and her weak breath, shook his head, and said, "In that case, let’s leave this cat here."

This was his biggest concession, so she wouldn’t be so lonely when leaving.

After saying this, he grabbed Nathan Ayers’ arm, forcibly dragging him away.

Not long after they left, the pain relief from the YJ520 had worn off, and the pain began to sweep through her body again.

The people from The Directorate saw her starting to tremble again and immediately tightened the chains around her four corners, afraid she might do something drastic.

Seraphina Redgrave, like a broken doll, was mechanically pulled to her feet.

The small cat that was in her arms slid to the ground, seeing its owner like this, it anxiously circled around her, getting more and more agitated.

It opened its mouth and bit the chains binding Seraphina, using all its strength, but ultimately it was just a small cat, how could it possibly resist these chains specially designed to restrain prisoners?

The little cat rolled on the ground in pain, unable to stifle its whines, sounding very pitiful.

"Little cat, I’m okay."

Seraphina comforted it, not wanting the cat to hurt itself.

But soon, she could no longer speak.

She felt surrounded by raging flames, burning her skin bit by bit.

The previous coldness hadn’t dissipated, the alternating cold and heat tormented her so much she wished she could just die.

Little cat, she was lying.

She was in so much pain.

It hurt too much.

She wanted to eat something sweet.

Wanted to eat the candies Ethan fed her, this longing tugged at her, almost tearing her apart.

...

"Get inside quickly!"

The person in charge of the smuggling on the cargo ship shouted in the language of Y Nation, roughly shoving the refugees, even kicking the women who were too weak to resist.

"Everyone sit down quietly; squeeze in if there’s no space. No making noises, no causing trouble. If you get discovered, you’ll be thrown into the sea to feed the fish!"

Ethan Sterling, too, was treated as a refugee, shoved into the lower hold, which was crowded with people crammed in like goods.

The air was already thin, and mixed with the stench from the refugees and the salty sea air, it was a sensory disaster.

The space below was very low; a normal person couldn’t stand upright.

After the person in charge left, they slammed the lid on top, cutting off the last bit of light, leaving only desperate darkness, along with a few holes for air.

In the pitch-black space, restlessness, anxiety, and urgency slowly brewed in the air.

Ethan was squeezed into the farthest corner; even when the servants mistreated him in Hibiscus Garden, he had never been in such a disgustingly terrible environment.

Every inch of it suffocated him.