Chapter 200: 200

Malone’s betrayal hit Carina real hard . In all of Nassau, he was the person she trusted the most . In fact, it wasn’t too much to say that he was the only person she trusted . He was the last person she would expect to be bought over . According to Malone, although he had only sent Malcolm a total of three messages, she felt a wave of nausea wash over her whenever she thought about how someone close to her had been watching her the entire time .

Perhaps the only fortunate thing was that the information Malone had access to were mostly trade-related . However, she was always on her own when she met with the black gladiator . Malone had asked to go with her several times in the name of safety, but he had always been turned down . Of course, at that time, she never suspected Malone’s intention, refusing simply because she feared that bringing an escort along might offend Laeli . Had that not been the case, Malcolm would have found out that his study had been invaded .

Carina did her best to keep her emotions under control . She questioned Malone a little bit more before handing him over to the four Jackdaw sailors . She would let them investigate the authenticity of his statement, then transfer him to a ship heading back to England . Malone mentioned before that he had a sister in Kent, so this was actually the best outcome for him . Even if he wanted to return, he could only do it next year . By that time, the strife between Carina and Malcolm should have been settled .

When it was all over, a drained and exhausted Carina tossed her short musket to the side of the road . Today, she finally understood what her father meant by never trusting anyone on the island .

The relationship she shared with Malone went beyond friendship . He was more like family and a mentor . To her, losing him meant far more than just losing a seasoned captain who could get through port authorities . If Wilton’s blatant threat on the beach made her feel fear for the first time, then Malone’s betrayal caused her to experience another kind of pain .

There was even a moment when she considered giving up . She was no longer sure what waited for her on the other side if she continued down this path . How high of a price would she have to pay to win this fight against the black-market alliance?

Carina stopped in front of the horse carriage sporting a blank look in her eyes, wondering where she was supposed to be going . She stood there for some time until suddenly, the driver coughed, “Ahem . Ms . Carina?”

“I’m sorry . Head to Captain Zhang Heng’s residence . ”

Carina opened the door and climbed into the carriage, not bothered to look back . She had made a decision–let the past remain where it was . From the time her father was sent to prison until now, there would be no turning back for her . As that was the case, she could only continue walking down this path .

About half an hour later, the carriage came to a stop . Carina had also regained her composure .

Zhang Heng was in the living room, taking Dutch lessons from Vincent . When he looked up and saw Carina outside the door, he nodded to the young doctor and said, “That will be all for today . ”

Vincent immediately collected the books and left . Anne had gone to meet Harry that afternoon, so when Vincent left, Zhang Heng and Carina were alone .

Zhang Heng picked up the teapot on the table and poured his visitor a cup of tea . Perhaps it was because of his Oriental lineage that he preferred tea over coffee .

“How are things on your side?”

“We found the spy–it was Malone . ” Carina paused for a moment, her expressions stoic as if it was something insignificant . “The problem wasn’t that serious . I suppose we can call it solved . It shouldn’t affect us any further . However, the Gentle Breeze is devoid of a captain, and once the other cargo ship is repaired, she’ll need a captain too . ”

“Do you have anyone in mind?”

“For the Gentle Breeze, I plan to let the first officer take over the role of captain . To prevent something like this from happening again, I will test him regularly . As for the other ship… it’s going to be difficult, as I plan to recruit sailors from Nassau on the spot . Thus, I will need someone who has the authority to control them . At the same time, this person cannot be a pirate . It will be a great advantage if he’s familiar with the authorities of the colonial ports, as well . ”

“Hmm . These requirements won’t be easy to meet . ”

“I know . Good captains are a scarcity everywhere . On top of that, practically all the outstanding captains of this place have now become pirates . Of course, I’ll be generous with the wages–I can pay twice the average captain’s salary to our prospective captain . ”

Zhang Heng thought about what the tradeswoman was saying before he answered, “A few cargo captains lost their vessels and goods to robbers . Out of desperation, they had no choice but to come to Nassau to look for wealth here . There should be someone among them who meets your criteria . That said, all the other pirate ships that lack captains also have their eyes on them . How about this? I’ll find Billy tomorrow and see if he can recommend me anyone suitable . ”

Carina nodded . “I thought about what you said before–we are competing against the black-market alliance, and it won’t be enough just having the support of small and medium pirate gangs . I’ve decided to approach the biggest landowner of the island to see if we can offer to ship their yield without charge, all these in exchange for their support, of course . Also, everything we got from the exchange of the secondhand goods are just bits and pieces of miscellaneous trinkets . No one in the colony will buy them . It’ll be treated like garbage . But it would be a pity to throw them away too . After all, there’s still some value in them, I’m sure . ”

“What do you want to do with them?”

“I plan to open a grocery store here and another in the colony where the knick-knacks can be sold . It doesn’t have to make a profit . I simply want to recoup my losses . That would be enough . Then we won’t have to keep bleeding money by holding on to these things,” Carina explained .

Zhang Heng raised his eyebrows .

“What is it?”

“I thought that your debacle with Malone would be a big blow to you, but from the way you talk, it seems that I have misplaced my worries .

“In the beginning, I was furious and disappointed, but on the way here, I thought through many things, and my angst dissipated . I haven’t done well in many aspects as well . I was so used to asking for his help, and it has always been one-sided–on my part, I never paid attention to the difficulties he faced . Although he owed the gambling den a large sum of money and has borrowed from many people, he never wanted to trouble me, and would rather accept Malcolm’s offer . He probably didn’t think I could help him anyway,” Carina chuckled to herself before quickly moving to another topic .

She looked squarely into Zhang Heng’s eyes and seriously told him, “I want to defeat Malcolm, not just to keep the secondhand business going, but to completely destroy him! I will drive him out of Nassau and take his place as the most powerful black-market merchant on the island . No matter the cost, no matter what danger awaits me, I will not falter . I won’t stop until it’s done . ”