Chapter 837

The Sterling Family's boat was small.

It looked as if it could be swallowed by the waves at any moment.

Evelyn stood on the deck, watching the boat slowly approach.

Its hull rose and fell with the swells, seeming ready to capsize the next second.

She didn't speak, just looked at Mason.

Mason nodded at her.

"I can only demonstrate once."

After saying this, he leaped.

His figure traced an arc in the air before plunging straight into the sea.

Evelyn's heart clenched violently.

The cruise ship was too high.

From the deck to the water's surface was at least ten meters.

Jumping from such a height, the slightest misstep could cause injury.

She hurried to the railing and looked down.

A splash erupted on the sea's surface.

Mason's figure soon surfaced, swimming toward the small boat.

Someone on the boat handed him a cloak.

He put it on, looked up at Evelyn, and waved.

Evelyn was silent for a moment.

If it were an ordinary Sterling Family member, this jump would likely be perilous.

She suddenly thought of Alexander.

They had never discussed whether he could swim.

What if he couldn't?

The thought flashed through her mind.

Evelyn took a deep breath and climbed over the railing.

Imitating Mason's posture, she jumped.

Icy seawater instantly enveloped her.

A bone-chilling cold pierced her skin like needles.

Evelyn held her breath, trying to swim upward.

She knew how to swim.

But at this moment, her body stiffened uncontrollably.

Thalassophobia.

A lingering effect from her last fall into the water in San Francisco.

She desperately told herself to relax.

For her mother, she had to overcome this.

But the harder she tried, the heavier her body felt.

Seawater surged from all sides, compressing her chest.

Evelyn struggled, but kept sinking.

The light from the surface grew farther away.

The feeling of suffocation grew stronger.

Just as her consciousness began to blur, a rope suddenly dropped down.

Evelyn instinctively grabbed it.

The rope tightened abruptly, pulling her upward.

The moment she broke the surface, she gasped for air.

Mason reached out and pulled her onto the small boat.

A warm blanket was immediately wrapped around her.

Only then did Evelyn see the people on the boat clearly.

Besides the boatman, there were two men.

One in his forties, the other in his early twenties.

Both were staring at her.

Mason explained, "Grace, these two are your mother's husbands."

Evelyn was stunned.

Two?

The man in his forties snorted coldly. "So the reason you haven't come home all these years is because you can't swim! Useless! Wait until you get inside, see how your mother deals with you!"

The man in his twenties spoke gently. "Don't be afraid. Your mother just misses you terribly. She talks about you every day..."

The "mother" they referred to was likely Grace's adoptive mother.

The previous heir who stole the child from Sophia.

Evelyn didn't dare say much, just nodded.

The older man scoffed. "Still as wooden-headed as when you were a child! With you like this, how can you win the heir competition? If you lose, we'll all be trapped in the Sterling Family for life, do you know that?"

Evelyn nodded again.

The man grew angry. "Are you mute? Can't you say a single word?"

The younger man quickly mediated. "Big brother, Grace just returned. We haven't seen her in over twenty years. Don't scold her as soon as you meet her. It won't look good if Madam finds out."

The older man snorted and fell silent.

The younger man took out a black cloth. "According to the rules, you cannot see the route."

Evelyn looked at Mason.

Mason nodded.

So she nodded as well.

The man stepped forward and blindfolded both her and Mason with the black cloth.

The small boat started, heading toward an unknown direction.

Evelyn tried to determine their location by the sound of the water.

But the boat rocked too much. All she could hear was the wind and water.

It was impossible to discern anything.

She listened for a long while, then finally gave up.

She simply lay down in the cabin and fell asleep.

She didn't know how much time had passed when someone nudged her.

"Grace, we're here."

Evelyn sat up and removed the blindfold.

The Sterling Family was right before her eyes.