My boyfriend's one true love, Winnie Lynch, lost a wager on the open seas and she was going to be fed to the tiger sharks in the shark tank soon.

As the ship's pirate captain watched, my boyfriend, Hank Smith, yanked me up as I was scrubbing the deck and said, "Winnie is sickly and she can't handle the shock. You're a cleaner who works hard labor every day and has great stamina. You should go in there and hold your breath for five minutes for her."

Everyone around us burst out laughing.

I wiped the soap bubbles from my hands and sighed helplessly. "Both of you thought this through? You really want me to go?"

None of them knew that the two leaders of the pirates who were sitting on the main seats, men who were feared across the open seas, were kids I had trained myself a long time ago!

"Hank! You swore you would never put me in danger the day we got together! And now you want to throw me at the sharks in the tank?" I questioned Hank Smith as I listened to his demand.

Hank would not meet my eyes as he stammered, "Lilibeth, Winnie has asthma. She can't handle any shock. You work hard labor every day and have great stamina. Holding your breath for five minutes is nothing to you. Not to mention…"

He then lowered his voice as he continued. "If you make it back alive, Captain Levin said the reward is two hundred thousand dollars! That's a ton of cash for a cleaner like you. You can't even afford any decent makeup. Can't you just consider this as making some money for our future?"

A chill went down my spine.

Our future?

It was more likely he wanted to get me killed in a hurry so he could build one with Winnie Lynch.

I tossed the rag on the deck and moved my wrist. "And if I refuse?"

Winnie let out a gasp at this perfect moment. "Hank, why is Lilibeth being so petty? I only asked her for a small favor. I even gave her a chance to earn some money. Why is she blowing me off?"

Hank's face darkened as his gaze became brutal. "Lilibeth, why are you being so unreasonable? There are so many VIPs on board today. If you ruin their entertainment in front of everyone, my family will never approve of us being together again. If you refuse to switch with Winnie today, our relationship is done right here and now!"

A breakup?

I almost laughed.

In the past year, he would always threaten me with a breakup when Winnie was involved. He truly believed I was so in love with him that I could not live without him.

Winnie stood next to him, fanning the flames with a sugary voice. "Lilibeth, stop making Hank angry. He normally treats you so well and buys you clothes and purses. Just take my place in the shark tank this once and treat this as paying him back. Besides, you scrub and mop the deck all day, so you must have some very steady footing. There's no way you'll slip."

The trust-fund kids around us also joined in and started to make a scene.

"Yeah, that's right! Why is a cleaner acting so proud?"

"Get down there already. Don't ruin the show for all of us!"

I looked at all the well-dressed fools around me as I scoffed. If this were a year ago, I would have tied up every one of them and hung them from the mast to let them taste the sea breeze.

My name was Lilibeth Bell, the Pirate Queen who ruled over the Western Seas. I had slain more mob bosses and drug lords than I could count with my two hands. But one year ago, I made a wager with my eighteen brothers who revelled in bloodshed.

To make them live honest lives from now on and run the legitimate shipping company I had taken over properly, I made a bet with them. I would hide my identity and work on a luxury liner as a cleaner for one full year.

If I kept my identity hidden and endured everything without retaliating, then they would burn their pirate flags and all of them would earn proper licenses to become lawful sailors. If I lost the bet, then I would lead them back to the open seas and return to a life of fire and blood.

Now, only fifteen minutes remained before the time was up and I won that bet from a year ago.

"What are you waiting for? Which one of you is going into the shark tank?!" A man roared on the stage.

I looked at the vicious man on stage and let out a sigh. That was the infamous pirate captain, Captain Kaplan Levin. He was one of those brothers and I called him Tiger as his nickname.

Luckily, his eyesight had always been poor. He likely did not recognize me with different makeup and the cleaners' uniform.

Tiger kicked over the gaming table in front of him, and Winnie trembled out of fear as she hid behind Hank the best she could. "Hank, I'm scared. That scarface is so terrifying..."

Hank extended his arm around her and patted her shoulder, calming her down. Then he turned and shot me with an impatient look.

"Lilibeth, get down there already!" Hank growled in a low voice. "If you waste another second and make Captain Levin angry, forget about the two hundred thousand dollars, all of us will be dragged down with you!"

Make Captain Levin angry?

Years ago, I booted Tiger straight into the sea to force him practice his breath-holding skill. When they fished him back up, he hugged my leg and cried for half an hour. His legs would go weak at the sight of me even to this day.

I let out a scoff. But when I thought of the bet I made with only ten minutes remaining, I took a deep breath.

Fine. I would keep this up. I could not let those eighteen troublemakers return to a life of crime and piracy.

I gritted my teeth and forced a smile as I looked at Tiger. "Tig... Ah, I mean, Captain Levin, is it? Feeding sharks is boring. Why don't we play something else?"

Tiger's interest was sparked immediately. "Oh? A cleaner like you thinks you can come up with something new?"

There was a high-tech device my other brothers had managed to procure to torment people. The moment someone lied, the shock would hit them hard enough to make them lose control of their bowels.

"Throwing someone to the sharks is nothing but physical labor. Since you want some fun, why don't we play with something that can even reach into one's soul?" I said. "Let's use that."

Tiger burst out laughing and clapped his hands. "Interesting! You're so brutal! I like it! Strap her into the machine! Now, who's going to ask the question?"

Winnie jumped up at once. "Me! Me! I know her best, Captain Levin! I promise I'll make it exciting!"

Meanwhile, Hank let out a sigh of relief. "At least you know what's good for you. Don't worry. It's only a few questions. Just hang in there and it'll be over before you know it."

I shook off his hand in disgust and walked up to the chair. Then the staff placed the electrodes to my temples and my heart rate appeared on the big screen.

Winnie took the microphone and cleared her throat. "Hello, everyone! Please allow me to show you the exciting game aboard this cruise ship this evening! I'm currently at the famous club located on the top deck of the Leviathan, now sailing in the open seas! Take a good look, ladies and gentlemen! The one brave enough to ask for this electric shock version of 'Truth or Dare' is one of the ship's cleaners!"

She had even started a livestream!

Tens of thousands of viewers immediately flooded in for the drama.

[No way! This place is insane! I heard entry to the Leviathan's club costs a fortune. The ticket is worth seven digits, I think? As expected of a socialite of her level to be able to go into a club like that.]

[Wait. That woman in gray looks so familiar... Isn't that the broke ex-girlfriend who tried to steal Winnie's spotlight in her last stream?]

[That's right! It's her! Why did Hank bring her aboard? That cheap uniform ruined the whole cruise's class!]

[This is so funny! That woman will do anything for money? She wants money more than her life! Electric shock truth or dare? She has a death wish!]

[She deserves to get shocked to death! She's the one who kept bothering Hank and going after Winnie! Winnie is Hank's one true love!]

Winnie glanced at the bullet comments on the screen and smiled smugly. "First question! Lilibeth, have you ever killed someone for money?!"

The entire deck went silent.

Hank's expression shifted and yelled, "Winnie, what kind of question is that? She's just a cleaner! How could she have killed anyone?!"

Winnie ignored him and stared right into my eyes, and I met her gaze with an unreadable expression.

In my mind, I saw the armed thugs who tried to hijack my cargo ship and lay their hands on my female crew. I swung my blade and took their heads. Those images were still fresh in my mind.

"Yes," I answered calmly.

The heart rate line on the big screen flickered and the result appeared.

Truth.

Everyone on the deck went wild!

The livestream was immediately blowing up with comments.