Chapter 117 Rusty Anchor

The Rusty Anchor was a shipwreck of a tavern. The air hung thick with the smell of stale ale, regret, and maybe a hint of something worse – like bad decisions fermenting in the back room. Dim lanterns cast flickering shadows on a scene straight out of a drunken sailor's nightmare. Rough-looking dudes with hands like sandpaper and enough scars to map a treasure island drowned their sorrows in tankards the size of Jane's head. Bawdy songs and drunken laughter bounced off the low ceiling, making Jane wince. Olivia, ever the social butterfly, pushed through the crowd like a firecracker looking for a fuse. She found her target – a burly sailor with an impressive scar running down his cheek like a lightning bolt. A charming smile, practiced a thousand times over, bloomed on her face. "Hey there, handsome," she purred, her voice all honeyed sweetness. "Haven't seen you around here before." The sailor, momentarily disarmed by her beauty, stammered a reply. Olivia, a master manipulator in a s