His breathing became uneven.
“Your father changed his travel plans.”
“Why?”
“Because someone knew about the mountain trip.”
I closed my eyes.
The conversation I had overheard came rushing back.
“They head to the mountains next week.”
How could Flynn’s family know my parents’ plans unless someone had been watching them?
“Daniel,” I whispered, “I heard them.”
“What did you hear?”
I told him.
Everything.
The pills.
The poison in my soup.
The plan to push me overboard.
The $300 million.
The Swiss accounts.
The planned crash.
When I finished, Daniel said nothing.
Then I heard something in the background.
A loud bang.
“Daniel?”
Static.
“Daniel!”
His voice returned, but it was faint.
“Listen to me. There’s something you need to know about the power of attorney.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“The document you signed—”
The call cut off.
I stared at the phone.
“No.”
I called again.
Straight to voicemail.
I tried a second time.
Nothing.
Marcus was watching me.
“What did he say?”
I looked up.
“The power of attorney.”
Marcus’s face suddenly went pale.
“What about it?”
“I don’t know.”
Before he could answer, the yacht shuddered violently.
A deep mechanical groan traveled through the walls.
The lights flickered.
Then the engines changed pitch.
Marcus turned toward the corridor.
“That’s not the weather.”
“What?”
He grabbed my arm.
“We need to move.”
“Where?”
“Somewhere your husband can’t find you.”
We hurried through the passage.
The ship rocked again.
I stumbled.
Marcus caught me.
“Are you all right?”
“I don’t know.”
My head was spinning.
He looked at me carefully.
“How many pills did Flynn give you?”
“Two every night.”
His jaw tightened.
“And tonight?”
“Two.”
“And soup?”
“Yes.”
He cursed under his breath.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Tell me.”
He looked toward the ceiling.
“Those aren’t ordinary seasickness tablets.”
My heart sank.
“What are they?”
“A sedative.”
I already knew.
But hearing it from someone else made the reality more terrifying.
“How long until it wears off?”
“Depends on what he gave you.”
“Marcus.”
He stopped.
“If you want to survive tonight, you need to stay conscious.”
“I am trying.”
“No.”
His eyes locked onto mine.
“You need to fight it.”
I nodded.
Then something occurred to me.
“Why are you helping me?”
He didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he reached into his jacket.
This time he pulled out a photograph.
He handed it to me.
I looked down.
My breath caught.
It was a picture of Flynn.
But he wasn’t alone.
Standing beside him were Aidan and Fiona.
And a fourth person.
A man I didn’t recognize.
Behind them was a building.
A black sign hung above the entrance.
STERLING PRIVATE TRUST.
My father’s company.
I looked at Marcus.
“What is this?”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out.”
“Why would Flynn be there?”
Marcus’s expression was grim.
“Because your husband didn’t meet your family for the first time when he met you.”
I stared at him.
“What does that mean?”
“It means Flynn has been connected to the Sterling family for years.”
The yacht rocked again.
Somewhere above us, a door slammed.
Then footsteps.
Marcus looked toward the sound.
“They’re searching the ship.”
My pulse raced.
“We have to go.”
He nodded.
But before we moved, my phone vibrated.
A new message.
Unknown number.
I opened it.
There was only one sentence.
YOU’RE LOOKING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION.
Then another message arrived.
A photograph.
My blood ran cold.
It was a picture of me.
Taken that afternoon.
On the staircase.
At the exact moment I had overheard Flynn and his parents.
Someone had been watching me.
The picture had been taken from above.
From the upper deck.
I stared at the image.
Then I noticed something behind me.
A reflection in the brass railing.
A person standing several feet away.
Watching me.
Not Flynn.
Not Aidan.
Not Fiona.
Someone else.
Someone I had never seen before.
I zoomed in.
The face was partially hidden by darkness.
But there was one unmistakable detail.
A silver ring.
A ring bearing the same strange crest I had seen engraved on the back of the power-of-attorney document.
My fingers went numb.
Marcus looked at the screen.
His expression changed instantly.
“Where did you get that?”
“The message.”
“Who sent it?”
“I don’t know.”
He stared at the photograph.
Then he whispered something that made my entire body go cold.
“That ring belongs to the person who originally hired Flynn.”
I looked at him.
“You know who it is?”
Marcus didn’t answer.
Instead, he looked toward the corridor behind us.
Then he said:
“Yes.”
“Who?”
He took a step closer.
Before he could speak, every light on the yacht went out.
Complete darkness swallowed us.
A woman’s scream echoed somewhere above.
Then came the sound of breaking glass.
Marcus grabbed my hand.
“Don’t move.”
I heard footsteps.
Running.
Then a man’s voice over the emergency speakers.
“Attention all passengers. Please remain in your cabins. We are experiencing a temporary electrical malfunction.”
I recognized the voice.
It was the captain.
But Marcus shook his head.
“That’s not the captain.”
My heart stopped.
“Then who is it?”
A pause.
He leaned toward my ear.
“The captain disappeared two hours ago.”
And somewhere in the darkness behind us, a door slowly opened.
Someone whispered my name.
“Emily…”
I knew that voice.
It was Flynn.
And he sounded terrified.
Not angry.
Not threatening.
Terrified.
Then he said something I never expected to hear.
“Emily, if you can hear me…”
A gunshot exploded somewhere on the deck above.
