Chapter 3 - Pretending to Be Drugged
There are moments when fear becomes too large to feel.
On that deck, I crossed into that place.
The storm ripped at my robe.
The yacht rose and dropped beneath us.
Lucas's arm remained tight around my waist.
Anyone watching from a distance would have thought he was protecting me.
Only I knew he was positioning me.
Roderick stood several feet away.
Gertrude stayed near the door.
Captain Rowan remained in the shadows.
My earpiece was silent.
Too silent.
Lucas leaned close to my ear.
“You okay?”
I let my knees weaken.
“Dizzy.”
“Just breathe.”
His voice was gentle.
Loving.
Perfect.
He deserved an award.
Then he guided me closer to the railing.
The ocean below looked endless.
I thought of my father.
My mother.
I thought of the phone call.
I thought of all the years Lucas had spent becoming the man I trusted.
How long had he been planning this?
Months?
Years?
Had anything between us been real?
The answer almost distracted me long enough to get killed.
Lucas shifted.
His hand moved from my waist to my back.
I knew.
This was it.
Then the yacht rolled hard to port.
I stumbled intentionally.
Lucas steadied me.
Roderick hissed, “Do it.”
The recorder in my waistband captured everything.
Lucas whispered, “I'm sorry.”
I looked into his eyes.
For the first time that night, I stopped acting.
“So am I.”
His face changed.
“What?”
I drove my heel down onto his foot and twisted away.
Lucas grabbed my robe.
Fabric tore.
Gertrude screamed.
I hit the deck.
Lucas lunged.
Then the exterior lights exploded on.
Brilliant white illumination flooded the aft deck.
Everyone froze.
A voice thundered through the yacht's loudspeaker.
“STEP AWAY FROM HER.”
Lucas's face drained of color.
Roderick spun around.
“What the hell?”
Captain Rowan pulled something from inside his jacket.
Marcus Hale emerged behind him.
The two men collided.
The yacht rolled again.
Rowan struck Marcus hard.
Gertrude screamed and ran toward the door.
Lucas grabbed me.
His forearm locked around my throat.
“You stupid—”
I slammed my elbow backward.
He cursed.
Then Elena appeared.
“Let her go!”
Lucas dragged me toward the railing.
“You move, she goes over.”
The storm swallowed half his words.
Roderick shouted at him.
“Lucas! Think!”
“I am thinking!”
His grip tightened.
Elena stood ten feet away.
Hands visible.
No weapon.
“Lucas,” she said calmly. “This is finished.”
He laughed.
“No, it isn't.”
“You've been recorded.”
Lucas's grip loosened slightly.
That was enough.
I dropped my weight.
He wasn't prepared.
We fell sideways.
I scrambled.
Lucas grabbed my ankle.
My body slid across the wet deck.
Toward the edge.
I clawed at the metal drainage grate.
My fingers slipped.
Behind us, Marcus and Rowan struggled near the door.
Then a deafening bang split the air.
Everyone froze.
For a second I thought lightning had struck the yacht.
Then Marcus collapsed.
Elena screamed his name.
Captain Rowan stood over him.
And now I saw the gun.
Roderick stared.
“You idiot!”
Rowan pointed the weapon toward Elena.
“You said no security.”
“I didn't know!”
Lucas still held my ankle.
I kicked him hard.
Once.
Twice.
His grip broke.
I crawled away.
Rowan swung the gun toward me.
“Stop moving.”
I stopped.
Rain poured down my face.
Gertrude was crying.
“This was not the plan.”
Rowan laughed bitterly.
“No. The plan was supposed to be simple. Girl falls. Husband cries. We all get paid.”
All.
The recorder was catching him too.
Lucas stood.
“Put the gun down.”
Rowan turned on him.
“Don't give me orders.”
The balance of power had shifted.
Rowan wasn't merely helping Lucas.
He had his own stake.
Then the yacht's engines suddenly reduced power.
The vessel slowed.
Rowan looked toward the bridge.
“What did you do?”
Elena smiled.
“Marcus locked you out.”
Rowan glanced down at the man on the deck.
Marcus moved.
Barely.
Alive.
Relief flooded me.
Then another voice came over the loudspeaker.
“Captain Rowan, this is United States Coast Guard command.”
Lucas went completely still.
“You are instructed to place your weapon on the deck and move away from all passengers.”
Searchlights appeared in the darkness.
Not one.
Three.
Coast Guard vessels.
And above us, through rain and cloud, came the thudding sound of a helicopter.
My father hadn't sent help.
He had sent an army.
For the first time, Lucas looked afraid.
Truly afraid.
He looked at me.
“You called someone.”
I stood slowly.
“Yes.”
His face twisted.
“You were supposed to be unconscious.”
“I was.”
I stepped toward him.
“Then I woke up.”
The helicopter searchlight swept across us.
Rowan cursed.
Then he made the worst decision of the night.
He grabbed Gertrude.
The gun went to her neck.
She shrieked.
Roderick stared in disbelief.
“What are you doing?”
“Insurance.”
“You can't take her!”
Rowan backed toward the starboard stairs.
“Stay away.”
Lucas looked between his mother and me.
Something dark passed over his face.
Then he whispered to Roderick:
“Let him take her.”
Gertrude heard.
Her expression broke.
“Lucas?”
He didn't look at her.
“If Rowan distracts them, we still have a chance.”
His mother stared at the son she had helped commit murder for.
And in that instant, she understood something I had learned hours earlier.
Lucas loved no one.
Not me.
Not her.
Not anyone.
Only himself.
Rowan dragged Gertrude away.
Elena moved toward Marcus.
Coast Guard commands echoed over the speakers.
Roderick grabbed Lucas's arm.
“We need the documents.”
Lucas nodded.
Then both men ran toward the interior.
I started after them.
Elena shouted, “No!”
“They're going for evidence.”
“Let federal agents handle it.”
But I knew something they didn't.
My power of attorney.
The trust documents.
If Lucas had copies hidden somewhere, they could reveal exactly how long this plot had existed.
I followed.
The corridor lights flickered.
Behind me, boarding teams began entering the yacht.
I turned the corner.
Lucas disappeared into our suite.
Roderick followed.
I reached the doorway.
Inside, Lucas tore open a suitcase.
Roderick went straight to the wall safe.
They didn't know I was watching.
“Where's the drive?” Roderick demanded.
Lucas emptied a bag.
“It's here.”
“What about the Zurich files?”
“On the drive.”
“And Mercer?”
“I said it's here!”
Mercer.
A new name.
I raised the recorder closer.
Lucas found a black flash drive.
Then Roderick noticed me.
His face went pale.
“She heard.”
Lucas turned.
Our eyes met.
Then he smiled.
Not warmly.
Not lovingly.
With hatred.
“You always were nosy.”
Federal agents shouted from the corridor.
Lucas grabbed the drive.
Roderick backed toward the bathroom.
I stepped away.
“Put it down.”
Lucas laughed.
“You still don't understand.”
“Understand what?”
He held up the drive.
“This isn't about your three hundred million dollars.”
My stomach tightened.
“What is it about?”
Lucas's smile vanished.
“Your father.”
Then he snapped the drive in half.
And before I could ask another question, Roderick reached beneath the bathroom sink...
and pulled out a second phone.
A phone that immediately began ringing.
The name on the screen was one I had never seen before.
May you like
MERCER.
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