Chapter 2
I clung to the buoy with one hand and held the phone with the other.
The ocean kept hitting my shoulders.
Every wave tried to pull me back into the dark.
“What do you mean they’re not alone?” I whispered.
The man on the phone answered carefully.
“My name is Marcus Reed. I represented your father before he passed. Two investigators boarded that yacht before departure.”
My teeth chattered.
“Investigators?”
“Yes.”
“My husband pushed me into the ocean with investigators onboard?”
“He believed the yacht was empty except for you, David, and a bribed captain.”
My stomach dropped.
“The captain?”
“Already cooperating.”
A sound escaped me.
Half laugh.
Half sob.
The yacht lights shifted in the distance.
“Why didn’t anyone stop them?”
Marcus was quiet for one second.
“Because your father’s instructions were specific. If Daniel attempted harm, we needed undeniable evidence before intervening.”
“I almost drowned.”
“I know. Rescue is two minutes out. Coast Guard has your location.”
I looked across the water.
Two minutes sounded impossible.
Too long.
Too short.
The yacht’s engine lowered.
A searchlight swept across the waves.
Daniel again.
Emily, answer me.
Then:
I know you’re alive.
My blood went colder than the water.
“He knows.”
Marcus’s voice sharpened.
“Do not respond.”
“He knows I’m alive.”
“Stay low behind the buoy if you can.”
I pressed myself against the metal frame.
The yacht light moved closer.
Daniel’s voice came from somewhere across the water.
“Emily! Baby! We need to help you!”
David shouted, “Come on! We’re sorry!”
Sorry.
That word almost made me let go from rage.
Then I heard another sound.
Helicopter blades.
A white light cut across the ocean from the opposite direction.
Daniel’s voice changed.
“What the hell is that?”
The Coast Guard boat appeared first.
Fast.
Bright.
Real.
“Mrs. Carter!” someone shouted. “Hold on!”
Hands reached for me.
Strong hands.
Safe hands.
They pulled me from the water.
My body hit the rescue boat floor.
I coughed.
Shook.
Cried.
Someone wrapped me in a thermal blanket.
A medic checked my pulse.
“Can you tell me your name?”
“Emily Carter.”
“Do you know what happened?”
I looked at the yacht.
May you like
At the men who thought I was supposed to be dead.
“My husband pushed me.”
