Chapter 4
The footage was played for me the next morning.
Not all of it.
Detective Lewis warned me first.
“You do not have to watch.”
“I do.”
Marcus sat beside me.
A nurse stayed near the door.
The video came from a hidden camera near the upper deck light.
There I was.
White dress.
Champagne untouched in my hand.
Daniel guiding me toward the railing.
David moving behind me.
I watched myself hesitate.
I watched Daniel smile.
I watched both men shove me.
No blur.
No doubt.
No accident.
Then the audio.
Daniel shouting, “She can’t swim!”
David laughing.
My stomach turned.
Detective Lewis paused the video.
“You okay?”
“No.”
“Want to stop?”
“No.”
The next clip came from the salon below deck.
Two investigators hidden in a maintenance compartment had recorded the conversation after I hit the water.
Daniel’s voice:
“Did she go under?”
David:
“I don’t see her.”
Daniel:
“Wait before calling. We need panic, not rescue.”
David laughed.
“Brother, you’re shaking.”
Daniel:
“Shut up. Once she’s declared dead, Marcus has to release the estate.”
David:
“And my cut?”
Daniel:
“You get what we agreed.”
I covered my mouth.
There it was.
Not emotion.
Not panic.
A contract.
A cut.
Detective Lewis stopped the video.
“That is enough for now.”
I nodded, but tears ran down my face.
Marcus handed me tissues.
“My father knew they might try this?”
“He feared it.”
“Why didn’t he tell me directly?”
“He tried.”
Memory hit me.
Dad in his hospital bed.
Emily, if Daniel ever makes you feel small near water, leave.
I had cried and told him Daniel loved me.
Dad had closed his eyes.
May you like
I thought he was tired.
Maybe he was grieving the fact that I did not hear him.
