Chapter 3
The authorities separated everyone before the yacht returned to the marina.
I sat inside a private cabin with Lily beside me while a medical professional checked our breathing and examined the bruises on my arms.
Lily had begun asking the same question every few minutes.
"Are we going home now?"
"Yes, baby."
"Is Grandma coming?"
I held her closer.
"No."
I didn't know whether that answer would remain true forever, but I knew I couldn't let my daughter believe she had to endure frightening people just because they were family.
Marcus entered after speaking with the officers.
He looked exhausted.
"How are you feeling?"
"Cold. Angry. Mostly angry."
He sat beside me and took my hand.
"I'm sorry."
I frowned.
"For what?"
"For letting my mother convince me that your family could handle its own problems. I knew Diane could be cruel, but I never imagined she'd do something like this."
I squeezed his hand.
"You didn't push me."
"But I should have protected you from her."
"You came as soon as you knew."
His eyes lowered toward Lily.
"I almost lost both of you."
I touched his cheek.
"We're here."
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then I asked about the folder.
Marcus explained that the document concerned a company his late father had established years earlier. The company owned several commercial properties and held investments that had grown considerably over time.
After his father's death, Marcus inherited controlling ownership.
Diane had remained involved as a financial adviser, supposedly helping manage a charitable foundation connected to the business.
Two years earlier, Marcus had discovered irregular payments from that foundation. Diane had insisted the transactions were accounting errors and promised to investigate them herself.
He had trusted her.
That trust had cost him time.
"What did you find?" I asked.
"Transfers to three companies that shouldn't have received anything. All three share an address with businesses connected to Diane."
"And Vanessa?"
Marcus rubbed his forehead.
"I don't know how much she knows."
I remembered Vanessa's reaction when he mentioned the transfer agreement.
"She knows something."
"I think so."
A knock interrupted us.
Marcus's attorney, Daniel Brooks, entered carrying another file.
Daniel had worked with Marcus for years and had been reviewing the suspicious transactions.
He greeted me, checked that I was comfortable discussing the matter, and placed the file on the table.
"The yacht footage is important," he said. "It establishes what happened before the fall. But we also need to understand the document Marcus found."
Marcus handed him the folder.
Daniel examined the signatures and became very still.
"Where did you get this?"
"From my father's locked office."
"Was this the only copy?"
"Yes."
Daniel carefully turned the page.
"This is a transfer agreement for a controlling interest in the family holding company."
I stared at him.
"Was the company transferred to Diane?"
"Not legally. The agreement appears incomplete, and some of the signatures may be forged. But if someone submitted a matching document to the wrong institution, it could have caused serious complications."
Marcus leaned forward.
"Someone tried to transfer my ownership without my permission."
"Possibly."
"Who received the money?"
Daniel opened a second file.
"We haven't traced every payment yet. However, the suspicious transfers lead to a company called Northbridge Consulting."
The name meant nothing to me.
Then Daniel showed me the registered address.
It was a building I recognized.
I had attended a charity event there with Vanessa the previous year. She had told me the office belonged to one of her business partners.
"Vanessa knows that company," I said.
Marcus looked at me.
"Are you certain?"
"I remember her introducing me to a man named Calvin. She said he helped manage her investments."
Daniel wrote down the name.
"That may be useful."
Before he could continue, Marcus's phone rang.
It was the captain.
The yacht's security system had recorded another conversation after my fall.
Diane had been speaking privately with someone in a service corridor.
The caller had apparently told her that the folder was now in Marcus's possession.
Then Diane had replied, "If he reads the last page, we're all finished."
Marcus ended the call.
Daniel immediately asked for the original recording to be preserved.
I looked at my husband.
"What is on the last page?"
He opened the folder again.
There were several pages, but one had been folded behind the others.
When he pulled it free, I saw a list of names.
Diane's name appeared first.
Vanessa's appeared beneath it.
And next to Vanessa's name was a figure that made my stomach tighten.
Four million dollars.
I stared at the page.
"Why would my sister receive four million dollars from a company she doesn't own?"
Marcus looked at Daniel.
Daniel didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he turned the page over.
There was a handwritten note on the back.
The writing was unfamiliar to me, but the message was clear.
If Marcus refuses to sign, use the daughter.
My blood turned cold.
I looked at Marcus.
"What does that mean?"
He read the note again.
Then he slowly raised his eyes toward the cabin door.
May you like
Because someone had just knocked.
And the voice outside belonged to Vanessa.
