Chapter 6
The Night Elena Went Into the Water
I read Elena's letter until the words blurred.
I remember who pushed me.
That sentence wouldn't leave my mind.
For fourteen months, I'd imagined her drowning in cold water.
I'd blamed myself for not being there.
I'd blamed the weather.
The boat.
Fate.
Now I knew someone had deliberately put her life in danger.
Detective Grant watched me carefully.
"Marcus, we need you to stay focused."
I looked at her.
"Who pushed her?"
She shook her head.
"We don't know yet."
I held up the letter.
"She knows."
"Yes."
"Then find her."
My voice broke.
"Please."
Grant nodded.
"We're working on it."
Dr. Monroe sat across from us.
Her hands trembled.
"I wish I'd known."
I looked at her.
"Known what?"
"That she had a family searching for her."
Tears filled her eyes.
"Daniel told us she had no living relatives except him."
I stared.
"He lied about everything."
She nodded.
I took a breath.
"Did Elena ever tell you what happened on the boat?"
The doctor hesitated.
"She remembered pieces."
"Tell me."
Dr. Monroe opened her notes.
"She described leaving a marina in Georgia with someone she trusted."
My stomach tightened.
"Who?"
"She couldn't remember the name at first."
I leaned forward.
"Then?"
"She remembered arguing."
My hands tightened.
"About money?"
The doctor nodded.
"She mentioned financial records."
I closed my eyes.
Elena's work.
The missing accounts.
Daniel's debt.
It was all connected.
Dr. Monroe continued.
"She remembered someone grabbing her arm."
My chest tightened.
"Then she described falling backward."
I looked down.
"Into the water?"
"Yes."
A long silence followed.
Then the doctor said something that made my stomach turn.
"She also remembered another person standing nearby."
I looked up.
"Another person?"
She nodded.
"Someone wearing a cream-colored jacket."
Claire.
I felt cold.
The day Elena disappeared, Claire had worn a cream jacket.
I remembered because she'd arrived at our house that evening still wearing it.
She'd cried when I told her Elena was missing.
She'd hugged me.
Told me everything would be okay.
And all along, she'd known.
I covered my mouth.
"Claire was there."
Grant looked at me.
"Are you certain?"
I nodded.
"She wore a cream jacket that day."
Grant wrote something down.
"That may help us identify the second person."
I stared at the doctor.
"Did Elena remember anything else?"
Dr. Monroe hesitated.
"She mentioned hearing someone say, 'Don't let her come back.'"
My blood ran cold.
I leaned back.
For a moment, I couldn't breathe.
Then I looked at the ceiling.
Elena.
My wife.
The mother of my daughters.
Someone had tried to erase her.
And then those same people had sat beside me while I mourned her.
I felt sick.
Grant's phone rang.
She answered.
Her expression changed.
"Where?"
A pause.
"Are you certain?"
She stood.
"We're on our way."
I looked up.
"What happened?"
She turned toward me.
"We found the vehicle Daniel used to leave the medical residence."
My heart pounded.
"Where?"
"Near a private marina."
I froze.
Another marina.
Another boat.
The thought nearly made me collapse.
Grant noticed.
"Marcus, we have officers moving in."
I stood.
"I'm coming."
She shook her head.
"Not into an active operation."
I stared at her.
"That's my wife."
Her expression softened.
"I know."
I took a breath.
"Then let me come as far as it's safe."
She hesitated.
Then nodded.
"Stay with the officers at the staging area."
I agreed.
We drove toward the coast.
The sky had darkened.
The marina lights reflected across the water.
Police vehicles waited along a service road.
Officers moved quietly between buildings.
I sat in an unmarked vehicle with Grant.
Every second felt endless.
Then her radio crackled.
"Vehicle located."
My heart slammed.
Another voice followed.
"One male subject in custody."
I grabbed the seat.
"Daniel?"
Grant listened.
Then nodded.
"Yes."
I began crying.
"And Elena?"
She waited.
The radio crackled again.
"Female located inside the marina office."
I stopped breathing.
Grant looked at me.
"Marcus."
I stared at her.
"She's alive."
My body went weak.
I covered my face.
For fourteen months, I'd dreamed of those words.
Now they were real.
But the radio continued.
"Female appears disoriented. Medical assistance requested."
My heart tightened.
"Is she hurt?"
Grant shook her head.
"We don't know yet."
A few minutes later, an ambulance arrived.
Officers escorted a woman toward it.
Long dark hair.
A pale blue dress.
A silver necklace.
My wife.
I opened the car door before Grant could stop me.
"Elena!"
She turned.
For one terrible second, she stared at me without recognition.
Then her eyes widened.
Her lips parted.
"Marcus?"
I ran.
She began crying.
"Marcus!"
I reached her just as she stumbled forward.
I caught her.
Held her.
And for the first time in fourteen months, I felt my wife's arms around me.
She was real.
Warm.
Breathing.
Alive.
I buried my face in her hair.
"Oh, God."
She sobbed against my chest.
"They told me you were dead."
I held her tighter.
"They told me the same thing about you."
She began shaking.
I kissed her forehead.
"I'm here."
She clung to me.
"Where are the girls?"
My throat closed.
"They're safe."
She started crying harder.
"Maya?"
"Safe."
"Lily?"
"Safe."
I held her face between my hands.
"They've been waiting for you."
She covered her mouth.
Then whispered, "I thought I'd lost all of you."
I shook my head.
"Never."
For a moment, the world disappeared.
There was only Elena.
My wife.
The woman I'd loved since we were twenty-four.
Then she suddenly grabbed my shirt.
"Marcus."
I looked at her.
"What?"
Her eyes filled with terror.
"Claire."
My stomach tightened.
"What about her?"
Elena began shaking.
"She helped Daniel."
I nodded.
"I know."
But Elena shook her head violently.
"No."
Her voice broke.
"You don't understand."
I stared.
She gripped my arm.
"Claire wasn't helping him hide me."
I felt cold.
"Then what was she doing?"
Elena looked directly into my eyes.
May you like
"She was the one who pushed me into the water."
And the world stopped.
