Chapter 1: The Dark Water
Chapter 1: The Dark Water
The federal agents moved through the grand marble foyer of the Harlow estate with a quiet, lethal efficiency, their black shoes leaving faint tracks on the pristine floors. The house was illuminated from floor to ceiling, every crystal chandelier throwing harsh, unforgiving light into the corners of the rooms.
I sat on the third step of the grand mahogany staircase, wrapped tightly in a thick, gray wool blanket provided by the paramedics. My skin was still pale, stained with the phantom sting of salt water, but my pulse was perfectly steady. The trembling had stopped hours ago, right around the time the local police department’s maritime division had coordinated with federal authorities to intercept the cruise liner's data logs.
Through the massive stained-glass panels of the front doors, the sudden glare of headlights swept across the driveway.
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A sleek executive town car pulled up to the stone portico. The engine purred and then died. I watched through the window as my father, Richard, stepped out, a look of smug, victorious exhaustion playing on his face. He adjusted his tailored jacket, the very one he had worn on the ship's deck, and reached back to offer his hand to my mother. Vanessa stepped out gracefully, her silk shawl draped over her shoulders, her red lips curved into a light, airy smile as she laughed at something he murmured.
They walked up the brick steps together, completely unaware that their five-hundred-million-dollar fantasy had expired the moment my fingers gripped the cold steel of the ship's maintenance ladder.
