PART 1
The Caribbean breeze should have felt like happily ever after. Instead, by the third day of my honeymoon, it seemed like a slowly tightening noose. This multimillion dollar luxury yacht, a wedding gift from my billionaire father, had suddenly become a floating cage.
For three days, I had been sinking into an unnatural lethargy. Flynn, my picture perfect husband, would stroke my hair and blame it on seasickness. He carefully gave me two small white pills every night. I trusted him. Until this afternoon.
Some primal instinct forced my heavy eyes open. Fighting a dizziness that felt like lead weights, I used the mahogany walls for support, making my way out of the suite. By the time I reached the staircase, my strength disappeared. I slumped against the cold brass railing, gasping for air.
That was when the clink of champagne flutes drifted up from the lower deck. Then came laughter.
“How are you managing the dosage, Flynn?” The voice was brisk and transactional. It was Aidan, my father in law.
“Don’t worry, Dad. Two pills every night, plus a little extra in her soup just now. By midnight, she won’t even be able to open her eyes.” Flynn’s tone was lazy, dripping with a terrifying casualness, as if discussing the weather.
My heart slammed against my ribs. Ice flooded my veins.
“So, we make our move tonight?” whispered Fiona, my mother in law, the same woman who always cooed over me, calling me her “sweet daughter.”
“Tonight,” Flynn confirmed. “There’s a squall coming after midnight. The crew will be inside. I’ll walk her up to the aft deck, tell her she needs fresh air. Then… just one gentle push. The ocean takes care of the rest.”
“And the trust fund? When do we actually get the capital?” Aidan pressed.
Flynn chuckled, a dark, soulless sound. “I got her signature on the power of attorney before the wedding. Once the authorities declare her lost at sea, 300 million dollars will vanish into my Swiss accounts.”
Fiona let out a sharp, delighted laugh. “Brilliant. That pathetic heiress actually believes she married Prince Charming. What about her parents?”
“They head to the mountains next week. My guys are already waiting. A tragic brake failure on an icy pass, and the entire Sterling family reunites in heaven.”
My stomach violently heaved. I clamped both hands over my mouth to stifle a sob, my fingernails biting deeply into my palms. They were drinking my father’s champagne on my father’s yacht, toasting to the eradication of my entire family.
The drugs were surging back through my veins, the heavy fog threatening to pull me under. The ocean roared outside, waiting.
Just a few hours left until midnight. Alone, in international waters, surrounded by predators masquerading as family… what must I do to survive?
