<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
I kept pretending to be high.<\/p>\n
I went back to the suite by grabbing the walls. In the bathroom I closed the door, opened the tap and forced myself to think.<\/p>\n
My father had taught me something since I was little:<\/p>\n
When someone thinks they’ve already won, they stop protecting their secrets.<\/p>\n
I took out the secondary phone I used for business. Flynn didn’t know he was wearing it.<\/p>\n
It had no conventional signal, but the yacht had satellite connection.<\/p>\n
I wrote a short message to my father’s head of security, Marcus Reed:<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ll try to make me disappear tonight. Flynn, Aidan and Fiona. Protect my parents. Contact the maritime authorities. Don’t call. Track the yacht.\u201d<\/p>\n
I attached a partial recording that I had managed to activate while staying by the stairs.<\/p>\n
Then I sent another message.<\/p>\n
\u201cWait my signal.\u201d<\/p>\n
I deleted the notifications and went back to bed.<\/p>\n
Twenty minutes later, Flynn came in.<\/p>\n
\u201cHoney.<\/p>\n
She stroked my cheek.<\/p>\n
I had to control each muscle so I wouldn’t move away.<\/p>\n
The Last Night<\/p>\n
\u201cHoney.<\/p>\n
She stroked my cheek.<\/p>\n
I had to control each muscle so I wouldn’t move away.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou look pale,\u201d he whispered.<\/p>\n
I smiled.<\/p>\n
Or at least I tried to do it.<\/p>\n
I think I need to sleep.<\/p>\n
Flynn watched me for a few seconds too long.<\/p>\n
\u201cSure. Rest.<\/p>\n
He kissed my forehead.<\/p>\n
I felt nauseous.<\/p>\n
Not for the pills.<\/p>\n
For him.<\/p>\n
I waited until I heard the door closing.<\/p>\n
Then I opened my eyes.<\/p>\n
And I smiled.<\/p>\n
Because I had just understood something.<\/p>\n
Flynn didn’t know I was awake.<\/p>\n
But someone else does.<\/p>\n
My phone vibrated only once under the pillow.<\/p>\n
MARCUS: RECEIVED. WE’RE IN POSITION. DON’T DO ANYTHING UNTIL WE CONFIRM YOU.<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
For the first time since I heard that conversation, I was able to breathe.<\/p>\n
But the tranquility lasted less than a minute.<\/p>\n
I heard steps in the hallway.<\/p>\n
Then a dry punch.<\/p>\n
The door opened.<\/p>\n
It Was Fiona.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s asleep?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCompletely,\u201d Flynn replied.<\/p>\n
Let me see her.<\/p>\n
I felt the mattress sink.<\/p>\n
Fiona sat next to me.<\/p>\n
Her fingers touched my neck.<\/p>\n
They were looking for my pulse.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s breathing very slowly.<\/p>\n
I told you the dosage works.<\/p>\n
What if he wakes up?<\/p>\n
Flynn let out a laugh.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe won\u2019t wake up.<\/p>\n
Fiona remained silent.<\/p>\n
Then he said something that froze my blood.<\/p>\n
There is a problem.<\/p>\n
I barely opened my eyes.<\/p>\n
Enough to see it.<\/p>\n
What problem?<\/p>\n
“The captain.<\/p>\n
Flynn joined.<\/p>\n
What about him?<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has changed course.<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen find out.<\/p>\n
Fiona came out in a hurry.<\/p>\n
Flynn stayed in the room.<\/p>\n
I was still motionless.<\/p>\n
Until I heard his footsteps approach.<\/p>\n
He leaned over me.<\/p>\n
I’m sorry, Evelyn.<\/p>\n
His voice was almost a whisper.<\/p>\n
“Really.<\/p>\n
I felt her fingers close around my wrist.<\/p>\n
And then I realized that I had decided to advance the plan.<\/p>\n
I wouldn’t wait until midnight.<\/p>\n
I’d get up.<\/p>\n
Or I’d die.<\/p>\n
I opened my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry, too.<\/p>\n
Flynn was petrified.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat…?\u201d<\/p>\n
I hit his nose with all the strength I had left.<\/p>\n
He screamed and backed down.<\/p>\n
I got up staggering.<\/p>\n
I wasn’t strong.<\/p>\n
She wasn’t ready.<\/p>\n
But she was alive.<\/p>\n
And that was enough.<\/p>\n
I ran to the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cEVELYN!<\/p>\n
I didn’t look back.<\/p>\n
I went out into the hallway.<\/p>\n
The yacht alarm started to sound.<\/p>\n
Once.<\/p>\n
Twice.<\/p>\n
Three.<\/p>\n
Flynn was screaming behind me.<\/p>\n
\u201cSTOP IT!\u201d<\/p>\n
The crew appeared.<\/p>\n
But not to stop me.<\/p>\n
The captain left the bridge with two men in uniform.<\/p>\n
\u201cMrs. Sterling,\u201d he said. This way!<\/p>\n
I was paralyzed.<\/p>\n
Who are you?<\/p>\n
The man pulled out a badge.<\/p>\n
Coast Guard.<\/p>\n
I felt my legs stop holding me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow…?\u201d<\/p>\n
The captain quietly pointed to my phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour head of security warned us.<\/p>\n
Marcus.<\/p>\n
I had succeeded.<\/p>\n
But then a shot was heard.<\/p>\n
Everyone crouched down.<\/p>\n
Flynn showed up at the end of the corridor with a gun.<\/p>\n
No one moves!<\/p>\n
Fiona and Aidan were behind him.<\/p>\n
For the first time, the three of them stopped pretending.<\/p>\n
They were not my family.<\/p>\n
They were my executioners.<\/p>\n
Flynn pointed straight at me.<\/p>\n
Give me the phone.<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
Do you know what is the funniest thing?<\/p>\n
\u201cShut up!<\/p>\n
\u201cYou thought I was the naive heir.<\/p>\n
I took a step back.<\/p>\n
But my father never taught me to trust people.<\/p>\n
Flynn frowned.<\/p>\n
So what did he teach you?<\/p>\n
I smiled.<\/p>\n
To be suspicious of them.<\/p>\n
At that moment, the yacht lights went out.<\/p>\n
Everything was black.<\/p>\n
They heard screams.<\/p>\n
A struggle.<\/p>\n
One blow.<\/p>\n
Then a voice went through the darkness:<\/p>\n
\u201cNOW!<\/p>\n
The emergency lights went on.<\/p>\n
Flynn was on the ground.<\/p>\n
Aidan had handcuffed hands.<\/p>\n
Fiona was crying.<\/p>\n
And behind them were four armed agents.<\/p>\n
But Flynn was still smiling.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
I slowly approached.<\/p>\n
What doesn\u2019t matter?<\/p>\n
He spit blood on the ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe money.<\/p>\n
What about him?<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s done.<\/p>\n
My smile disappeared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you do?\u201d<\/p>\n
Flynn looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour power.<\/p>\n
The world seemed to stop.<\/p>\n
I transferred the assets two days ago.<\/p>\n
I felt a void in my chest.<\/p>\n
\u201cLie.\u201d<\/p>\n
Check it out.<\/p>\n
I took out my phone.<\/p>\n
I opened the trust account.<\/p>\n
And then I saw the screen.<\/p>\n
TRANSFER IN PROCESS.<\/p>\n
Three words.<\/p>\n
Three words that made my heart stop.<\/p>\n
Until a second notification appeared.<\/p>\n
TRANSFER CANCELLED.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
I looked up.<\/p>\n
Marcus appeared behind the agents.<\/p>\n
We arrived on time.<\/p>\n
Flynn lost his smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo…<\/p>\n
Marcus came over.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour mistake was to think that Evelyn was the only one who could authorize the account.<\/p>\n
Flynn looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you do?\u201d<\/p>\n
I took a deep breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing.<\/p>\n
I took a step towards him.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was my father.<\/p>\n
Marcus nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Sterling blocked all assets six hours ago.<\/p>\n
Aidan paled.<\/p>\n
That is impossible.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d I replied. The impossible was that you thought my father wouldn’t protect his only daughter.<\/p>\n
Fiona started crying.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvelyn, please…<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
The same woman who had called me \u201cher sweet daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Don’t call me that.<\/p>\n
She kept quiet.<\/p>\n
\u201cNever call me daughter again.<\/p>\n
The officers took the three.<\/p>\n
Flynn passed me.<\/p>\n
For a moment, our gazes met.<\/p>\n
There was no love anymore.<\/p>\n
I don’t even hate.<\/p>\n
Just a question.<\/p>\n
Why?<\/p>\n
I approached him.<\/p>\n
Do you want to know why I survived?<\/p>\n
He didn’t answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause while you were planning my death.<\/p>\n
I showed her my phone.<\/p>\n
The recording was still playing.<\/p>\n
Flynn’s voice filled the hallway.<\/p>\n
\u201cTonight. Just a soft push. The ocean takes care of the rest.\u201d<\/p>\n
His face lost all color.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I couldn’t face Flynn. Not like that. He had a weakened body, was in the middle of the ocean and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1974,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flavorlab.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1973","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flavorlab.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flavorlab.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flavorlab.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flavorlab.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1973"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/flavorlab.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1973\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1975,"href":"https:\/\/flavorlab.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1973\/revisions\/1975"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flavorlab.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flavorlab.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flavorlab.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flavorlab.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}