Chapter 2 - The Woman Who Was Supposed to DieMariana woke to screaming.
For one terrifying second, she thought it was Mateo.
Then she realized it was herself.
She bolted upright.
Water exploded from her lungs.
A pair of hands caught her shoulders.
“Easy!”
She swung instinctively.
Her fist struck a man's jaw.
He staggered backward.
“Good,” he muttered.
“At least you're awake.”
Mariana blinked through the haze.
Wooden walls.
A narrow cabin.
A weak yellow lamp swinging overhead.
The smell of salt.
Diesel.
Wet rope.
“Mateo!”
She tried to stand.
The man pushed her gently back down.
“The boy is alive.”
Mariana froze.
“Where?”
“Next cabin.”
A scream escaped her.
She crawled toward the door.
The man blocked her.
“He's being warmed.”
“You said he was alive.”
“He is.”
“Then move.”
Something in her voice made him step aside.
Mariana stumbled through the narrow passage.
She found Mateo wrapped in blankets, asleep against the chest of an older woman.
The woman looked up.
“He has a strong pulse.”
Mariana fell to her knees.
She pressed both hands against his face.
“Mateo.”
His eyes opened.
“Mommy?”
She nearly collapsed.
“I'm here.”
The older woman glanced at the man who had rescued them.
He was tall.
Late thirties.
Dark hair.
A scar cutting through his left eyebrow.
He wore a plain black sweater, sleeves rolled to his forearms.
He watched Mariana silently.
“Who are you?” she demanded.
“Gabriel.”
“Gabriel what?”
“Tonight, just Gabriel.”
Mariana didn't like the answer.
“How did you find us?”
He looked toward the window.
“We were fishing.”
“At midnight?”
“Some people fish at night.”
“You were following the yacht.”
Gabriel said nothing.
Mariana stared at him.
“You were.”
He finally looked at her.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because someone asked me to.”
“Who?”
“That's complicated.”
“No.”
Her voice shook.
“What's complicated is why my family just tried to murder me and my son.”
Gabriel's expression hardened.
“Your family didn't try to murder you.”
Mariana stared at him.
“What?”
“They succeeded.”
The words hung in the cabin.
Mariana's blood ran cold.
Gabriel continued.
“As far as the world is concerned, you are dead.”
She laughed once.
A broken, disbelieving sound.
“No.”
“Your yacht disappeared from the radar twenty-three minutes ago.”
“My family will send helicopters.”
“They won't.”
“They'll search.”
“They already called the Coast Guard.”
Relief flashed across her face.
Then Gabriel added:
“They reported that you jumped.”
Mariana stopped breathing.
“What?”
“Your father claims you were emotionally unstable.”
Her hands began shaking.
“He'll say you were threatening to harm yourself.”
“No.”
“He'll say you took Mateo onto the stern after an argument.”
“No.”
“He'll say you pushed the boy into the water.”
Mariana looked at her sleeping son.
“What?”
Gabriel's voice lowered.
“They've already released a statement.”
He pulled a phone from his pocket.
A news alert glowed on the screen.
SALCEDO HEIRESS PRESUMED DEAD AFTER APPARENT SUICIDE ATTEMPT. FIVE-YEAR-OLD SON ALSO MISSING.
Mariana stared.
Her stomach turned.
Beneath the headline was a photograph.
Her photograph.
Taken at a charity gala three weeks earlier.
The article described her as unstable.
Paranoid.
Emotionally fragile after years of “family pressure.”
It claimed witnesses had seen her “behave erratically.”
Mariana's fingers tightened.
“They planned this.”
Gabriel nodded.
“For weeks.”
“Why?”
He hesitated.
Then he reached into his bag.
He pulled out a small evidence envelope.
Inside was a memory card.
Mariana stared at it.
“What is that?”
“Insurance.”
“Against my family?”
“No.”
He placed the envelope in her hand.
“Against the story they'll tell the world.”
Mariana swallowed.
“You recorded the boat?”
Gabriel didn't answer.
She looked at him sharply.
“You had cameras.”
“Not mine.”
“Then whose?”
Gabriel leaned closer.
“The person who put that camera there knew your family would eventually try to erase you.”
Mariana stared at the memory card.
“What does it contain?”
“Everything.”
The older woman suddenly spoke.
“Not everything.”
Gabriel turned.
She held a towel around Mateo.
“Only what they wanted someone to see.”
Mariana's eyes narrowed.
“What does that mean?”
The woman looked at her.
“You don't understand, dear.”
She pointed toward Mateo.
“Your son wasn't the reason they threw you overboard.”
Mariana felt her heartbeat pounding.
“Then what was?”
The woman looked toward Gabriel.
He didn't answer.
Finally, he said:
“Your blood.”
Mariana frowned.
“What?”
Gabriel stepped toward the door.
“Get dressed.”
“Why?”
“Because when the sun comes up, everyone in the country will know you're dead.”
He opened the door.
“And by tomorrow night, they'll know you're a murderer.”
Mariana stared after him.
“What are you talking about?”
Gabriel turned.
“Your father didn't just frame you for suicide.”
May you like
He paused.
“He framed you for your son's murder.”
