Chapter 4 - THE SECRET GUESTJosh wouldn't tell me what the cruise line had found.
Instead, he told everyone to leave.
Even Mom.
Even Ashley.
I stayed.
Bella stayed.
Josh stood by the window, staring at the city lights.
Finally, I said:
“Talk.”
He rubbed both hands over his face.
“There's a problem with Ashley's booking.”
“What problem?”
“She wasn't originally listed as your guest.”
I frowned.
“She replaced someone.”
“Who?”
Josh looked at me.
“Emily.”
I blinked.
“Emily?”
My sister.
“Why would Ashley replace Emily?”
Josh didn't answer.
“Tell me.”
“She wasn't supposed to.”
“Then why did she?”
He took a breath.
“Because Ashley's passport had an issue.”
“What issue?”
“Her legal surname.”
I stared at him.
“What does that have to do with Emily?”
“Nothing.”
“Then why would she use Emily's reservation?”
Josh's silence answered me.
I sat down.
“Did Ashley travel under Emily's identity?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
Josh pulled out his phone.
He opened an email.
The cruise line had flagged a discrepancy.
Ashley had submitted documents under her married surname.
But the original booking had been made under a different surname.
Reynolds.
That wasn't surprising.
What was surprising was the payment trail.
The cruise line had noticed that several “family” charges had been routed through different cards before being consolidated under my account.
There was also one charge I hadn't seen.
$12,500 deposit.
Paid six weeks earlier.
By someone named:
Charles Bennett.
My father.
I stared at the name.
“Dad?”
Josh nodded.
“He paid the first deposit.”
“My dad died three years ago.”
“I know.”
My hands went cold.
Bella whispered:
“How could that be possible?”
Josh didn't answer.
I stared at the transaction.
Then the account details.
The deposit had been made from an old family business account.
An account my father had closed before he died.
Except apparently it hadn't been closed.
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
“Hello?”
A man's voice replied.
“Luke?”
I froze.
“Who is this?”
“My name is Martin Keller.”
“Okay.”
“I worked with your father.”
I stood.
“What company?”
“Bennett Marine.”
I hadn't heard that name in years.
My father had owned a small marine equipment business.
He sold it when I was nineteen.
Or at least, that's what I'd been told.
Martin continued.
“Your father left something for you.”
“What?”
“I've been trying to reach you for months.”
“Why?”
“Because your mother told me not to.”
I looked at Bella.
Her eyes widened.
“What are you talking about?”
“Your father believed your family would eventually fight over the company assets.”
“I don't understand.”
“He created a private trust.”
I felt my heartbeat in my ears.
“A trust?”
“Yes.”
“Who controls it?”
“Originally, your father.”
“And now?”
“You.”
I sat down again.
Bella whispered:
“What is it?”
I covered the phone with my hand.
“Apparently, Dad left me a trust.”
I returned to the call.
“How much?”
Martin hesitated.
“Enough to attract attention.”
“That isn't an answer.”
“The trust currently controls several commercial properties and investment accounts.”
I couldn't speak.
“Approximately how much?”
“Just over six million dollars.”
The room went silent.
My family had been fighting over thirty-eight thousand dollars of Josh's mortgage debt.
Meanwhile, my father had apparently left me six million.
And if the documents I was holding were connected to that trust...
I suddenly understood.
The cruise wasn't about Mom.
The cruise wasn't about Ashley.
The cruise wasn't even about Josh's house.
They had been testing how much control they still had over me.
Then Martin said:
“There is one more thing.”
“What?”
“Your father specifically named you as the sole beneficiary.”
I closed my eyes.
“Does Mom know?”
“Yes.”
“Does Josh know?”
“Yes.”
My stomach twisted.
“And the document they tried to use against me?”
Martin's voice became careful.
“That document was designed to transfer part of the trust.”
“To whom?”
Silence.
“Martin.”
“To Ashley.”
I opened my eyes.
Ashley hadn't wanted my cabin.
She wanted my inheritance.
And suddenly the cruise made perfect sense.
The expensive excursions.
The sudden changes.
The demand for my cabin.
The forged signature.
It had never been random.
They had been preparing me for one final move.
Then Martin said:
“Luke, you need to leave the hotel.”
“Why?”
“Because I believe someone is watching you.”
I looked toward the window.
A black SUV sat across the street.
The same SUV I had noticed outside the terminal.
My phone buzzed.
A photo appeared.
It was me.
Standing in the hotel room.
Taken from outside.
May you like
Underneath it were five words:
STOP DIGGING, OR LOSE EVERYTHING.
