Chapter 2 - I woke to the sound of a helicopter.For several seconds, I didn't know where I was.
Everything hurt.
My chest.
My stomach.
My hands.
My head.
Then I remembered the water.
I tried to move.
A sharp pain tore through my abdomen.
I gasped.
A voice shouted,
“She's awake!”
The ceiling above me wasn't the ceiling of the retreat.
It was white.
Bright.
Clinical.
A hospital.
I turned my head.
My father's face appeared beside the bed.
He looked older than he had twelve hours earlier.
But his eyes were different.
Colder.
“Dad?”
He took my hand.
“I'm here.”
My lips trembled.
“My baby?”
The doctor stepped forward.
“Your baby has a heartbeat.”
I closed my eyes.
A sob escaped me.
“But the fall caused significant trauma. We're monitoring you closely.”
I nodded.
Then I looked at my father.
“What happened?”
He didn't answer immediately.
That worried me.
“Dad?”
His thumb moved across my hand.
“Diego was arrested.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“He was still at the retreat when the emergency team arrived.”
I tried to remember.
The water.
The stone.
Diego's face.
Then the voice from my bracelet.
My stomach tightened.
“He knows?”
“Knows what?”
“That he was recorded.”
My father looked at me.
“Yes.”
That single word carried something heavy.
“Dad…”
“He knows the entire thing is on video.”
I swallowed.
“And his mother?”
“She was detained for questioning.”
I shut my eyes.
I should have felt relieved.
Instead, I felt something colder.
Because if Diego knew there was evidence, he'd start talking.
Not to save me.
To save himself.
And people like Diego didn't confess.
They traded.
Secrets for freedom.
Names for immunity.
Lives for leverage.
My father seemed to read my thoughts.
“You're thinking about Vanessa.”
I opened my eyes.
“How do you know her name?”
“Because I had my people pull Diego's financial records before I came here.”
He reached into his jacket.
He placed a folder on the bed.
“Don't open it yet.”
I looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because once you do, you're going to realize tonight was much worse than you thought.”
I stared at the folder.
“Dad.”
He leaned closer.
“Tell me the truth.”
“I always do.”
“Did Diego ever threaten you before tonight?”
I hesitated.
That was all it took.
My father understood.
“You're remembering something.”
I swallowed.
“About two months ago…”
My voice shook.
“He told me my father was getting old.”
Alvin's expression hardened.
“He said the company needed younger leadership.”
My father said nothing.
“He told me that after the baby was born, we'd need to restructure my shares.”
“Did he say anything else?”
“He said…”
I stopped.
“Say it.”
“He said, ‘Your father won't be around forever.’”
The room became silent.
My father's jaw tightened.
“Did he know about Black Vault?”
I frowned.
“What is Black Vault?”
My father's eyes shifted away.
And suddenly I knew.
There were things he had never told me.
Things even I, his daughter, had never been allowed to see.
“Dad.”
He sighed.
“Your grandfather created a private security trust after an attempted takeover of Sterling Maritime.”
“A trust?”
“Not just a trust.”
He opened the folder.
Inside was a photograph.
My grandfather.
My father.
And a third man.
I recognized him instantly.
The lawyer from the video.
My hands went cold.
“Why is he standing with Grandpa?”
“Because his father helped build Sterling.”
I looked again.
“Then why did you ban him?”
My father was silent.
Finally he said,
“Because twenty years ago, he tried to steal it.”
I stared at him.
“His son finished the job.”
A nurse entered.
“Mr. Sterling?”
“Yes?”
“Police are here.”
My father stood.
“Detective?”
“Detective Harris.”
He looked at me.
“Do you want them to come in?”
Before I could answer, the door opened.
A woman in a dark suit stepped inside.
“Mrs. Calder?”
“Yes.”
“My name is Lena Harris.”
She placed a tablet on the table.
“I need to ask you some questions.”
My father stepped forward.
“She just survived hypothermia and blunt-force trauma.”
“I know.”
“Then this can wait.”
The detective looked at him.
“Normally, yes.”
She turned toward me.
“But there's something you need to see.”
She played the footage.
The patio appeared.
Diego's voice.
The water.
My fall.
I looked away.
Then the detective paused the video.
“Do you know this?”
She zoomed in.
A dark shape near the rear fence.
A vehicle.
My heart stopped.
“That was never mentioned.”
Detective Harris nodded.
“Because we hadn't examined the second camera.”
She zoomed closer.
The license plate became visible.
I recognized the vehicle.
It belonged to someone close to me.
Someone who had attended our dinner.
Someone who had hugged me before leaving.
I stared at the screen.
“That's…”
My father stepped closer.
“Who?”
I whispered the name.
“Vanessa.”
Silence.
Detective Harris nodded.
“That is what we thought.”
My father looked at me.
“She's not the affair.”
I frowned.
“What?”
“Vanessa isn't Diego's mistress.”
I stared at him.
“Then who is she?”
Detective Harris answered.
“We don't know yet.”
She enlarged the image.
A second person was visible in the passenger seat.
Male.
Older.
Gray hair.
I recognized him instantly.
And this time, I couldn't breathe.
Because he was sitting beside Vanessa.
And he was wearing a Sterling Maritime security badge.
My father's badge.
The badge only five people in the entire company possessed.
My father looked at the screen.
Then at me.
May you like
He whispered:
“That badge was stolen three months ago.”
Related Stories
