Chapter 1: The Husband Who Brought Me Soup
On my honeymoon cruise, I accidentally overheard my new husband discussing a terrifying plan: "Tonight, we push her overboard.
Once she's gone, we'll collect her $300 million inheritance and finally spend the rest of our lives together." Then I realized the person he was talking to was his mistress.
I didn't confront them.
I quietly made one phone call…
and by the time they understood what I had done, their perfect plan had already fallen apart.
"By midnight, she'll barely be able to stand," my husband said.
"I'll take her onto the aft deck.
One push, and everyone will believe she went overboard."
I gripped the stair rail to keep from falling.
Three days into our honeymoon, I had come out of our suite looking for medicine because I felt too sick to sleep.
Lucas was downstairs with his parents, discussing how to get rid of me.
A champagne glass clinked against another.
Then his father, Roderick, asked, "And her money?"
Lucas answered without hesitation.
"The paperwork is signed.
We'll handle the trust once she's declared de@d."
I pressed my hand over my mouth.
The yacht was a wedding gift from my father, and somewhere beyond its windows lay miles of dark water.
I had no idea who among the crew might hear me if I called for help.
Only that morning, Lucas had sat beside my bed and brushed the hair from my forehead.
He told me the dizziness was seasickness and promised it would pass.
I had wanted to believe him.
Since we left San Diego, I had slept through most afternoons and struggled to remember conversations from the night before.
Every evening, Lucas gave me two small white pills.
He said a doctor had recommended them for nausea and sleep.
I never saw a prescription bottle.
On the lower deck, his mother spoke next.
"Are you certain she'll take them tonight?"
"She already did," Lucas said.
"I put more in her soup."
My stomach lurched.
At dinner, he had brought a tray to the suite himself.
I had eaten half the soup before giving up because the room would not stop spinning.
Roderick asked whether the captain would notice if Lucas took me outside during the approaching squall.
"The crew will be busy securing the decks," Lucas replied.
"I'll say she wanted air.
By the time anyone realizes she's missing, there won't be anything left to see."
I tried to step backward.
My foot caught the edge of the stair tread, and I held my breath until the voices below continued.
Lucas and his parents were still talking as if the plan were settled.
Then his mother mentioned my parents.
"Her father will demand an investigation," she said.
Lucas gave a short laugh.
"He'll have other problems soon enough."
Roderick told him to lower his voice.
I strained to hear, but someone moved a chair across the deck and covered their next words.
I had heard enough to know my parents might be in danger too.
I had trusted Lucas when we married.
I had signed documents before the wedding because he said they would make travel and household decisions easier.
He had assured me my family's attorneys had reviewed everything.
Now I could not remember whether I had asked them myself.
I turned toward our suite, using the wall to steady myself.
My thoughts moved slowly, but I knew I could not confront Lucas or wait until midnight.
I needed to reach someone beyond the yacht.
My father had insisted on installing an emergency satellite communicator in a concealed compartment beneath the suite's vanity.
I had teased him for worrying too much when he showed me how to use it.
Lucas didn't know it was there.
I reached the suite and closed the door softly behind me.
The pills were on my bedside table, beside a glass of water.
I left them untouched and knelt in front of the vanity.
The compartment opened.
Inside, the communicator's screen was dark.
I pressed the power button and waited while a signal indicator appeared.
Before I could enter the emergency code, the handle of the suite door began to turn.
---
She heard everything — and now the door is opening.
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Will she get that call out in time?
Comment **"NEXT"** if you want Part 2.
