Chapter 7: What Came Back

The chain pulled Elias beneath the yacht.

Cold water closed over his head. He struck the side of the hull, opened his mouth in shock, and lost the breath he had meant to hold.

A gloved hand caught his shirt.

Kate Morris drove a cutting tool against the fastening at his ankles while Jonah Pike held him clear of the moving chain. The first attempt slipped. On the second, the shackle gave way.

Elias tried to kick. His legs barely obeyed him.

Kate pressed a breathing mouthpiece into his hands. He took one ragged breath, then another, while Jonah cut the cord at his wrists. Above them, the chain jerked against the stern ladder as Jonah secured its loose end.

On deck, metal shrieked across the boards.

Selene stumbled back. “What was that?”

Adrian leaned over the rail. “He’s caught on something.”

The chain pulled again, hard enough to shake the gate.

Then a black-gloved hand closed around the bottom rung of the stern ladder.

Selene screamed.

Jonah emerged first. He kept one arm around Elias as Kate climbed behind them. Elias hauled himself onto the deck, coughing seawater. Every breath hurt. Daniel crossed to him with a towel, while Owen came down from the wheelhouse.

Adrian backed toward the cabin.

“You knew?” he demanded.

Elias could not answer yet. He bent over, coughed again, and watched Adrian’s hand move to his pocket. The camera card was still there.

“I told you to stop,” Owen said to Selene.

She stared at Elias’s bare ankles. “How did you get free?”

“Does it matter?” Daniel asked.

Adrian lunged for the cabin door. Daniel moved to block him, but Elias caught his arm.

“Stay with Selene.”

That cost them a second. Adrian slipped inside and slammed the door.

Owen reached for the handle. It would not open.

“The deckhand’s in there,” he said.

He called through the door. The deckhand answered, frightened but unhurt. Adrian had locked himself in the main cabin and taken the interior stairs toward the wheelhouse.

Owen turned and ran for the upper passage.

Elias forced himself upright. Selene had backed against the rail, the metal handle still lying at her feet. Daniel stood between her and the side gate.

“You had divers under the boat,” she said.

“I had a way to survive.”

“You made me think—”

“I heard what you told him to do.”

She looked past Elias toward the water. The anchor chain was still hanging over the side.

“You wanted proof,” she whispered.

“I wanted to be wrong.”

The yacht’s engines surged.

Owen shouted from above, “Adrian’s at the controls!”

The vessel turned sharply. Elias caught the rail as pain shot through his shoulder. Kate pulled him away from the edge.

“He could hurt everyone aboard,” she said.

Daniel took a radio from his belt. Owen had already called for help; Daniel confirmed their position and reported that Adrian had seized the wheelhouse.

Through the window above, Elias saw Adrian reach across the console. A warning alarm sounded and stopped. Owen appeared behind him. They struggled briefly, then the engines dropped to idle.

Adrian reappeared on the upper deck holding the camera card between two fingers.

“This is what you want, isn’t it?” he called.

Owen followed him out but kept his distance. Kate and Jonah moved beside the cabin doors. There was nowhere for Adrian to take the yacht. There were still several ways for him to destroy the card.

“Put it down,” Daniel said.

Adrian laughed. “He recorded a private argument with his wife. Then he staged the rest.”

Elias took a step forward. Kate tried to steady him, but he shook his head.

“You put the chain around my ankles.”

“After you planted an anchor on your own boat.”

“Your name is on the order.”

Adrian’s fingers closed around the card. “And yours is on a sale agreement. We both know signatures can be made to look convincing.”

Selene turned toward him. “What are you doing?”

“Giving them something to think about.”

“Give Owen the card.”

Adrian looked down at her. “You were laughing when he went over.”

Selene flinched as if he had struck her.

A patrol boat appeared beyond the yacht’s wake. Its light flashed once, then again. Adrian glanced toward it. Elias saw his decision before he moved.

“Daniel,” Elias said.

Adrian threw the card into the sea.

Daniel caught the railing but did not jump. The card vanished beneath a patch of foam.

Adrian raised both hands. “Now we can talk about what actually happened.”

The patrol boat drew alongside. Officers boarded, separated the people on deck, and secured Adrian before he could reach the wheelhouse again. One officer guided Selene away from Elias. She called his name twice; he did not turn.

A paramedic checked his breathing, his bruised shoulder, and the raw marks around his ankles. Elias insisted on speaking to the officer taking his account.

“There are other cameras,” he said. “Captain Brooks knows where the recordings are held.”

Owen came down the steps, his face grim. “I can show you the system.”

Adrian heard him. “I disabled the aft camera.”

“One aft camera,” Owen said.

Elias watched the certainty drain from Adrian’s face. Then Owen added, “I need to confirm what the others captured.”

The distinction mattered. Elias had seen Selene confess part of the marina scheme beneath the cabin camera. He did not know whether its angle covered the push.

The officer asked everyone to leave the recording system untouched until it could be secured. Owen agreed and went with her toward the cabin.

Kate wrapped a fresh towel around Elias. Only then did he start shaking.

“You got me back,” he said.

“You stayed close enough for us to reach you,” she replied. “Don’t ask yourself to be brave for another minute.”

From the patrol boat, Selene watched him through the railings. She looked almost like the woman he had married.

Adrian leaned toward the officer beside him and said, loudly enough to carry across the deck, “Ask Ward why he arranged divers before anyone threatened him.”

Elias looked at Owen disappearing into the cabin with the officer. The thrown card had held part of what happened. Whatever remained in the yacht’s system would now have to speak for itself.