Chapter 4 - The Sound of the SirenFlynn lunged like a wounded animal, his hands outstretched to wrap around my neck, but the heavy seas gave a violent lurch, sending the yacht pitching sharply to the port side.
He lost his footing on the wet teak deck, his boots slipping on the spray. He grabbed wildly at empty air, catching only the edge of my woolen coat before momentum dragged him violently forward.
Clang.
His chest slammed hard against the brass railing. The heavy swells tossed the yacht again, and with a muffled, panicked curse, Flynn tipped right over the edge, plunging headfirst into the foaming, black wake of the ocean.
I rushed to the railing, gripping the cold metal, and looked down.
The churning white water swallowed him instantly, spitting him out into the ship's powerful wake. Far below, a human figure thrashed desperately against the mountainous waves, screaming my name over the roar of the storm.
"Chloe! Help me! Grab the life-ring! Chloe!"
I stood tall against the gale, watching him drown in the very trap he had built for me.
"Swim back to Zurich, Flynn," I shouted into the howling wind, knowing he couldn't hear me over the engines.
Before I could catch my breath, heavy footsteps thundered up the stairwell behind me.
"Flynn? Did you drop her over yet?"
It was Aidan Vance, my esteemed father-in-law, wrapped in a cashmere bathrobe, holding a fresh glass of scotch in one hand and squinting through the driving rain. As he stepped onto the aft deck, his eyes locked onto me standing alone by the railing, completely dry-eyed and steady.
Then he looked over the edge.
"Flynn?" Aidan called out, panic cracking his smooth, aristocratic voice. He ran to the rail, staring into the dark wake. "Where is he? Where’s my son?!"
I turned slowly to face him, letting my coat slip from my shoulders. The wind whipped my dress around my legs, but I felt no cold.
Aidan spun around, his face turning an ugly, mottled purple with rage and terror. He took a menacing step toward me, his fingers curling into claws. "You little witch! What did you do to him?!"
"He slipped, Aidan," I replied, my voice slicing through the storm with chilling calm. "Just like you and Fiona are going to slip when the coast guard boards this vessel in ten minutes."
Aidan froze, his eyes bulging. "What are you talking about?"
"I’m talking about the fact that this yacht is registered under Sterling Maritime, which means I hold the master override on all satellite navigation and transponder beacons," I said, stepping past him toward the bridge control stairs. "And more importantly... Marcus Vance and federal maritime authorities are currently descending on our exact GPS coordinates."
Aidan’s face drained of every drop of color. He lunged at me, raising his heavy glass tumbler to strike me across the face.
Thwack.
I ducked instinctively, but before his fist could connect, the heavy steel cabin door flew open behind him.
Fiona rushed out onto the deck, breathless and panicked. "Aidan! What’s happening? I heard screaming—" She stopped dead in her tracks as she saw me standing there, alive, unharmed, and staring at them like a executioner.
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Fiona’s jaw dropped. "No... no, that's impossible. The sedative dose was triple-strength—"
"I threw it up, Fiona," I smiled sweetly, stepping up to the bridge stairs. "Just like I’m going to throw both of you out of my family's life forever."
