Chapter 5 - The Wet Footprints in the Galley
Ryan said my name softly.
“Clara.”
The way he spoke made me crawl faster.
The crew passage was barely wide enough for my shoulders. Metal pipes ran above my head, warm from the yacht’s systems. My wet knees slid across the rubber matting as I moved toward the mechanical room.
Behind me, Emily blocked the hatch.
“You’re imagining things,” she told him.
Ryan laughed.
“Do I look stupid?”
“Yes.”
The slap came hard enough to echo through the wall.
I stopped.
Every instinct demanded that I turn back.
Emily made no sound.
Ryan grabbed something metal from the counter.
“Where is she?”
“I watched her sink.”
“Then why is the floor wet?”
“You came in from the deck.”
“Wrong answer.”
The service hatch shuddered as he kicked the cabinet beneath it.
I forced myself forward.
The passage curved downward toward the engine compartment. Heat replaced the cold air. The smell of fuel and oil thickened.
My necklace blinked faintly.
The recorder was still active.
Ryan’s voice behind me remained clear enough to capture.
“You helped her set this up.”
Emily said, “She set it up because she knew what you were.”
Another impact.
This time Emily cried out.
My fingers curled into the mat.
I kept moving.
Stopping would not save her. Reaching the control station might.
The passage ended at a grated maintenance platform overlooking the engine room.
Below, two massive engines sat silent.
A portable computer glowed on a workbench.
A man in a black hooded jacket sat in front of it.
His back faced me.
Two cables ran from the computer into the yacht’s communications system.
He was typing under Ryan’s credentials.
I stayed behind the railing.
The man spoke into a headset.
“Price, she accessed the laptop.”
Leonard’s voice answered.
“Did she copy anything?”
“Unknown.”
“Lock the lower network.”
“Already done.”
He paused.
“The recorder is still transmitting.”
“Trace the recipient.”
“I’m trying.”
The technician removed one glove.
A dark burn scar covered the back of his hand.
I knew that scar.
“Daniel?”
The man froze.
He turned.
My cousin Daniel Mercer stared up at me.
For three years, he had told everyone he wanted nothing to do with the foundation. He had moved to Seattle, started a software company, and refused every invitation to family events.
Now he sat in the engine room helping Leonard seize my assets.
“Clara,” he said.
I backed toward the passage.
He stood quickly.
“Wait.”
“You’re tracing my recorder.”
“I’m trying to keep Leonard from tracing it.”
The explanation came too fast.
“Why are you using Ryan’s account?”
“So Leonard thinks the commands are coming from him.”
“Why?”
Daniel removed the headset.
“Because Ryan was supposed to be blamed for everything.”
Above us, footsteps entered the engine room.
Daniel looked toward the door.
“Hide.”
“Why should I trust you?”
“You shouldn’t. But Leonard will kill both of us if he sees you.”
The door handle moved.
Daniel pointed toward a tool cabinet.
I climbed down the metal steps, every movement sending pain through my ribs. He helped me inside the cabinet and closed it just as Leonard entered.
Through the ventilation slots, I saw Leonard approach the computer.
“Status?”
Daniel sat again.
“Recorder signal is bouncing through a private satellite relay.”
“Destination?”
“Still encrypted.”
“Ryan says Clara came aboard.”
Daniel’s eyes stayed on the screen.
“If she did, the cameras would show her.”
“I disabled the cameras.”
“Then you disabled your own proof.”
Leonard leaned closer.
“Do not get clever with me.”
Daniel’s scarred hand tightened.
“You brought me here to manage the network.”
“I brought you because you share her blood.”
My breath stopped.
Leonard continued.
“If Clara dies before the trust challenge is filed, you become the nearest Mercer heir.”
Daniel looked at him.
“You told me the shares would pass to the foundation.”
“I told you what was necessary.”
“And the baby?”
Leonard’s face did not change.
“The child complicates succession.”
My hands closed protectively around my belly.
Daniel’s jaw flexed.
“You said no one would hurt her.”
“I said Clara’s death would look accidental.”
“That is not the same thing.”
“No,” Leonard said. “It is cleaner.”
He placed a folder beside the computer.
PROJECT ORPHAN HEIR.
“Once Ryan signs the confession, you take control temporarily. I manage the challenge. Vanessa testifies that Ryan acted alone.”
Daniel stared at the folder.
“And if Clara survives?”
Leonard glanced toward the tool cabinets.
“Then we use the second plan.”
My necklace vibrated once against my chest.
The red light blinked through the cabinet slats.
Leonard saw it.
May you like
His eyes lifted directly toward me.
📖 Discover what Leonard’s second plan requires—and whether Daniel will expose Clara’s hiding place when the recorder light betrays her in CHAPTER 6. 👇
