“There will be no charges. I’m not getting caught.”

Keep him talking. My father’s deep voice calms me enough to think.

“Why come after me? This doesn’t make any sense.”

“I didn’t come after you. Cassie loved you. I would’ve never come after you. A dumbass came to your office.” He sits beside me on the white sofa, placing one arm casually behind my back. The gun is low in his lap. To anyone glancing at us, it might look like he’s my lover, sitting as close to me as possible. “See, that’s the problem with hiring these days. Goddamn millennials. Think they know best. Always. But I will say, he was smart enough to snap a photo of your whiteboard for me. And I saw you figured it out.”

What did I figure out?

“Jack never did. Cassie and I saw each other behind his back for years. You know, he wanted a second chance? And she left me. She was going to give him one.”

Holy shit. Cassie had an affair with Wayne.

“Did you kill her?”

The butt of his gun presses into my ribs.

“Cassie’s death devastated me. At her funeral, everyone cared about Jack. They’d been divorced for years, and he was still the center of everyone’s attention. More so than her daughter. I loved her. Her death nearly killed me.”

“And yet you stepped in and covered for Jack at the office.” I scan the marina, searching. Someone else has to be out here.

“No choice. It’s not like I could tell him I mourned his ex-wife more than he did. Couldn’t tell him that she was mine. Not his. The board asked me to step in. I kept things going while he played house. Did a better job than he could.”

“But they still let him return to CEO.”

“Family company. Nepotism runs strong.”

“And your wife? She never suspected?”

“My so-called wife never gave a damn. I invoked her name as cover within the company. How did you figure it out? That’s why you’re here, right? You figured it out, but you’re snooping for evidence?” He’s leaning so close into me that his hot breath moistens my earlobe. “What. Did. You. Find?”

“Old email files.”

“Cassie’s?” I’m not about to mention Sophia’s Remarkable files. She can’t become a target again if he gets away with this.

The marina gate clicks.

“We’re not alone. I can scream.”

“If I go down, so will you.”

My spine curves sideways, away from the intense pressure on my rib.

Keep him talking.

“The problem with your threat is that if I scream, I die. If I don’t scream, I die. There’s not a winning scenario for me.” He’s in sales. He should understand negotiation. “What about Sophia? Are you planning on eliminating Sophia?”

“Sophia won’t be hurt. If you’re a good girl, you won’t get hurt either.”

The sliding door on the deck to El Capitan opens. A man in a red t-shirt stands in the doorway, assessing the situation. Water churns below the yacht’s engines. Exhaust poisons the air.