Alassio was where Marnie’s family had come from. She told me once that’s where she would go if she ever left her Übermensch husband Tim.

I wondered if I could go to Marnie instead of waiting for Dannielle to come up with the goods. At least I knew Marnie. At least I knew she loved me. Well, she hadn’t told on me. Yet. As far as I knew. I could go to her.

I spent a good hour seriously considering it, all through breakfast and when I got back to my cabin to pack my bag for the day but—

Realistically, calling on Marnie was not a great plan, for three reasons:

1. I’d left her husband down a deep, dark well to die a slow death. However much of a prick he had been to her, she wouldn’t have wanted her baby’s father to die like that. Marnie was a good person which was why, despite how much I liked her, we could never truly be friends.
2. If I did get caught, she’d be an accessory for hiding me. And I didn’t want anyone else to pay for my crimes, least of all her.
3. I wanted her to be happy. And free. And safe. Like Ivy. And the best way of achieving that was to ensure I was nowhere near her.

As I was leaving my cabin, the announcement came over the PA system.

‘Everyone – this is your captain. We regret to inform you that the Genoa excursions have had to be abandoned today while we search for the passenger who has tragically fallen overboard in the night. We will remain at sea for as long as we can. Our rescue boats are out searching the area for him…’

You won’t find him, I thought. I weighed him down.

‘These are exceptional circumstances. For anyone who had a shore excursion booked, the cost will be refunded to your Sea Pass cards and we will be putting on extra entertainments while you remain on the ship…’

Great. More line dancing and volleyball tournaments for the win.

‘…a revised Cruise Letter will be posted into your cabins within the hour. We hope you have an enjoyable day aboard the Flor de la Mer.’

I sat on the bed. A window of opportunity had opened but I had slammed it in my own face. Yet another infamous boo-boo. Not only could I not get off the ship, I couldn’t get any damn phone signal either, and for who knew how long? Dannielle could have found my one-way ticket out of Europe and be desperately calling me to make arrangements for all I knew. I was getting antsy in my massive maternity panties.