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Back The Cruise Save as PDF
Chapters (97)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Michael has never …
  4. Prologue
  5. PART ONE
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. PART TWO
  11. 5
  12. 6
  13. 7
  14. 8
  15. 9
  16. 10
  17. 11
  18. 12
  19. 13
  20. 14
  21. 15
  22. PART THREE
  23. 16
  24. 17
  25. 18
  26. 19
  27. 20
  28. 21
  29. 22
  30. 23
  31. PART FOUR
  32. 24
  33. 25
  34. 26
  35. 27
  36. 28
  37. 29
  38. 30
  39. 31
  40. 32
  41. 33
  42. 34
  43. PART FIVE
  44. 35
  45. 36
  46. 37
  47. 38
  48. 39
  49. 40
  50. 41
  51. 42
  52. 43
  53. 44
  54. 45
  55. 46
  56. 47
  57. PART SIX
  58. 48
  59. 49
  60. 50
  61. 51
  62. 52
  63. PART SEVEN
  64. 53
  65. 54
  66. 55
  67. PART EIGHT
  68. 56
  69. 57
  70. 58
  71. 59
  72. PART NINE
  73. 60
  74. 61
  75. 62
  76. 63
  77. 64
  78. 65
  79. 66
  80. 67
  81. 68
  82. 69
  83. 70
  84. 71
  85. 72
  86. 73
  87. 74
  88. 75
  89. PART TEN
  90. 76
  91. Epilogue
  92. Acknowledgements
  93. Keep Reading …
  94. 1
  95. About the Author
  96. By Catherine Cooper
  97. About the Publisher

He groans. ‘I can’t wait. Let’s not make it too long, hey? I’m going to go now before … well. I’ll see you very soon.’

‘Yep. Later,’ I say.

I spend the evening in the crew gym and then reading just about anything I can find left behind in the crew rooms which I haven’t already read. The Internet and TVs aren’t working down here so I’ve had to make my own entertainment. I’m an avid reader – have been since I was a child. Not for the first time, it occurs to me that being hidden down here is not that dissimilar to my childhood – cut off from everything with no information coming in from the outside world. Unable to go anywhere and with only one person for company.

Tears come to my eyes. Even now, more than a decade on, I still miss my dad. Not my biological dad, obviously, but my dad who brought me up. Years of therapy might have objectively made me see that what he did was wrong, snatching me from the family I’ve still never quite been able to consider my ‘real’ family. That my unusual upbringing has, probably to an extremely large degree, contributed to my messed-up state of mind, my promiscuity as the therapists call it (from my point of view, I simply enjoy sex and don’t see the need to equate it with love or a relationship), and the need to take a cocktail of prescription drugs to keep me stable.

But, as far as I’m concerned, my dad quite literally gave up his life for me. He wanted me so much that he turned his back on society and did everything he could to bring me up so that I would be safe. What kind of love could be greater than that?

Admittedly, his idea of keeping me safe was warped, of course I can see that now, but I strongly believe that he wasn’t a bad man. He was doing what he felt was best for me.

When I was a child, I felt nothing but loved. It was only when I left him that things started going wrong. And I would never have left if it hadn’t been for a certain someone coming into my life. Even though I was angry when I left that night, I know I would have calmed down. Dad and I could have carried on as we were and everything would have been OK. If it hadn’t been for him.

It’s payback time.

57

Lola

17 January 2022, 02:00

The Caribbean

I don’t want to set off a fire alarm from the crew area as I’m pretty sure they’ll eventually be able to tell from where the alarm was set off and I don’t want anyone coming down here to check what’s going on in the bowels of the ship where I am hiding.