Chapter 5 The Blood in the Harbor
The harbor was almost deserted by the time Marcus's call ended.
Fog rolled across the water, swallowing the docks one section at a time. Police cruisers flashed blue and red against the dark waves, their lights reflecting like broken glass across the surface.
Leo insisted I stay home.
I ignored him.
Twenty minutes later, I stood beside Marcus behind the yellow crime-scene tape.
A black SUV sat crooked near the end of Pier Seven.
Its driver's door remained open.
One headlight was shattered.
The windshield carried a spiderweb crack.
"There," Marcus said quietly.
He pointed toward the driver's seat.
Dark stains covered the leather.
Not enough to suggest death.
Enough to suggest violence.
"Forensics confirmed it's blood?"
"They're testing it now."
"No body?"
Marcus shook his head.
"No witnesses either."
The entire pier had fallen silent.
Only the distant cry of seagulls echoed across the water.
Someone had disappeared.
The question was whether Brooke had escaped...
—or whether someone had made sure she never would.
Back at Sinclair & Black, Leo converted one of the firm's conference rooms into a temporary command center.
The flash drive Brooke had left behind sat on the center of the table.
Beside it were photographs, financial records, and a growing timeline of events.
Marcus pinned another photograph to the board.
Nathan Mercer.
Across from it, he pinned Dominic's.
Then Brooke's.
Finally...
He placed my photograph beside them.
Three red strings connected Dominic, Brooke, and Nathan.
A fourth connected Nathan to me.
Leo stared at it for a long moment.
"This wasn't an affair."
Marcus nodded.
"It was recruitment."
I folded my arms.
"Then why marry Dominic?"
Marcus answered without hesitation.
"Because Dominic could never reach the Sinclair Trust."
Leo looked at me.
"But you could."
A chill crept down my spine.
For years, I had believed Dominic was chasing success.
Now it appeared someone else had been quietly steering him toward something far more valuable.
Marcus opened another folder recovered from Brooke's flash drive.
"This one is different."
Inside were scanned emails dating back almost five years.
Most had been heavily encrypted.
One subject line immediately caught my eye.
Candidate Evaluation – D.V.
Leo opened the first message.
Subject demonstrates exceptional ambition.
Primary psychological weakness: insecurity regarding legacy and family expectations.
Recommendation: introduce emotional leverage through maternal influence.
My stomach tightened.
Olivia.
Dominic's mother.
Marcus continued scrolling.
Another message appeared.
Phase Two: isolate spouse from financial decision-making.
Another.
Phase Three: secure future heir narrative.
Leo slowly removed his glasses.
"They planned every step."
I whispered,
"Even before Brooke entered his life."
Across town...
Dominic had barely slept.
The board of directors had called an emergency meeting.
Every executive sat unusually quiet as outside auditors unpacked boxes of financial records.
The lead auditor, Eleanor Brooks, adjusted her glasses.
"Mr. Vance, we need clarification."
Dominic rubbed his temples.
"About what?"
She slid several documents across the table.
"These transfers."
"I've already told everyone."
"I didn't authorize them."
Eleanor remained calm.
"The signatures are yours."
"They're forged."
"Possibly."
She paused.
"But someone also changed your internal security credentials."
Dominic looked confused.
"What?"
"The changes originated from your executive office."
Silence filled the room.
Only one person besides Dominic had unrestricted access to that office.
Brooke.
Olivia burst into the conference room without knocking.
"What is going on?"
Dominic stood.
"You shouldn't be here."
"I've been calling you all morning!"
"The board is meeting."
She lowered her voice.
"Brooke isn't answering."
Dominic frowned.
"I know."
"I went to the penthouse."
"And?"
"Her clothes are gone."
His face drained of color.
"What?"
"So is her passport."
For the first time...
Dominic realized Brooke hadn't simply disappeared.
She had left him.
That afternoon, the laboratory finally returned the DNA results from the blood inside Nathan's SUV.
Marcus called immediately.
"It belongs to Brooke."
I closed my eyes.
"Is she dead?"
"We don't know."
"There wasn't enough blood."
Leo took the phone.
"What about Nathan?"
"No trace."
"So both vanished."
Marcus hesitated.
"Not exactly."
"What do you mean?"
"We found another DNA profile."
Leo frowned.
"Whose?"
"We're still processing it."
"But preliminary results indicate..."
Marcus looked down at the report.
"...it belongs to a woman."
Hours later...
Marcus arrived carrying another envelope.
He didn't sit.
He simply placed the report on the table.
"The second blood sample belongs to..."
He stopped.
"...Olivia Vance."
Leo stared.
"Dominic's mother?"
Marcus nodded.
"There are signs she was inside that vehicle."
I tried to make sense of it.
"Why would Olivia meet Nathan?"
"No idea."
"But she never told Dominic."
Meanwhile...
Olivia stood alone inside her estate.
She locked every door.
Closed every curtain.
Then walked into a hidden study behind the library.
Inside, she removed a small safe concealed behind an oil painting.
Her hands shook as she entered the combination.
The safe opened.
Empty.
Every document was gone.
Every passport.
Every contract.
Every ledger.
Only one folded note remained.
She unfolded it.
Five words.
You chose the wrong side.
Olivia collapsed into the chair.
Someone had beaten her to the evidence.
That evening, Marcus's phone rang.
One of his surveillance teams.
He answered immediately.
"What did you find?"
Static crackled through the speaker.
Then—
"We located Nathan."
Marcus straightened.
"Alive?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
"He boarded a private plane."
Leo leaned forward.
"Destination?"
The investigator answered.
"He never got on."
Marcus frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"The plane departed."
"But Nathan didn't."
Security footage revealed something impossible.
Nathan arrived at the private terminal at 8:14 p.m.
He checked in.
Walked toward the aircraft.
Then disappeared.
No exit.
No boarding.
No vehicle leaving the property.
Nothing.
It was as though he had vanished into thin air.
Back at the guesthouse, I stood beside Grace's crib.
She was beginning to smile whenever she recognized my voice.
Such a tiny thing.
Completely unaware that adults were destroying themselves over money, power, and lies.
I gently brushed a finger across her cheek.
"I promise," I whispered.
"You'll grow up knowing the truth."
At exactly 11:43 p.m., my phone vibrated.
Unknown Number.
A text message.
No greeting.
No signature.
Just one photograph.
It showed Brooke.
Alive.
Her hands were tied to a chair.
A bruise darkened one side of her face.
Behind her stood a figure dressed entirely in black.
The person's face remained hidden in shadow.
Below the photograph appeared a single sentence.
She told you too much.
A second message arrived seconds later.
You're next, Amelia.
My heart pounded as I stared at the screen.
Marcus immediately began tracing the number.
Leo grabbed his car keys.
Neither of us noticed the final message arriving almost one minute later.
It wasn't a threat.
It was an address.
And beneath the address...
May you like
Four chilling words.
Come alone if possible.
