Chapter 2 - THE WOMAN IN CABIN 714
The knocking stopped.
David stared at the door.
I watched him carefully.
“You said your father controlled security.”
“He does.”
“Then why are you afraid?”
He didn't answer.
Another knock.
This time, a woman's voice came through.
“Sarah?”
I didn't recognize it.
David did.
His face tightened.
“Don't open it.”
“Why?”
“She shouldn't be here.”
I stepped closer.
“Who is she?”
David whispered:
“Someone who was supposed to be dead.”
That sentence changed everything.
I moved toward the door.
David grabbed my arm.
I looked down at his hand.
He immediately released me.
“I'll open it.”
“No.”
“Then I'll break it.”
He stared.
I smiled.
“Military habit.”
I unlocked the door.
A woman stumbled inside.
She was pale, barefoot, and wearing a torn evening dress.
She looked directly at me.
“Are you Sarah?”
“Yes.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“You're number four.”
My blood went cold.
David shut the door.
“Emily, you shouldn't have escaped.”
Emily backed away from him.
“He killed them.”
I looked at David.
“Who?”
Emily pointed at him.
“His father.”
David shook his head.
“You don't know what you're talking about.”
“I was there.”
She looked at me.
“All three women.”
My fingers tightened around the ledger.
“What happened to them?”
“They were told it was a honeymoon cruise.”
Emily's voice trembled.
“Then the ship changed course.”
“To where?”
“A private island.”
David moved toward her.
I stepped between them.
“Stay back.”
Emily whispered:
“They never came back.”
David suddenly ran.
I chased him into the corridor.
Passengers turned in confusion.
David disappeared around a corner.
I followed.
Then every hallway light went dark.
Emergency lighting flickered red.
A shipwide announcement began.
“Ladies and gentlemen, please remain in your cabins.”
I stopped.
The voice was calm.
Too calm.
Then it said:
“An unauthorized security breach has occurred.”
I looked behind me.
Emily was gone.
My phone vibrated.
One message appeared.
CABIN 714. COME ALONE.
I stared at the number.
It wasn't David.
It was a government emergency frequency.
I entered Cabin 714.
Inside, the walls were covered with photographs.
Dozens of women.
Different years.
Different ships.
Different names.
But the same expression.
Fear.
At the center was one photograph.
Me.
Taken three months earlier.
Before David proposed.
Before I met him.
Beneath my photograph were four words:
SELECTED BY THE PATRIARCH.
I heard footsteps behind me.
I turned.
David stood in the doorway.
But he wasn't holding the bat.
He was holding a gun.
“I'm sorry, Sarah.”
I stared at him.
“For what?”
May you like
His eyes filled with something that looked almost like regret.
“For what happens next.”
