Chapter 6 - THE WOMAN IN THE SHADOWS
My heart stopped.
"What did you say?" I asked, dropping to one knee despite Arthur's impatient glare.
"Mommy was in the bathroom," Lucas chimed in, pointing back toward the ferry's restrooms. "She gave us the ring. She said she's coming right now."
Arthur turned pale. "What is he talking about? Shut the kid up."
"You said they found a body," I said to Arthur, standing up slowly. "You paid off the coroner, didn't you? You needed everyone to believe Elena was dead so you could control the narrative."
Arthur stepped closer, pressing the concealed gun against my ribs.
"Move outside. Now."
I ushered Victoria and the boys through the heavy doors onto the freezing, windy observation deck. The ferry was pulling away from the dock, the dark water churning below us.
We were completely alone on the back deck.
"It's over, Alejandro," Arthur said, pulling the gun out of his pocket so I could see the dull grey metal. "I'm throwing you and Victoria over the side. The boys come with me. They’re my leverage to keep your company's money flowing into my accounts."
"Arthur, please!" Victoria begged, falling to her knees. "Don't do this!"
"You were always pathetic, Victoria," Arthur spat.
He raised the gun, pointing it squarely at my chest.
I stepped in front of my sons. I braced myself. I wasn't going to let him touch them.
But before Arthur could pull the trigger, the heavy metal door behind him slammed open.
The wind howled.
A figure stepped out onto the deck.
She was wearing a dark winter coat, a scarf wrapped tightly around her neck. Her hair was shorter than I remembered, streaked with grey, and a jagged scar ran down the side of her cheek.
But her eyes.
They were the exact same fierce, uncompromising eyes I had fallen in love with fifteen years ago.
Arthur froze, the gun trembling in his hand.
"Hello, Arthur," Elena said. Her voice was deeper, raspy from smoke damage, but it was her.
My wife was alive.
Victoria gasped, covering her mouth with both hands.
"Mommy!" Mateo and Lucas yelled, trying to run to her, but I held them back.
Elena didn't look at us. Her eyes were locked onto the man who had tried to murder her.
"You're dead," Arthur whispered, stumbling backward. "I saw the house collapse."
"I crawled out through the basement window," Elena said, stepping closer. "But I knew if I stayed, you would never stop hunting us. You had the police in your pocket. You had Victoria under your thumb. The only way to keep my family safe was to let you think you won."
"You abandoned them!" Arthur yelled, gesturing wildly with the gun. "For four years!"
"I watched them every single day," Elena said fiercely. "From the shadows. I waited until you made a mistake. I waited until you got greedy. I waited until Alejandro found the cane."
She reached into her coat pocket.
And pulled out a manila envelope.
"I didn't just hide, Arthur. I spent four years gathering every piece of evidence against you. The bribes. The offshore accounts. The coroner's report. It's all in here."
Arthur’s face twisted in rage.
He aimed the gun directly at Elena's head.
"Then I'll just have to kill you for real this time."
Suddenly, the ferry lurched as it hit a massive wave.
Arthur lost his footing, stumbling sideways.
And from the shadows behind Elena, a massive figure stepped into the harsh deck lights.
May you like
It was Detective Miller. The honest cop Isabel had called an hour ago.
And he had his weapon drawn.
