CHAPTER 9 — VANESSA’S CHOICE
Vanessa came to my cabin that night.
Not the owner’s suite.
I refused to sleep there until the locks were changed.
I stayed in my father’s old inspection cabin near the bridge, where the desk still had a nick from his pocketknife and the bathroom faucet complained in a familiar rhythm.
Vanessa knocked once.
Then entered before I answered.
Progress was limited.
She wore a robe over the red dress, makeup removed, face younger without armor.
“I’m not apologizing yet,” she said.
“I didn’t ask.”
“I was horrible to you.”
“Yes.”
She looked irritated.
“You could soften that.”
“I could.”
She paced.
“I thought you were pathetic.”
“I noticed.”
“I thought Graham rescued the company.”
“He rescued access.”
She stopped at the window.
Moonlight turned the ocean black and silver.
“I grew up poor,” she said.
That surprised me.
Not because cruel people cannot grow up poor.
Because she had spent so much energy pretending she had never been near need.
“My mother cleaned resort rooms. Men like Graham never looked at women like us unless they wanted something. I promised myself I’d become the woman they were afraid not to invite.”
“And did you?”
She gave a bitter laugh.
“I became the woman they invited to make another woman bleed.”
We stood in silence.
Then she pulled a flash drive from her robe pocket.
“Graham kept a private laptop in my suite. I copied what I could before security locked me out.”
I looked at the drive.
“Why give it to me?”
“Because he forged my equity deal.”
“That’s revenge.”
“Yes.”
“Good. Revenge is not always useless.”
She almost smiled.
Then her face tightened.
“There are recordings. Calls with board members. Doctors. A shipping broker in Monaco. And one file named EM-Medical.”
My body went cold.
“EM?”
“Elise Marlow.”
I took the drive.
Vanessa looked at me.
“I don’t expect forgiveness.”
“Excellent.”
She nodded.
At the door, she paused.
“For what it’s worth, the white dress was better.”
I looked down at it.
Wrinkled.
Salt-stained.
May you like
Mine.
“I know.”
