Chapter 6 - Unraveling the Net
"He's... he's alive?" Julianna stammered, her voice dropping an octave as she struggled to maintain her composure. "Oh, thank God! Is he hurt?"
Dana Brooks did not smile. She took a step closer, her six-foot frame imposing against the salon's gold decor. "The Coast Guard broadcast contained very specific details, Mrs. Vance. Mr. Vance claims an armed assailant held him at gunpoint and forced him over the railing."
"That is completely absurd!" Julianna snapped, her shock instantly transforming into sharp rage. "He must have suffered a severe head injury when he fell! He drinks wine before dinner and leans over the railing all the time! He lost his balance!"
"Mr. Vance doesn't drink alcohol before seven PM," Dana replied calmly, her tone colder than ice. "And a moment ago, you said you were in the dressing room and didn't see him go over. How do you know he lost his balance?"
Julianna caught herself, her chest heaving as several guests began whispering behind her. "I... I assumed he slipped! That crazy kid at the pier filled his head with paranoid nonsense before we departed!"
Dana signaled two armed security guards standing by the exit. "Lock down the master suite immediately. Nobody enters or leaves until federal agents board this ship. Mrs. Vance, you will remain in the ship's library under guard."
"You work for my husband's company, Dana!" Julianna yelled, her pristine facade crumbling as the guards stepped forward. "You have no legal authority to detain me!"
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"I work for Vance Global Security," Dana corrected firmly. "And right now, my job is to preserve a major crime scene."
Six miles away, a high-speed Coast Guard response cutter sliced through the dark water toward the Sea Star, its blue lights flashing against the swells. Michael lay inside the warm cabin, unaware that the real battle for his life was about to shift into the courtroom.
