Chapter 2 - The Nassau Plan.
I had spent years teaching people how to function while adrenaline was flooding their bodies.
The first lesson was always the same.
Slow down.
The mind wants to race ahead when danger appears.
It wants to invent endings before the facts arrive.
That is how people miss what is directly in front of them.
So I sat in a small conference room near the ship's security office and forced myself to breathe normally.
The room had no windows.
A camera in the corner recorded the interview.
A paper cup of water sat untouched in front of me.
Chief Ramos sat across the table with a tablet and a legal pad.
The aluminum bat had been sealed in an evidence bag.
Gregory's phone was being photographed but not yet searched because Ramos wanted the captain's approval and guidance from shore authorities.
The hidden camera and its memory card sat in separate evidence pouches.
The plastic packet found beside the camera had turned out to contain two small white tablets.
Nobody had identified them yet.
I had a bad feeling I knew where they were supposed to end up.
"Start with the wedding," Ramos said.
"Not the cabin?"
"The wedding."
I studied her.
"Why?"
"Because whatever happened in that room did not begin tonight."
She was right.
So I told her about Walter's speech.
I told her about the line regarding a smart wife knowing when to let her husband lead.
I told her how Gregory laughed.
I told her about the small controlling behaviors I had dismissed before the marriage.
The dresses.
The travel questions.
The resentment toward male colleagues.
I told her about Gregory whispering, "You're mine now," while Florida disappeared behind us.
Ramos did not interrupt.
She wrote everything down.
When I reached the moment Gregory opened the suitcase, her pen stopped.
"Exact words," she said.
I repeated them.
"My dad gave me this before the wedding."
Then the next part.
"There can only be one person in charge."
Ramos looked up.
"And he said his father used the same method with his mother?"
"He said, 'This is how my dad kept my mom in line.'"
Ramos's expression hardened.
"Then he swung?"
"Yes."
"Describe it."
I did, but I kept the description simple.
A horizontal swing.
I moved inside the arc.
I redirected him.
I took the bat.
He fell.
I did not strike him.
"Your phone recorded some of that?"
"The end."
"How much?"
"From shortly before the distress alarm."
Ramos nodded.
"We copied the file before bringing you here."
"Good."
She looked at me carefully.
"You know evidence procedure."
"Enough to be annoying."
"Marine Corps?"
"Yes."
"Military police?"
"No. Hand-to-hand combat instructor."
She paused.
"That explains the medical report."
I almost smiled.
Gregory would hate that sentence.
Ramos closed the legal pad.
"Now we need to talk about Nassau."
"I wish I could help."
"Did your husband schedule anything there?"
I thought about our itinerary.
The first full day was supposed to be at sea.
The second morning we would arrive in Nassau.
Gregory had insisted on planning the excursion himself.
"He booked something private."
Ramos leaned forward.
"What?"
"He said it was a surprise."
"Do you know the company?"
I shook my head.
"He told me not to look at the itinerary because he wanted one day where I didn't organize everything."
"Did that seem unusual?"
"At the time, no."
I looked down at my wedding ring.
"Everything seems unusual now."
Ramos tapped her pen once against the table.
"Your husband's phone displayed a folder called Mercer Response Plan."
"I saw it."
"Mercer is your maiden name?"
"My professional name too."
"And your business?"
"Mercer Strategy Group."
She had already searched the public company page.
I could tell from the way she asked the next question.
"You own it?"
"Sixty-two percent."
"Privately held?"
"Yes."
"Value?"
I hesitated.
She noticed.
"I'm not asking because I'm curious."
"Depending on contracts and valuation methods, between forty and sixty million dollars."
Ramos's eyes did not widen.
That impressed me.
"Does your husband have any ownership?"
"None."
"Signing authority?"
"None."
"Access to company banking?"
"No."
"Could marriage change that?"
"Not automatically."
She leaned back.
"What could?"
I thought about it.
"A signed transfer agreement. A trust. Certain estate documents. A power of attorney."
The words felt heavier as I said them.
Ramos looked at the evidence bag containing the two tablets.
So did I.
"Did you drink the champagne in the suite?" she asked.
"No."
"Did he encourage you to?"
I replayed the first hour.
Gregory had poured two glasses before we went to the balcony.
I had not touched mine because I wanted coffee.
He had teased me about it.
I remembered him saying, "One glass won't kill you."
At the time, it had sounded ordinary.
Now it did not.
"Yes," I said.
"He did."
Ramos stood.
"We need to collect the champagne."
She opened the door and spoke quietly to an officer outside.
Then she returned.
"This is becoming bigger than a domestic dispute."
"I noticed."
Her expression softened slightly.
"Do you have anyone ashore you trust completely?"
The answer came immediately.
"Ava Chen."
"Who is she?"
"My chief operating officer and best friend."
"Does your husband know that?"
"Of course."
"Then assume he knows she is the first person you would call."
I stared at her.
"You think he may have planned for that too."
"I think people who install cameras before a honeymoon tend to plan ahead."
Ramos handed me a ship phone.
"Call her from this."
I dialed Ava's number from memory.
She answered on the third ring.
"Hello?"
"Ava. It's me."
There was a pause.
"Ashlynn?"
Her voice sharpened immediately.
"Why are you calling from a cruise line number?"
"Because I need you to listen and not interrupt for one minute."
"That sentence is never good."
"Gregory threatened me in the cabin. Security is involved. I'm safe right now."
Silence.
Then Ava's voice became very calm.
"Is he with you?"
"No."
"Are you injured?"
"No."
"Do I need to call someone?"
"Not yet. I need you to check company access logs."
Ramos watched me.
Ava did not ask why.
That was one reason I trusted her.
"Which systems?"
"Everything. Email. Banking portal. Board document storage. E-signature platform. Insurance. Trust records."
"Give me ten minutes."
"Ava."
"Yes?"
"Do it from a clean device. And don't use my account for anything."
Another pause.
"What happened?"
"I don't know yet."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only one I have."
She exhaled.
"Okay. I'll call this number back?"
I looked at Ramos.
She nodded.
"Yes."
Ava hung up.
Ramos sat again.
"You think corporate access is part of the Nassau plan."
"I think Gregory has spent a year learning my schedule, my habits, and the structure of my company."
I touched the ring again.
"I thought it was because he loved me."
Ramos did not offer comfort.
I appreciated that too.
"Love doesn't need an unauthorized camera," she said.
The ship phone rang nine minutes later.
Ava did not say hello.
"We have a problem."
Every muscle in my body tightened.
"What kind?"
"Someone logged into your personal document vault at 4:17 this morning."
"From where?"
"Miami."
"I was asleep in Miami at 4:17."
"I know."
"What did they access?"
Keys clicked rapidly in the background.
"Your estate plan. Corporate ownership schedule. Insurance policies. The operating agreement."
I looked at Ramos.
"Anything changed?"
"Not there. But there's more."
Ava's voice dropped.
"A new document package was created in the e-signature system at 5:03."
"By who?"
"It says you."
The room went very still.
"I did not create anything."
"I know."
"What's in it?"
"I haven't opened the files yet because I wanted to preserve access logs."
"Open them from an admin account. Read the titles."
I heard her typing.
Then nothing.
"Ava?"
"Ash."
She used the nickname only when she was scared.
"What?"
"The first document is called Spousal Management Authorization."
Ramos's jaw tightened.
Ava continued.
"The second is a temporary voting proxy for your Mercer Strategy shares."
I closed my eyes for one second.
"And the third?"
Ava took a breath.
"Durable power of attorney."
The Nassau plan was beginning to take shape.
"Are they signed?" I asked.
"Not yet."
Relief lasted less than a second.
"Where are they supposed to be signed?"
More typing.
Ava went silent again.
"Ava."
"The metadata lists an appointment location."
"Where?"
"Nassau."
Ramos stood slowly.
"Address?"
Ava read it aloud.
Ramos wrote it down.
Then Ava said something that made my skin go cold.
"Ashlynn, the appointment notes say you requested a private notary because you may be under medication after a medical event."
I looked at the sealed packet of tablets.
"I didn't request anything."
"I know."
"Who created the notes?"
Ava hesitated.
"The document package was prepared through Hartman Legal Holdings."
Gregory's family company.
Ramos looked at me.
"We need the captain."
I nodded.
Ava was still on the line.
"There's one more thing," she said.
I almost did not want to ask.
"What?"
"The system shows a second signer."
"Gregory?"
"No."
"Walter?"
"No."
Her voice became quieter.
"Your signature line is first. The second signer is listed as Miriam Hartman."
Gregory's mother.
The woman who barely spoke at the wedding.
The woman who lowered her eyes whenever Walter interrupted her.
The woman Gregory had used as an example of what a wife should become.
I stared at the table.
"Why would Miriam be signing my power of attorney?"
Ava did not answer.
Ramos did.
"Maybe she isn't helping them."
I looked at her.
"What do you mean?"
"Maybe she's the reason the documents haven't been signed yet."
Before I could respond, someone knocked on the conference-room door.
An officer stepped inside.
"Chief, you need to see this."
Ramos stood.
"What happened?"
"We collected the champagne bottle from the suite."
He looked at me, then back at her.
"The seal on the bottle was intact."
I frowned.
"Then the tablets weren't for the champagne."
The officer shook his head.
"No, ma'am."
He held up a clear evidence bag containing a small travel-size bottle.
"We found this inside Mr. Hartman's toiletry kit."
The label had been peeled off.
Ramos took the bag.
"What is it?"
"Medical says it appears to be a liquid sedative. They're testing it."
I stared at the bottle.
Then I remembered Gregory insisting on making me tea after dinner the night before we boarded.
I had refused because I was exhausted and wanted sleep.
He had looked disappointed.
At the time, I had thought it was sweet.
Now I understood something that made the bat seem almost crude.
Gregory had not brought one plan onto the ship.
May you like
He had brought options.
And Nassau was where one of them was supposed to become permanent.
