Chapter 10 - The First Lie Adrian Told Himself
The hardest part of explaining betrayal to Junie was that Adrian couldn't explain it to himself.
She was sitting on her bedroom floor when he came home, lining up stuffed animals for a pretend tea party.
Her wrists were healing.
The nightmares were not.
“Daddy?”
“Hey, peanut.”
“Mr. Rabbit says you're late.”
Adrian checked his watch.
It was six thirty.
He'd promised six.
“Mr. Rabbit's right.”
“He's very disappointed.”
“I deserve that.”
Junie nodded gravely.
“He wants an apology.”
Adrian crouched.
“Mr. Rabbit, I'm sorry I kept you waiting.”
Junie leaned toward the rabbit.
Then she whispered something in its ear.
“He says okay.”
“Generous guy.”
She poured him imaginary tea.
Adrian sat on the carpet.
For fifteen minutes, he let his daughter explain the complicated politics of a stuffed-animal kingdom.
Then Junie asked, “Did you marry Corinne because I wasn't enough?”
Adrian's smile disappeared.
“What?”
“Grandma says people get married when they want a family.”
He moved closer.
“We already were a family.”
“But you wanted a bigger one.”
“Junie.”
She looked at him with Elise's gray-blue eyes.
“Was I too small?”
Adrian felt something inside him break.
He gathered her gently into his lap.
“You were never too small.”
“Then why?”
He searched for an answer a five-year-old could understand.
“Because I was lonely.”
Junie frowned.
“But you had me.”
“I did.”
“Wasn't I good at keeping you company?”
“Oh, honey.”
He kissed her forehead.
“You were wonderful. I was the one who got confused.”
She considered this.
“Grown-ups get confused?”
“All the time.”
“Even rich ones?”
“Especially rich ones.”
Junie giggled.
Then she grew serious.
“I liked Corinne before she got mean.”
Adrian swallowed.
“So did I.”
“Do you still like her?”
He hesitated.
“I don't know how I feel about her anymore.”
Junie touched his cheek.
“You can be sad.”
Adrian closed his eyes.
For a moment, he let himself be.
Later, after Junie fell asleep, he found Mara Bennett waiting downstairs.
Tomas had accompanied her.
Both looked uncomfortable in the enormous living room.
Adrian offered coffee.
Mara declined.
“We wanted to tell you something before the police contact you again,” she said.
Adrian sat.
“Okay.”
Tomas explained that the yacht's navigation and safety systems maintained automated operational records.
“These include vessel location, door access events for certain secured compartments, and bridge communications. They don't show what happened on the bow.”
“I know.”
“But I found a discrepancy in the maintenance system,” Tomas continued.
“What kind?”
“Two weeks before the trip, Graham requested the removal of the forward camera used for equipment inspections.”
Adrian frowned.
“We had a camera on the bow?”
“Not a security camera for passengers. It monitored the anchor mechanism and adjacent working area. It wasn't designed to cover the loungers.”
“Why remove it?”
“Graham said the privacy team had concerns.”
“Did you approve it?”
“I signed off on a temporary shutdown while the company reviewed the policy. He authorized the contractor.”
Mara leaned forward.
“That doesn't prove the push was planned, but it's worth examining.”
Adrian nodded slowly.
“Anything else?”
Tomas hesitated.
“Before we left the dock, Corinne asked whether all the guests would remain near the stern during the afternoon toast.”
Adrian stared.
“She asked me where the champagne service would be set up,” Tomas said. “I thought she was organizing photographs.”
Mara added, “She also asked me to cover the aft service station during the first hour.”
“Why?”
“She said the guests needed extra attention.”
Adrian leaned back.
The pieces were small.
Individually, they could mean almost nothing.
Together, they formed a pattern he didn't want to see.
“Did you tell the police?”
“Yes,” Tomas said. “They'll decide what's relevant.”
Adrian looked toward the staircase.
His daughter slept upstairs, perhaps dreaming of rabbits and imaginary tea.
He thought of Corinne arranging the party.
Choosing the guest list.
Moving the crew.
Asking about the camera.
Then he remembered her words at the front gate.
You think Junie's the only person who got hurt yesterday?
He looked at Tomas.
“There's one thing I need to know.”
“Of course.”
“Who ordered the temporary camera shutdown?”
Tomas opened his tablet.
“The work authorization was submitted under Graham's account.”
Adrian felt his pulse quicken.
“But there's an attached approval note.”
“From whom?”
Tomas turned the screen.
The note was signed by Adrian Whitmore.
Adrian stared at it.
May you like
He hadn't written it.
And the date on the approval was the morning after Corinne had asked him to sign a stack of paperwork during breakfast.
