Chapter 2 - Echoes from the PastThe sight of the locket struck Maxwell harder than any hostile shareholder meeting ever could. The world outside the yacht seemed to fade, replaced by a suffocating rush of childhood memories he had spent decades burying beneath ledgers and corporate acquisitions.
That crest belonged to the Vance family—his father’s former business partners, whose sudden financial ruin and subsequent disappearance had paved the way for the Anderson empire.
"Where did you get that?" Maxwell demanded, stepping closer to the bed, the detachment in his voice fracturing.
The girl’s eyelids fluttered, her strength fading fast. "From... from the house by the cliffs. Grandma said if I didn't find you, the bad men with the briefcases would take us away too."
Before Maxwell could process the terrifying implication of her words, a sharp, metallic chime echoed from the main salon. Someone had just bypassed the yacht’s exterior security lock.
Panic surged. Maxwell spun around, rushing back to the hallway just in time to see the digital keypad on the main salon door flash green. The heavy titanium hatch swung open, admitting not the police, nor a marina guard, but his nephew, Thomas, carrying a sleek laptop and wearing his trademark corporate smirk.
"Uncle Max? Are you in here?" Thomas called out, stepping onto the teak deck inside the salon. "The board is in a frenzy. The morning papers dropped a leaked memo about the waterfront district acquisition, and—"
Thomas stopped dead in his tracks as Maxwell emerged from the master suite corridor, his face drained of color.
"Uncle? You look like you've seen a ghost," Thomas said, adjusting his designer tie. Then, his eyes drifted toward the open door of the master suite behind Maxwell. "Wait. Is that a smell of... is there someone else on board?"
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Maxwell stepped forward, blocking the doorway with his broad shoulders. "How did you know I was here, Thomas?"
"Your car is at the gate, and the marina manager called me when your phone went straight to voicemail," Thomas replied, narrowing his eyes as he tried to peer past his uncle. "More importantly, what is going on? Why is security offline at Pier Seven?"
