Chapter 2 - The Grieving Billionaire's Fake Tears
Thirty-six hours later, the news broke across every major network.
“Tragedy at Sea: Billionaire CEO Marcus Mitchell Grieves After Pregnant Wife Slips From Yacht.”
Sarah sat in a secure, private room at an undisclosed medical facility, watching the television. On the screen, Marcus stood on the steps of the Mitchell Group headquarters. He was dressed in a tailored black suit, his eyes red and puffy, a dark circle under each eye. He looked like a man whose soul had been ripped out.
Beside him stood Elena Vance, wearing a respectful, somber gray dress, her hand resting gently on his elbow in a gesture of professional support.
"I am devastated," Marcus choked out into a cluster of microphones, squeezing a tear from his eye. "My beloved Sarah... she was my world. We were looking forward to welcoming our daughter in just two months. The sea took them both from me in a tragic, freak accident. I will spend the rest of my life honoring their memory."
Behind the camera, reporters were shouting questions, but Marcus turned away, buried his face in his hands, and let Elena guide him back into the tinted windows of his limousine.
Inside her secure room, Sarah let out a dry, chilling laugh. "He's good. He almost makes me believe him."
"He's already filed the preliminary paperwork to declare you legally dead," Detective Hayes said, walking into the room with a file. "Usually, a missing body takes years to declare dead, but Marcus has judges in his pocket. He’s fast-tracking the process. He’s also scheduled an emergency board meeting for Friday morning."
"Why Friday?" Sarah asked, her fingers tracing the edge of her glass.
"Because," Hayes explained, "with you 'gone,' he is absorbing your family's shares. Together with Elena’s shares, they will hold a 62% controlling interest in Mitchell Group. On Friday, they plan to vote on a massive merger with a Swiss conglomerate. Once that merger goes through, your father's company will be liquidated, and Marcus will walk away with four billion dollars in cash, completely untraceable in offshore accounts."
"Four billion," Sarah repeated. She stood up, her hand supporting her lower back. The doctor had cleared her; the baby was stable, protected by her mother's fierce will to survive. "And he thinks he has three days to claim it."
"What is the plan, Sarah?" Hayes asked, looking at her with a mix of respect and concern. "We can't let him sign that merger. If that money moves overseas, we'll never get it back."
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Sarah walked over to a mirror. She looked at her reflection. The pale, frightened girl who had boarded that yacht was gone. In her place stood a woman who had crossed through the gates of death and returned.
"We don't stop the meeting," Sarah said, a cold, dangerous smile spreading across her lips. "We let him invite the press. We let him invite the board. We let him think he’s about to sign the contract that makes him one of the richest men in the world. And then... I’m going to attend the meeting."
