Chapter 6 - The Trap at Isle of Hope
The Isle of Hope Marina sat nestled along a quiet, curving bend of the Skidaway River, south of Savannah. Under the pale light of a quarter moon, the dark tidal waters churned softly against the wooden piers, reflecting the towering masts and sleek hulls of luxury yachts moored along the docks.
The air smelled of salt, diesel fuel, and damp marsh grass.
At the far end of Dock C, floating silently in the black water, was a ninety-foot luxury motor yacht named The Sea Sovereign. Its lower deck lights cast a warm, golden glow across the water, but the upper decks remained dark and watchful.
I parked my black SUV behind a row of private boat storage sheds two hundred yards from the dock entrance.
Inside the car, Lily was curled up in the back seat under my wool blanket, fast asleep.
Leo sat in the passenger seat, holding Marcus’s encrypted phone. He had changed into a clean dark jacket from the cottage, his posture rigid, his hazel eyes fixed on the distant yacht.
"Are you sure about this, Mom?" Leo whispered, his voice trembling slightly. "If we walk onto that dock, we are stepping right into her territory."
"Evelyn thinks Marcus is bringing you and Lily as helpless captives," I said, turning to look at my son. "She expects a defeated man and a scared child. She has no idea Marcus is tied to an iron pillar on Tybee Island, and she has no idea I know about her escrow crisis."
I reached into my handbag, pulled out my laptop, and held it up.
"I’ve already initiated the secondary trust override," I revealed. "The moment I hit 'EXECUTE' on this screen, the Charlotte bank will instantly notify the Federal Treasury and the SEC that twelve million dollars in fraudulent international transfer requests have been flagged. Within twenty minutes, federal marshals will freeze every asset tied to the name Victoria Sterling."
Leo looked at me with profound admiration. "You're going to trap her on that boat."
"I am going to force her to confess on tape first," I said, pulling a small, high-grade digital voice recorder from my coat pocket and pinning it beneath my collar. "We need an indisputable, recorded admission of her poisoning you and faking your death to clear your name completely in the state of Georgia."
I turned to look at Lily in the back seat. "Stay in the car, sweetheart. Keep the doors locked until Mommy and Daddy come back."
"Grandma?" Lily mumbled, rubbing her sleepy eyes. "Is the monster going away tonight?"
I reached back, gently smoothing her messy brown curls away from her face. "The monster is going away forever tonight, baby. I promise."
I handed the SUV key fob to Leo, who slipped it into his pocket. We stepped out into the cool, humid night air, closing the doors quietly.
Taking a deep breath, I pulled out Marcus’s phone and sent a short text to Evelyn:
MARCUS: We are at the dock entrance. Target is secured. Bringing them down to Dock C now.
Two seconds later, a reply flashed across the screen:
VICTORIA STERLING: Bring them to the main salon immediately. Don't let anyone see you.
May you like
I looked at Leo. He nodded, his jaw set in stone.
Side by side, mother and son stepped out from the shadows of the boat sheds and began walking down the long, wooden planks of Dock C toward the waiting trap.
