The bright Florida sun reflected off the blue ocean water, filling the white dining salon of the private yacht with clear daylight. Damian adjusted his white blazer and looked around the long table filled with fresh flowers, expensive silver plates, and fine glassware. His wife Victoria sat near the end of the table, chatting softly with a couple they had invited for the weekend cruise off the coast of Miami. Everything looked perfect on the surface, just as Victoria always wanted it to look whenever they entertained high-profile guests or potential business partners. Yet Damian felt a heavy cold knot growing deep in his stomach as he scanned the room for a face that was missing.
Damian walked to the head of the table and tapped his glass gently with a fork to get everyone's attention. The guests turned toward him with warm smiles, expecting a friendly speech about the calm weather and the smooth sailing. Victoria looked up, her blue eyes bright, though her posture stiffened slightly as she noticed the serious look on her husband's face. Damian did not offer a smile back to anyone in the room.
Damian: Where is my mother?
Victoria picked up her cloth napkin and calmly dabbed the corners of her mouth before laying it neatly on her plate. Her expression remained smooth and untroubled, but her fingers pressed tight against the linen.
Victoria: She wanted privacy, darling. You know how she gets tired when the boat starts moving out past the bay.
Damian: My mother loves the sea more than anyone here. She was looking forward to this lunch all morning.
Victoria: She felt a little dizzy right before we set sail. She asked to be left alone in her cabin so she could sleep off the motion sickness.
Damian: She would have called me or brought her water glass up if she felt sick. She never goes anywhere without telling me first.
Victoria leaned forward, keeping her voice low and polite so the visitors sitting nearby would not think anything was wrong between them. Her smile looked painted on, showing bright white teeth but zero warmth.
Victoria: You are being dramatic in front of our company, Damian. Please sit down and let the staff serve the main course.
Damian narrowed his eyes as he looked directly into his wife's face, searching for any sign of honesty in her steady gaze. He knew his mother Evelyn had been fighting with Victoria over the terms of the family trust fund for weeks. Evelyn owned the main share of the family shipping company and the coastal estate, and she had recently spoken to her trust attorney about making changes to her final will. Victoria had been nervous ever since those papers were drafted, asking endless questions about who would control the estate if something ever happened to the older woman.
Damian: I am going to check on her myself right now.
Victoria: Damian, do not make a fool out of us today. Sit back down at this table right now.
Damian turned his back on his wife and walked briskly out of the dining salon, his firm footsteps echoing down the white hallway of the luxury vessel. Victoria stood up quickly, her chair scraping loudly against the polished floor as she hurried after him. The guests watched in awkward silence as the couple left the room, leaving the grand meal completely untouched on the table.