Page 61 of Below the Deck

16:25: Main generator failed following seawater ingress to engine room. Vessel without power and lighting until First Officer can initiate back-up generator; deck crew to undertake engine room pumping. I will attend engine room at earliest opportunity to assist. External communications, wireless internet and CCTV network also temporarily unavailable.

16:34: Primary guest sustained laceration to left cheek after slipping near the bridge; he left his seat against crew advice. No loss of consciousness. Wound cleaned and dressed.

16:47: Weather conditions improving. All guests accounted for, but crew report general atmosphere on board as tense and defensive. All are on high alert for potential escalation.

While confined to the bridge, I must rely on my crew to be my eyes everywhere else on board.

ELENI

They were through the worst of the squall, but Eleni still felt sick to her stomach. She had the sense that danger – real, life-threatening danger – was lurking on the horizon. Partly, it was what still needed to happen before she went home. The stakes were high, and she was almost out of time. She wouldn’t fail. Shecouldn’t.

But she’d also been too knocked off balance by the squall to confront the person she suspected had planted the camera in her cabin yet. And seeing Lucy so upset as she spoke about Rory and her brother – with Talia in apparent shock while she scanned Rory’s phone – Eleni’s mind had been reeling the whole time she’d been confined to this bloody sofa.

Light footsteps came up the staircase from below deck; a few seconds later, Sam emerged. Without even looking at them, he darted straight past and to the next staircase up, towards the upper deck.

Next to her, Nick stretched and gave an exaggerated yawn. ‘All this rocking and rolling has knackered me out,’ he said,offering Eleni one of his lopsided smiles. Her heart flip-flopped in her chest. ‘I think I might go and have a lie-down.’

Now’s my chance.‘That sounds good. I’ll pop in on Rory, then come and find you, if you like?’

‘Ah, you know what – why don’t you stay above deck for a bit? I just want to crash out for a while.’

Eleni twisted her hands together in her lap. ‘I’ll see you later, then. Be careful as you go – it’s still a bit bumpy.’ She tried to keep the tremble from her voice – he made no sign of having heard it. With a quick kiss to the top of her head, he stood and made his way down the stairs.

Just then, Talia emerged from the bathroom and started walking to the stairs below deck, making a concerted effort not to meet Eleni’s eyes. Eleni jumped to her feet and called out to her.

‘Talia – are you all right? You were in there for ages – what’s the matter?’

Talia stopped at the top of the stairs, but said nothing.

‘I can see you’re upset,’ Eleni went on softly. ‘Do you want to talk?’

Eleni didn’t feel close to Talia – she barely knew her, and she was hardly the type of person Eleni would usually be friends with. But she didn’t like seeing anyone this upset. And – less selflessly – shereallywanted to know what had made her so distressed.

To Eleni’s relief, Talia turned, walked over to the sofa and sat down next to her. Eleni smiled at her reassuringly. ‘It’s okay,’ she said. ‘Whatever this is – whatever’s happened, Talia, you can tell me. We can keep it just between us, if you like.’

Talia sniffed, her eyes welling up. ‘Thank you,’ she said.‘Yes, I’d prefer it if you didn’t tell anyone else for now. Just until I work out what on earth I’m supposed todo.’ Her voice caught on her last words, and she dissolved again into floods of tears.

Eleni patted Talia’s arm, then reached into her beach bag and pulled out a small pack of tissues. There were bloody Paw Patrol stickers all over it.Never off Mum duty …She dug one out and handed it to Talia. But the gesture only seemed to upset her more; Talia unfolded the tissue, covered her eyes and nose with it, and sobbed.

‘It’s Sam,’ she said eventually, through shaking breaths. ‘He’s been blackmailing Rory – and Rory’s been giving into it – it’s why he got a place on this trip. Sam had all these recordings, and – oh God, Eleni – it’s just so awful …’

Sam’s been blackmailing Rory?Eleni gaped at her. ‘So that’s what he’s been doing all week,’ she breathed. It made sense: she’d suspected it was him installing the hidden camera, but now she was sure of it.And he’s been trying to get close to me and Lucy; maybe he was trying to get something out of us to blackmail Rory with.That sneaky, conniving, son-of-a …‘Iknewthere was something. But what was he blackmailing Rorywith –what does he have on him?’

Talia hesitated. ‘I – I don’t know if I should say … but it’s something to do with other women. Some of your colleagues at Ashworth. Some … inappropriateness.’

‘Right,’ Eleni said. This revelation wasn’t a huge surprise: she’d seen glimpses of it over the years. Like in the meeting a few weeks ago, when he’d said something about Eleni making his company look so good. And then his gaze had moved – lowered – to the curve of her breasts, then back to her eyes – soquickly she couldn’t be sure if it had really happened. Eleni had moved an arm instinctively across her chest, even as she was shaking the thought away. She’d told herself she’d imagined it – but of course she hadn’t.

Why do we women always do that?The self-gaslighting; the waving away of micro-aggressions. Maybe it came from childhood – the messages girls get about being good and nice and compliant, andnot making a fuss. Even Eleni’s parents – wonderful as they were – expected Eleni to be the one to make peace when she and her brother argued. It didn’t matter who’d started it; it was Eleni’s job to apologize – and she did, no matter how much it grated on her. No wonder she grew up unsure how to trust her own instincts.

‘Don’t worry – you don’t need to tell me the details. Whatever Rory’s done – however bad it is – Sam can’t keep getting away with this.’ Then all the fury inside her settled into stony resolve. ‘Talia, we have to take him down.’

Eleni found Sam alone in the sky lounge. She needed to make this quick: shehadto go and find Rory, she knew that. In a little over fourteen hours, they’d be leaving the yacht.

But she needed to do this first.

‘How’re you holding up there, Eleni?’ Sam asked as she entered. His tone was as pleasant as always. As if he hadn’t been gathering evidence from women at work and using it to blackmail their boss. As if he hadn’t put a fucking spy-cam in her cabin to watch her and her husband.

She took the seat opposite him. ‘I know what you’re doing, Sam. I know what you’vebeendoing this whole time.’