The brass key hit the white sand with a soft, muffled thud. Leo stopped pointing. He looked at the key, then at me. His blue eyes were wide, confused. He didn’t understand why I was crying.
The door of the beach hut creaked open. A man in a blue polo shirt stepped out. It wasn’t my lover. It was Richard’s brother, David. The man who was supposed to be in rehab in Connecticut.
David looked at me, his face pale. “Vanessa, I didn’t know he was here.”
Leo looked at David. “Uncle David? Mommy said you were dead.”
The silence on the beach was absolute. The waves crashed against the shore, but the sound felt miles away. I looked at David. He was shaking. His hands were clenched at his sides.
“Vanessa, what did you tell him?” David whispered. His voice was barely audible over the wind.
Before I could answer, a voice came from behind us. “I know exactly what she told him.”
Richard stepped out from the shade of the palm tree. He wasn’t at the hotel. He was wearing a linen suit, his sunglasses reflecting the bright sun. He looked at David. He looked at me. His expression was unreadable.
The lifeguard in the red shirt waded out of the water. He wasn’t a lifeguard. He was a private investigator. He held a camera. The lens was pointed right at us.
“You thought I was in New York,” Richard said, his voice calm, terrifyingly calm. “You thought I didn’t know about the accounts. You thought I didn’t know about David.”
He walked over to the sand. He picked up the brass key. He held it up to the light. The metal glinted in the sun.
“This key opens a safety deposit box in the Cayman Islands,” Richard said. “The one you and my brother opened with my money. The money you stole to fund your little vacation.”
I couldn’t breathe. The white silk cover-up felt like a straightjacket. The sun hat suddenly felt too heavy.
“You used my son,” Richard continued. He stepped closer. “You used my son to create an alibi. You told him you were going to the beach. You told him to point at the hut. You thought if a child witnessed it, it would look like an innocent mistake. You thought you could play the victim.”
He looked at Leo. “Go to the car, Leo. The nanny is waiting.”
Leo ran. His small feet kicking up the white sand. He didn’t look back.
Richard turned back to me. He dropped the key into his pocket.
“The police are waiting at the airport,” he said. “And David, the rehab center called. They said you left three days ago. They said you took a flight to Miami.”
David looked at me. “You told me he didn’t know.”
“I thought he didn’t,” I whispered.
The sun beat down on the white sand. I stood there, the ocean breeze cooling the sweat on my neck.
Richard turned to David. “You always were the weak one, David. You always needed someone to clean up your messes. But this time, you went too far.”
David tried to speak, but Richard held up a hand. “Don’t. Just don’t.”
Richard pulled out his phone. He dialed a number. “It’s done. Bring the car around.”
He looked at me. “You have two choices, Vanessa. You can walk to the car with me, and we can do this quietly. Or you can stay here, and the police can arrest you in front of everyone.”
I looked at the ocean. The water was blue and calm. I looked at the beach hut. The door was still open.
I chose the car.