All Chapters of Love At Sea: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The first thing I did when I was alone was try to free myself.The second was to wish, with all my strength, that I could go back five years in time and stop my life from reaching that point.I pulled the ropes binding my wrists to the headboard. The black silk slid a few millimeters over my skin, but the knot remained firm. I tried to twist my hands, find some slack, any space that would let me escape.Nothing.“Sons of bitches!”My voice echoed through the suite.I knew those men. I knew their faces, their voices, their habits, and even the way silence settled between them when they were about to make an important decision. I knew what they were capable of, and I knew the weight they carried inside the Organization.And, above all, I knew the part of my story that involved them.Zion. Luka. Elias.Three names I had spent years trying to keep out of my thoughts.Not because I had forgotten what we had lived through, but because remembering meant reliving everything I had lost when I d

The tray Elias had left on the table remained practically untouched.I wasn’t hungry. The worry about Matthew and the anger at the three of them seemed to occupy all the space inside me. Even so, I forced myself to eat a few bites. I needed to keep my strength if I wanted to find a way out of that suite.Afterward, I put on the clean clothes Elias had brought and went back to observing the room.The restraints had been loosened, but I was still trapped. At least now I could move my wrists without feeling the same pressure as before. It wasn’t freedom, only a concession they probably expected me to consider a gesture of goodwill.I didn’t consider it that.I raised my face to the window. The ocean stretched as far as my eyes could reach, and the ship continued on its way without showing any concern for the woman being kept against her will in one of its suites.It was almost ironic. Everything in that place seemed designed to provide comfort, from the elegant furniture to the impeccable

That night, Luka appeared in the suite with a black dress hanging from a hanger.I looked at the garment and then at him, without hiding my irritation.“Don’t even think about it.”“You don’t even know what I’m going to say yet.”“I don’t need to. If you brought a dress, I imagine someone has decided I’m going to attend some event.”“There will be a dinner in the main hall. We need to be there.”I crossed my arms.“You need to. I don’t.”Luka placed the hanger on the armchair and stared at me with the patience of someone who had already expected that answer.“Your presence is important.”“To whom? To the Organization or to your egos?”“To the people who will be there.”That answer made me even more suspicious.“Who will be at this dinner?”“Businessmen, allies, and some guests who need to believe everything is under control.”I let out a short laugh.“So that’s it. You want to show me off so no one notices there’s a problem.”“I want to avoid unnecessary questions.”“And the solution i

I woke to a muffled noise coming from the corridor.For a few seconds, I remained motionless, trying to understand what had woken me. The room was plunged into shadow, lit only by the discreet lights near the balcony. The gentle sway of the ship revealed that we were still moving, cutting through the ocean while I remained trapped in that place.I turned my face toward the clock on the bedside table.Shortly after two in the morning.I closed my eyes, breathing deeply, but sleep had already disappeared. Since the dinner, my head hadn’t stopped working. The conversations interrupted when I approached, the incomplete answers, and the glances exchanged between Zion, Luka, and Elias formed a puzzle for which I didn’t have all the pieces.And I hated not knowing what was happening.Another noise came from the corridor.This time, I heard footsteps. More than one person. Then a low voice pronounced a few words I couldn’t distinguish.I sat up in bed.My first thought was Matthew.He was safe

It was almost four in the morning when I realized there was something different about that night.I didn’t hear the usual voices in the corridor, nor the constant footsteps of the men responsible for my surveillance. The ship continued moving through the ocean, but inside the cabin, the silence seemed deeper than on the previous days.I couldn’t sleep.Since the conversation with Luka, my head was occupied with the information he had revealed. Someone had started looking for information about my family again. My father might know something. And the three men keeping me there still weren’t sure what was happening.It was a terrible combination.I got out of bed, put on a coat over my clothes, and walked to the balcony. The night air was cold, and the wind made a few strands of my hair slip from the improvised bun.I rested my hands on the railing.I needed to find a way to regain control of my life. I couldn’t keep depending on Zion, Luka, and Elias’s decisions to know when I would talk