When they reached Georgia’s house, Wendy was already waiting on the porch, wiping her hands on her apron. The savory scent of tomato sauce drifted into the air from the open main door.
Katie tumbled out of the car, clutching Ally’s hand, both girls tired but still buzzing from the long day.
"I made Katie’s favorite, sweet spaghetti with atballs," Wendy said with a bright smile. She glanced at Colleen and her niece. "Don’t worry, I’ll take care of the girls. They’ll eat, bathe, and be in bed before you even co ho."
Colleen hesitated, but Georgia gave her a reassuring nod. "They’ll be fine here. Wendy’s family."
Reluctantly, Colleen kissed her niece’s forehead and followed Georgia and Nick back to the car.
By the ti they arrived at Oliver’s office, he and hi team was waiting with his sleeves rolled up and his usual unshakable calm. "The safe house will be ready tomorrow," he said at once. "For tonight, you and your niece can stay at a hotel."
"No need," Georgia cut in. "They can stay at my house. It’s more comfortable for the girls, and Wendy is there to help."
Oliver studied her for a beat, then nodded. "Alright, but extra security will be posted around your place."
Burgers and fries soon arrived, spread across Oliver’s desk. "Apologies for the casual dinner," Oliver said, handing out the paper bags.
"Trust ," Nick chuckled, biting into his burger, "this is better than half the restaurants I’ve been dragged into for business etings."
As they ate, Oliver’s IT security guy connected the USB to a secure laptop. The room grew tense as lines of folders appeared.
"Looks like... screenshots of ssaging apps, pictures, and..." the IT guy clicked open another folder, his brow furrowing—"videos. All safe, no bugs."
"Thank you, you can leave," Oliver said. "Finish your food, I’ll check the images, while you’re eating."
After Nick, Georgia, and Colleen had finished their simple al, Oliver cleared his desk and motioned for his assistant to enter. A young man wheeled in a recorder and a laptop, setting them neatly on the table before nodding to Oliver.
"Everything you say will be recorded and docunted formally," Oliver said gently, turning to Colleen. "Take your ti. Speak as much or as little as you need."
Colleen clasped her trembling hands together, glancing once at Georgia for reassurance before she began.
"I called my sister that night, just our routine night calls," she started, her voice soft. "She told she was walking toward the deck to get a better signal. We were in the middle of talking when she suddenly heard shouting and crying. Then she opened her cara so I could see, too."
Her throat tightened, but she pressed on. "At first, we thought it was just drunk guests fighting. We laughed a little, like two sisters gossiping, because it was too dark to see clearly.
But then she said it was the bride and one of the guests. I strained my eyes through the screen... and I saw it. We both did. The guest pushed the bride again and again while they argued. And then... the bride fell overboard."
Georgia’s breath hitched, her nails digging into Nick’s arm, as she recalled that night.
Colleen shook her head slowly. "It almost looked like an accident. The two won didn’t realize how close they were to the railing. Even the guest looked shocked at first. But then... she didn’t call for help. She didn’t scream. Nothing.
My sister and I could both hear the bride screaming from the water. My sister panicked, shoved the phone into her pocket without hanging up, and grabbed a lifebuoy. She was about to throw it when a woman’s voice stopped her. I assud it was the guest."
Her tears spilled then, voice cracking. "I’ll never forget her words. She asked my sister what she was doing. My sister said she would throw the lifebuoy, help the bride, and call for help. But that woman... she said, ’You will not do such thing.’
And then—she called my sister by her full na. She must have read it off her uniform. And then she threatened her. She said, ’If you talk about this, you will die.’"
The room fell silent, the only sound Colleen’s shallow breathing.
"The call cut off," she whispered. "Later, she texted using her colleague’s phone, saying she dropped hers into the sea by accident. When I called her back, she told everything was fine, that the bride was rescued and was now safe. I believed her. Life went on like normal, except... I could never forget that woman’s words to my sister. I didn’t tell my sister that I heard it because I don’t want her to worry since the bride got rescued anyway."
Her fingers curled into fists. "When I saw on the news that Georgia was alive but had broken off her engagent, I told myself there was nothing to worry about. No one had died.
But when my sister finally ca ho, she was different. Restless. Always locking up before dark. Looking out the window as if checking if soone was watching us. Then... one day she called, told to pack up, that we were leaving.
She never ca ho. Instead, I got a call from the hospital, telling she died in a car crash, drunk driving. But she never drank. Not once. And that’s why I think soone silenced her. So I stayed away from everyone. I don’t want to get involved. I pretended not to know anything for our safety."
Her voice broke entirely then, sobs shaking her fra.
Georgia covered her mouth, her heart shattering.
Nick closed his eyes, fury simring in his chest.
Oliver’s jaw tightened, but his pen moved swiftly across the page, taking down notes.
Georgia couldn’t hold back any longer. She slid from her chair and moved to Colleen’s side, wrapping her arms around the woman’s trembling shoulders.
Colleen buried her face in Georgia’s embrace, sobbing like a child who had carried too much for far too long.
"You’ve been so strong," Georgia whispered, stroking her hair gently. "You’ve carried this secret, this fear, all alone. But you’re not alone anymore, Colleen. We’ll make sure your sister’s death won’t be in vain. I promise you."
Nick’s gaze softened as he watched Georgia’s tenderness, though his own fists were clenched so tightly his knuckles had gone white.
Oliver, silent for a long while, finally set down his pen. He leaned forward, his eyes hard with the weight of what had just been revealed.
"Colleen..." he said carefully, waiting until she lifted her tear-streaked face. "What you just shared is harrowing—and it connects directly with what we found on that USB."
Colleen’s breath caught, and Georgia stilled, her arms tightening protectively around her.
Oliver’s voice dropped lower, as though the walls themselves might betray them. "The files on that drive... are everything we need to give justice to your sister’s death and to Georgia’s case as well. That USB will back your statent. You did a very good job and made the right decision to trust Nick and Georgia," Oliver said as she gave Colleen a reassuring pat on her shoulder.
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