The Captain’s Final Voyage
Chapter 12 - The Captain’s Final Voyage
Marcus Voss fled aboard a Vale cargo vessel scheduled for Singapore.
Celia identified the route and gave federal authorities access codes.
The coast guard intercepted the ship before international waters.
Marcus locked himself on the bridge with the original North Star captain’s log and threatened to destroy it.
Celia asked to speak with him by radio.
“You put Mira on the yacht,” he said.
“Yes.”
“You betrayed your blood.”
“You taught me blood was a contract written by whoever was strongest.”
Marcus laughed bitterly.
“Beatrice will sacrifice you next.”
“She already tried.”
Celia kept him talking while officers entered through the emergency bridge hatch.
Marcus set fire to the log.
The sprinkler system extinguished it before more than the cover burned.
He was arrested without injury.
The log contained handwritten changes to the North Star route, orders to reduce engine-room staff, and instructions to disable exterior cameras. Each change carried Beatrice’s initials.
Marcus negotiated for a reduced sentence.
He admitted striking Gabriel and locking both brothers below deck. He claimed Beatrice ordered him to create an “accident” that destroyed documents, not people.
Prosecutor Naomi Cross asked why he ignored Gabriel’s calls from the compartment.
Marcus answered, “By then, saving him would have exposed everything.”
The same logic appeared throughout the Vale empire.
Once a lie became expensive, every new harm was called protection of the previous investment.
Marcus also admitted Lydia and baby Mira survived. Beatrice ordered him to find them. Elena’s intervention allowed them to disappear.
For years, Marcus watched their addresses but did not kill them because Lydia placed duplicate evidence with unknown third parties.
After Lydia died, he waited for Mira to reveal the watch.
Beatrice arranged the yacht assignment through Celia’s agency, not knowing Celia had already changed sides. Her plan was to accuse Mira of theft, seize the watch, and remove her before anyone recognized Gabriel’s face.
The dropped tray disrupted the timing.
Beatrice’s slap exposed the object too publicly.
The act that seemed impulsive had been the collapse of a controlled operation.
Mira asked Marcus one question during a recorded deposition.
“Did my father know I survived?”
Marcus stared at the table.
“Before I struck him, Gabriel said Elena had taken Lydia toward the stern. He smiled.”
Mira’s eyes filled.
“Why?”
“He believed that meant the two of you might reach the water.”
May you like
Gabriel died with uncertainty.
But not without hope.
