Chapter 3

I was alone on the boat, and the operator was a young girl too.

Once the little boat got going, she tossed me a life vest.

"Put it on. Could save your life when it counts."

When it comes to the professionals, I've always deferred to the professionals.

I picked up the vest and started pulling it on from behind.

Halfway through, I realized it just wouldn't fit.

The operator gave me an apologetic little smile.

"Sorry, you're a bit on the heavy side."

"I've got my own spare here, but you'd have to pay for it. Would you be willing to?"

Thinking about the thousand dollars Carmen had already swiped, I frowned.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a camera blinking on the driver's console.

"The thousand-dollar package doesn't include a life vest?"

She wagged a finger at me.

"I already gave you a vest. You couldn't get it on. What am I supposed to do about that?"

"Of course, if you can swim, forget I said anything."

"But I should warn you, this lake looks calm and flat, but every now and then you'll hit a strong current."

Then she just stood there, watching me with a half-smile.

I sighed inwardly and pulled out my phone.

"Where do I scan?"

She produced a QR code from behind her back.

"Eight eighty-eight. Thank you for your business."

I looked up at her and said nothing more.

Once I'd paid, she handed me a brand-new vest, and it slipped on easily.

The boat suddenly started to rock. On reflex I grabbed the rails on both sides, then buckled myself in with the safety belt.

By the time the boat steadied again, the operator was on the phone with someone.

"That's right, our resort's about to get new investors, so hurry up and send a few more people my way. I'll give you a big commission."

"Everything's priced up front here, no scams..."

As she said it, she turned her head and smiled at me.

I quietly looked away, out at this little lake I remembered.

It had been a reservoir once, but as more and more tourists came, they turned it into a small lake winding around the mountains.

It had a pretty name. Greenhill Lake.

When I was very young, my mother had once told me.

"Remember when your dad took you swimming at Greenhill Reservoir?"

"You splashed right in, swallowed a couple of mouthfuls of water, and when you finally spat it back up, there were two little fish in it."

Except now, looking at the green mountains rolling away in every direction, along with the grief, something angry rose up in me.

I still wasn't sure exactly what role Carmen played in all this.

But one thing was certain. She was part of it.

I wasn't angry that she'd fooled me. I was angry that she'd fooled my mother.

Eve messaged me on the app.

【Mr. Whitney, about the investment in the Greenhill resort, I don't think we even need to run a background check.】

Something stirred in me, and I asked her.

【Why?】

Eve sent a cute smiley face, followed by a long block of text.

【I just went to the PR team and had them dig into the Greenhill resort.】

【And guess what. They handed me a whole stack of files and said the Greenhill resort is already a notorious tourist trap all over Rivertown.】

【Aside from a few out-of-towners who don't know any better, locals basically never go.】

"You can play on your phone anytime. Coming all the way out here and not looking at the scenery? What a waste."

At some point the operator had come to stand right in front of me.

Only when I looked up did I notice the boat had stopped.

"There's something I need to handle. When can we get back to shore?"

The operator gave me a strange smile.

"You didn't really think a thousand-dollar package was that simple, did you?"

I was about to ask why.

She snapped my safety belt open and shoved me hard, out over the side.

The next second, I dropped into Greenhill Lake.