Chapter 14 - THE FINAL MOVE
Robert made his choice in the last moments.
He looked at the coast guard vessels closing fast. He looked at me. At Daniel. At the evidence that had already sealed his fate. And then he turned. Climbed swiftly to the wheelhouse of the lead boat.
He revved the engine full throttle.
"Go!" Daniel shouted. He grabbed my arm. Pulled me toward the rail. "Jump! To Tom's boat!"
We leaped just as Robert's vessel surged forward. It sped past us, narrowly missing the skiff, cutting wildly across the waves. He did not try to take us with him. He did not try to shoot us. He simply fled. Alone.
Tom hauled us aboard as water sprayed high around us.
"He is heading straight for the rocks!" Tom cried. "He will kill himself!"
Daniel leaned over the stern, watching Robert's lights speed toward the jagged shoreline.
"He would rather die than face prison," Daniel said quietly. "He always said it. That prison would be worse than death."
"Your father said the same thing about honor," I replied. "But Robert... understood only escape."
We watched in silence as the boat struck the reef. A flash of sparks. A dull, grinding crash. Then silence. The lights vanished beneath the waves.
May you like
No body was ever recovered.
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