And those who wanted those secrets kept buried were ruthless enough to kill.

That night Harper didn’t leave. She barricaded herself inside the ship, dragging broken furniture across stairwells, chaining ballroom doors shut, and hiding the captain’s journal and her catalog of treasures under a loose floorboard in the navigation room. She told herself she was just buying time. She told herself dawn would bring clarity. But when the low growl of a motorboat echoed across the bay, her blood went cold.

She snuffed the lantern and pressed her face to the porthole. Three men climbed aboard from the starboard side, dressed in dark clothes that clung wet to their frames. Their movements were efficient, practiced. One carried a crowbar. Another had a shotgun strapped to