Page 90 of Viking Vengeance Cruise

“You knew that when she threatened you,” Marina says quietly. “You’d already found it.”

“I found it because she forced me to go looking.” Sienna’s chin lifts. “And I never used it. Not once. I sat across from her with everything I needed to burn her down, and I couldn’t do it, because there are three little kids on the other end of every choice I make.” Her voice breaks again. “This club is the only place I feel normal. The only place where I’m not Grandma raising someone else’s kids or the retired teacher counting every last dime. And Astrid was going to take that away from me.”

I let the silence sit for a moment while she composes herself. Somewhere behind us, Magnus booms out a laugh at a party he wasn’t invited to. The man is having the time of his afterlife.

“Sienna,” I say carefully. “That’s a devastating secret to have exposed. A secret a person might do desperate things to protect.”

Her chin snaps up, her tear-stained face going pale. “What are you saying?”

“We’re trying to understand what happened to Astrid,” Marina says. “And you had a very strong reason to want her silenced.”

Sienna’s mouth falls open. “Are you... are you accusing me of murder?”

“We’re asking questions,” I say as gently as I can. “You argued with Astrid hours before she died. You were overheard telling her ‘You can’t do this to me.’ You had motive. You had opportunity. And you spent three weeks learning everything there was to know about the woman.”

“I didn’t kill her!” Sienna’s voice rises, and a few nearby women glance our way with the hungry look of gossip finding a fresh trough. She lowers her voice to an urgent whisper. “I swear to you, I didn’t kill her. Yes, I wanted her to stop. Yes, I was terrified of what she was going to do. But I would never—I couldn’t⁠—”

“Why not?” I press. “If she was about to destroy your life?”

“Because I have three kids depending on me!” She trembles from head to toe. “Their mother is already gone. If I go to prison too, what happens to them? Foster care? Separation? I couldn’t do that to them. I would never risk it.”

The logic is sound. The pain is real. And I hate every second of poking at it.

“Then help us understand,” Marina says. “If you didn’t kill Astrid, who do you think could have done this?”

Sienna swipes at her eyes, her breathing ragged. “I don’t know. But I’m not the only one with secrets. Freya was having an affair with another member’s husband. Astrid was going to expose her, too. And there are others.” She pauses. “Women struggling with addiction. Women whose marriages are falling apart. Women with secrets they’d protect at any cost.” Her gaze drifts somewhere past my shoulder, out toward the dark water. “And that man she put away has been sitting in a cell for twenty years. He has a family out there somewhere. If I were you, I’d be asking who loves him.”

The Velvet Vikings. It’s less a book club and more a confessional with a considerable snack budget.

“Can you give us names?” I ask.

“I’d rather not throw people under the bus without proof.” She takes a steadying breath. “But I will tell you this. Astrid confided in me about one member whose situation was particularly bad. This woman’s husband has been having an affair for years. With someone young, someone who works for him. And the member knows about it. She has known the whole time.”

“Why doesn’t she leave?” Marina asks.

“Because she’s financially dependent on him. Her career is more of a hobby than real income.” Sienna’s voice drops even lower. “And that’s not even the worst part. Astrid found out this woman was stealing prescription medications from her husband’s practice. Painkillers. She’s addicted.”

Painkillers.

My pulse trips over itself. “Did Astrid say who it was?”

“No. She never used names when she gossiped. But she said the woman was on multiple charity boards. Very well connected socially. A woman whose reputation would shatter if the truth ever came out.”

Gossip without names. Astrid managed to weaponize discretion, and I didn’t think that was possible.

“What was Astrid planning to do?” I ask.

“Stage an intervention at the costume gala. ‘Public accountability,’ she called it. Said it was for the woman’s own good.” Sienna shakes her head. “But I know Astrid. It wasn’t about helping. It was about control. About reminding everyone that she held all the power.” Her gaze drifts out over the room, tears glittering in her eyes. “That’s what tonight was supposed to be about.”

Public accountability. Because nothing says I care about you quite so much as a public flogging next to the cheese platter.

Marina and I exchange glances, but I keep my expression neutral. Or what I hope passes for neutral. My poker face has been described as a billboard. A well-lit one.

“So you’re saying this woman, whoever she is, also had motive to kill Astrid,” I say.

“I’m saying lots of people had motive.” Sienna straightens and dabs her face dry one last time. “I wanted Astrid out of my life. But I would never kill her. I have my grandchildren to think about. They’ve lost enough already.” She picks up her cake. Still untouched. “I think I need to be medicated after this conversation. This whole cruise has been a nightmare.”

Medicated. On this cruise, that word is starting to feel less like a punchline and more like a plot point.