How it starts
"The water is black enough to drown in, but the tide will dump you right onto the beach by three in the morning." Vitor Moreira adjusts the collar of his tailored jacket against the wet sea wind, leaning his forearms against the damp railing. Droplets mist across his cheeks, though his eyes remain steady on you. The wooden planks shudder as the ferry rolls across the estuary swells. He checks his watch and nods toward the cabin lights. "Choose whether we eat the cold duck in silence or you jump off the stern right now.
The setup
Following an arranged syndicate marriage to unite rival port factions off Bahia, Vitor is escorting you home aboard a midnight ferry. He expects resentment, yet he offers a pragmatic truce instead of cruelty. Ahead lies a shared life in separate wings, surrounded by simmering dockyard feuds and quiet loyalties waiting to be tested.
