“A rather peculiar way to die, wouldn’t you say?” Detective Sarah Chen remarked, examining the grimy life vest clutched in the victim’s hands. The once-bright orange fabric was now stained with seawater and something darker.

Marcus Wright, the yacht’s owner, shifted uncomfortably. “Linda was… particular about safety equipment. Always insisted on checking the vests herself.”

“Even at 2 AM?” Sarah raised an eyebrow, her keen eyes noting his perfectly pressed shirt despite the early hour. The Mediterranean moonlight filtered through the cabin windows, casting dramatic shadows across the crime scene.

“I wouldn’t know. I was asleep in my quarters,” Marcus replied, but his fingers nervously played with his wedding ring - a habit Sarah had observed in many guilty suspects.

The victim, Linda Morrison, had been Marcus’s fiancée. Their whirlwind romance had made headlines: the tech billionaire and the marine biologist, a modern fairy tale. Now she lay still on the yacht’s deck, the life vest still gripped in her hands.

“Tell me about the ring,” Sarah said suddenly. “The engagement ring - it’s missing.”

Marcus’s face paled. “She always wore it. Always.”

“Interesting.” Sarah walked to the railing, where Officer Zhang was collecting evidence. “What do we know about Mrs. Wright?”

“Ex-Mrs. Wright,” Marcus corrected quickly. “Catherine and I divorced six months ago.”

“Yet she’s still listed as the beneficiary of your insurance policy.” Sarah watched his reaction carefully. “A policy that quintupled two weeks ago.”

The morning sun was rising now, revealing more details of the crime scene. The life vest’s straps were oddly configured - not the work of someone familiar with marine safety equipment.

“Catherine called last night,” Marcus admitted finally. “She was… upset about the engagement.”

“I imagine she was,” Sarah mused. “Especially after discovering Linda’s true identity.”

Marcus’s head snapped up. “What?”

Sarah pulled out her phone, displaying a photo. “Linda Morrison died three years ago in a boating accident. The woman you knew as Linda was Catherine’s cousin, Clara. They orchestrated this entire scheme.”

“That’s impossible,” Marcus whispered.

“The real target was you, Mr. Wright. The life vest was meant for you - laced with a contact poison. But Clara made a crucial mistake: she tested it on herself first, to ensure it would work.”

“Catherine… she planned this?”

“Your ex-wife planned everything - except for Clara’s attack of conscience. We found her confession in her cabin, written moments before the poison took effect.”

As if on cue, Officer Zhang emerged from below deck with Catherine Wright in handcuffs, her designer yacht wear incongruous with her situation.

“Hello, darling,” Catherine said coldly to Marcus. “Shame about Clara. She always was the weak link.”

Sarah watched as Catherine was led away, reflecting on how greed could corrupt even the most elaborate schemes. The dirty life vest had revealed its final secret: sometimes the perfect murder plot claims the wrong victim.

Marcus stood at the railing, watching the sunrise. “I never really knew either of them, did I?”

“The heart sees what it wants to see,” Sarah replied, closing her notebook. “But evidence never lies.”