Sinking Feeling

Elena stripped off her sweat-soaked dress by the poolside, the late afternoon sun casting long shadows across the water. Her padel match with Sarah had gone disastrously — not because Elena lost, but because she'd won too easily. Sarah had missed shots she could normally make in her sleep.

Sarah, her best friend of seven years. Her business partner. The woman who had suggested they merge their marketing firms last year, the one who now held access to every account, every client, every confidential document Elena owned.

Elena slipped into the cool water, swimming laps until her muscles burned. She'd left her phone on the lounge chair. She'd needed to. Needed the distance, the silence, the weightlessness that came from being submerged.

When she finally pulled herself out, dripping and exhausted, her iPhone glowed with a notification. Not a text. Not an email. A remote access alert.

Her stomach dropped. Sarah had been the only other person in the clubhouse office that morning. The only one who'd had the chance.

Elena dried herself slowly, methodically, her mind racing. She'd noticed it for months — the way Sarah always knew things she shouldn't. The clients she'd lose to competitors just before pitches. The ideas that appeared in other proposals days after Elena shared them with Sarah over wine.

"Everything okay?"

Elena jumped. Sarah stood at the pool's edge, wine glass in hand, smiling that smile that had always seemed so genuine.

"Fine," Elena said. "Just tired."

"You played beautifully today," Sarah said, setting down her glass. "You know, I've always admired how you never see things coming. It's... innocent."

The word hung between them. Innocent.

Elena's hand closed around her phone. "Sarah, why did you install monitoring software on my iPhone?"

Sarah's smile didn't waver. Not even a little. "Spy is such an ugly word. I prefer... prepared."

"Prepared for what?"

"For when you finally realized you never needed me as much as I needed you." Sarah's voice hardened, the warmth evaporating. "I built that business too, Elena. I deserved half, not thirty percent."

"So you stole from me instead."

"I took what was fair." Sarah turned to leave. "The clients, the ideas — they're mine now. Legitimately. You signed the transfer documents last week. Remember?"

Elena did remember. She'd been so tired, so trusting. Sarah had handled everything.

"The wine," Elena whispered. "You drugged me."

"You needed to sleep," Sarah called over her shoulder. "You look so exhausted these days."

Elena stood alone by the pool, the water lapping against the tiles like a heartbeat. She thought about swimming again, diving deep and staying under until everything went quiet. Instead, she picked up her phone and dialed the police.

Some friendships, she realized, were like swimming pools — beautiful on the surface, but underneath, something was always drowning.