Mom sent a message.
Please don’t do something you’ll regret.
I stared at those words.
What would I regret?
Not paying for a boyfriend I hadn’t invited?
Not rewarding somebody who had struck me?
Not letting my father order me around?
I slipped the phone into my purse.
Security was busy but moving steadily.
I joined the line.
As I waited, I noticed the woman in front of me staring at my cheek.
“Are you all right?” she asked.
I almost said yes automatically.
Instead, I answered honestly.
“I’ve had a difficult morning.”
She gave me a sympathetic smile.
“Travel can bring out the worst in people.”
I looked down at my cracked sunglasses.
“Sometimes it just makes it harder for people to hide who they already are.”
She nodded as though she understood.
At the checkpoint, I showed my identification and boarding pass.
My ticket was valid.
My flight was on schedule.
For one brief moment, everything felt simple.
I was an adult woman with a paid ticket.
I had somewhere to go.
And nobody was entitled to stop me.
After security, I bought a bottle of water and sat near my departure gate.
My phone displayed seventeen missed calls.
I ignored them.
Then an unfamiliar number appeared.
I almost let it ring.
But something made me answer.
“Hello?”
“Ms. Parker?”
“Yes.”
“This is Melissa Grant from the travel agency. I’m calling from our office line because I couldn’t reach you through the earlier callback attempt.”
My stomach tightened.
“Is something wrong with my ticket?”
“No. Your ticket is fine.”
“Then what happened?”
“There’s been another call.”
I closed my eyes.
“Brooke?”
“We can’t confirm the caller’s identity. But someone contacted us and demanded that we reinstate the canceled itineraries.”
“Did you?”
“Absolutely not.”
I released a breath.
Melissa continued.
“The caller also insisted that the full reservation belonged to your father.”
I gave a humorless laugh.
“Of course.”
“We explained that any new bookings or ticket changes would have to follow the proper authorization and payment procedures.”
“Good.”
“But Allison, that’s not the only reason I called.”
Her voice had changed.
“Go ahead.”
“While reviewing your file, I noticed a second payment request connected to the original anniversary package.”
I frowned.
“Welche Zahlungsanforderung?”
„Der Auftrag wurde nie abgeschlossen. Unser System hat ihn aufgrund fehlender Autorisierung abgelehnt.“
Ich saß aufrechter.
“Wie viel?”
“Viertausendachthundert Dollar.”
Mein Mund war ganz trocken.
“Wofür?”
Melissa hielt inne.
„Ein Upgrade-Paket wurde vor drei Tagen angefordert.“
“Von wem?”
„Die Anfrage wurde unter Ihrem Namen gestellt.“
Ich starrte auf die Menschenmenge, die gegenüber in der Halle ein Flugzeug bestieg.
“Und was war das Upgrade?”
Melissa holte tief Luft.
„Ein zusätzlicher privater Ausflug, ein erweitertes Verpflegungspaket und eine Änderung der Gästeaufteilung der Villa.“
Ich schloss meine Augen.
Brooke.
Es musste Brooke sein.
Dann fügte Melissa noch ein Detail hinzu.
„Dem Antrag war auch ein Vermerk beigefügt, dass Ihre Eltern der Gebühr bereits zugestimmt hatten.“
Ich hielt für einen Moment den Atem an.
„Melissa, lies mir die Nachricht vor.“
Sie zögerte.
„Allison, ich glaube, du solltest es dir selbst ansehen.“
Auf meinem Bildschirm erschien eine neue E-Mail.
Ich habe den Anhang geöffnet.
In der Buchungsanfrage wurde eine kurze Nachricht eingegeben.
Und ganz unten stand ein Name.
Nicht Brookes.
Der meines Vaters.
