Chapter 2 - I didn't call my mother.I drove.
Emma sat quietly in the back seat, holding her stuffed rabbit against her chest.
The Christmas music played softly through the speakers.
I turned it off.
My phone kept vibrating.
Mom.
Dad.
Jessica.
Mom again.
Then a new number.
I ignored all of them.
When we arrived home, Emma ran upstairs to change.
I stood alone in the kitchen, staring at my phone.
The cruise cancellation had gone through.
Refund pending.
Then an email appeared from the travel company.
IMPORTANT: Cancellation request flagged for account verification.
My stomach tightened.
I opened it.
A representative had written:
“Because the reservation includes multiple premium services and protected corporate benefits, additional verification may be required.”
Corporate benefits?
I had booked the trip myself.
Why was it protected?
I reread the reservation details.
Passenger names.
My parents.
Payment method.
My card.
Everything looked normal.
Then I saw something I'd never noticed.
Reservation sponsor: Northstar Holdings.
I froze.
Northstar Holdings was my father's company.
I opened the original confirmation.
There it was.
Six months earlier, I had used a promotion code my father had given me.
He said it was simply a corporate discount.
But apparently it wasn't.
My phone rang.
This time I answered.
“Hello?”
My mother's voice exploded through the speaker.
“What did you do?”
I took a breath.
“Cancel your trip.”
“You had no right!”
“I paid for it.”
“That was a gift!”
“Yes.”
“You can't take back a gift!”
“I can when the gift was purchased with my money.”
She went silent.
Then came the words I'd expected.
“You're selfish.”
I laughed once.
“Mom, you forgot your granddaughter existed today.”
“She wasn't forgotten.”
“Oh?”
“She wasn't included.”
“What is the difference?”
“Don't twist my words.”
“I don't have to.”
She hung up.
Seconds later, Dad called.
His tone was colder.
“Come to my office tomorrow.”
“No.”
“This is bigger than Christmas.”
“Then explain why.”
Silence.
“Tomorrow,” he said.
Then he hung up.
Emma came downstairs wearing pajamas.
“Was that Grandma?”
“Yes.”
“Is she mad?”
I knelt.
“She can be mad.”
Emma looked uncertain.
“Did I make her mad?”
“No.”
I hugged her.
“You never make someone angry by needing to be loved.”
That night, I couldn't sleep.
At 2:13 a.m., another email arrived.
It was from a name I didn't recognize.
Daniel Reed, Northstar Holdings Legal Department.
The subject made my heart stop.
Regarding Unauthorized Use of Company Travel Benefits
I opened it.
The email claimed the Mediterranean booking had been created using a corporate benefit that was intended only for eligible executives and their immediate family.
I read the sentence three times.
Immediate family.
My mother and father.
My siblings.
But why would the company contact me?
Then I saw the final line.
Your payment appears to have been used to conceal the source of funds.
I sat upright.
Conceal?
I scrolled.
Attached was a PDF.
The first page contained an invoice.
The second contained payment records.
The third contained something else.
My name.
A transfer from my personal account to Northstar Holdings.
Six months ago.
$42,186.
I stared at the screen.
That wasn't what had happened.
I had paid the cruise directly.
Or so I thought.
Then I noticed the transaction number.
My money had gone somewhere else first.
Into my father's company.
And from there...
into the cruise booking.
I suddenly remembered something.
Six months ago, Dad had called me.
He had asked to “borrow” $45,000 for two days.
I had refused.
He'd acted offended.
“Your father would never ask his daughter for money unless it mattered.”
The next day, I received a message from my mother saying they had found another way to fund their retirement trip.
I had thought nothing of it.
Now I wasn't so sure.
The next morning, Dad's office was waiting.
He sat behind his desk.
Mom was beside him.
Jessica was there too.
I stopped in the doorway.
“Why is she here?”
Jessica smiled.
“Because this affects all of us.”
Dad slid a folder toward me.
“You canceled company benefits.”
“No. I canceled a trip I paid for.”
He leaned forward.
“You used company funds.”
My heart pounded.
“I did not.”
Mom crossed her arms.
“Don't lie.”
I opened my phone and showed them the bank statement.
“My account paid $42,186.”
Dad looked at the screen.
His face changed.
Just slightly.
Enough.
Then Jessica said something that made the room go silent.
“Dad, she doesn't know, does she?”
I turned toward her.
“Know what?”
Jessica looked at Dad.
He said nothing.
I stood.
“Know what?”
Jessica sighed.
“The money you think you used to buy their trip..."
She smiled.
"...wasn't yours.”
I felt cold.
“What does that mean?”
She leaned back.
“Ask Dad where the money came from.”
Dad slammed his hand onto the desk.
“Jessica.”
But it was already too late.
I looked at him.
“Tell me.”
He stared at me.
May you like
And finally said:
“You were never supposed to find that account.”
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