Chapter 3 - Silence on the High Seas
Out in the middle of the Caribbean Sea, the cruise ship’s satellite internet was notoriously expensive and unreliable.
Daniel stood by the poolside bar, scowling as his smartphone repeatedly displayed a red connection error icon.
Vanessa walked over, wearing designer sunglasses and carrying a tray of iced tropical cocktails.
“Did the card go through for the private yacht excursion in Cozumel?” she asked, adjusting her sun hat.
Daniel shook his head, running a nervous hand through his thinning hair.
“The ship’s purser says both credit cards were declined for insufficient authorization.”
“I tried calling Mom again, but her phone immediately goes straight to a disconnected operator message.”
Vanessa rolled her eyes with dramatic exasperation, tossing her cocktail napkin onto the wicker table.
“Your mother is just throwing an old woman’s tantrum because she couldn't crowd our family photographs.”
“She’ll turn the cards back on the second we get home and apologize with another big check.”
“I don't think so this time, Vanessa,” Daniel murmured, looking down at his empty banking app.
“The utility companies sent alerts, the lease payment for the BMW bounced, and Marcus isn't answering my texts.”
Vanessa sneered, resting her manicured hand on Daniel’s tense shoulder.
“Stop worrying like a frightened schoolboy. Marcus assured me the closing on the lake house goes through tomorrow morning.”
“Once the title clears, the developer wires Marcus three million dollars in untraceable escrow funds.”
“We get our sixty-percent cut, your mother gets moved into that assisted living community in the valley, and our debt disappears.”
Daniel swallowed hard, feeling an icy knot form at the base of his throat.
“What if she found the folder in my old closet? The architectural mockups for your office?”
“She’s nearly seventy and blind without her reading glasses, Daniel! She spends her afternoons baking bread and watering petunias.”
Vanessa picked up her drink, taking a slow, satisfied sip under the bright tropical sun.
“She has no power, no resources, and nobody else in this world except you.”
“She will do exactly what we tell her to do, just like she has done for the past ten years.”
Just then, the ship’s captain announced over the intercom that the vessel had entered territorial waters ahead of schedule.
Docking procedures at Port Everglades would commence promptly at six o’clock the following morning.
Daniel looked out across the dark ocean waves, unable to shake the overwhelming dread settling in his gut.
For six months, he had treated his mother like an endless automated teller machine that required zero maintenance.
He had convinced himself that taking Arthur’s house was simply claiming his early inheritance.
He told himself Eleanor didn't need that much space anyway.
As the sun dipped beneath the Caribbean horizon, painting the sky in deep shades of blood-orange and violet, Daniel shivered.
May you like
He pulled up his mother’s contact photo on his screen—a picture Arthur had taken of her smiling beside the lake.
For the first time since boarding the luxury ship, Daniel wondered if the silence on the other end wasn't sorrow, but patience.
