Chapter 2 - The Bill Nobody Wanted
I had just stepped onto my balcony when my phone rang.
Below me, waves rolled against the white sand, glowing silver beneath the moon.
For the first time all evening, I could breathe.
Then I saw Daniel’s name.
I answered.
“Mom.”
His voice sounded exhausted.
“Yes?”
“Can we talk?”
“We’re talking.”
“I mean face-to-face.”
I hesitated before telling him to come upstairs.
Ten minutes later, he stood inside my suite.
He looked around slowly.
The room was beautiful.
Floor-to-ceiling windows.
Cream furniture.
A private dining area.
An enormous terrace overlooking the ocean.
Daniel whistled softly.
“I understand why Vanessa wanted this.”
I stared at him.
He immediately realized how terrible that sounded.
“That came out wrong.”
“Most truthful things do.”
He sat down.
“Mom, I’m sorry.”
I waited.
“For what?”
His mouth opened.
Then closed.
That told me everything.
He had come upstairs because the situation had become expensive.
Not because he understood why I was hurt.
“You don’t know, do you?”
He looked embarrassed.
“I should’ve defended you.”
“Yes.”
“I should’ve asked what happened.”
“Yes.”
“I shouldn’t have ignored you.”
“Yes.”
He leaned forward.
“But Vanessa is under a lot of pressure.”
There it was.
The excuse.
I looked toward the ocean.
“What pressure?”
“She wants people to respect her.”
“So she gave away my room?”
“She wanted her friends to be impressed.”
“And charged eighteen thousand dollars to my account?”
He winced.
“She thought you wouldn’t mind.”
“That is precisely the problem.”
Daniel stood.
“Mom, I’m trying here.”
“No. You’re negotiating.”
He stared at me.
“You want me to forgive Vanessa because dealing with her anger is harder than asking me to tolerate her behavior.”
Silence.
I had known my son his entire life.
He didn’t need to answer.
A loud knock interrupted us.
When I opened the door, Vanessa was standing outside.
Her face was red.
“Did you freeze my room account?”
“I removed my financial authorization.”
“You humiliated me in front of my friends.”
“You’re repeating yourself.”
She pushed past me.
Daniel stood quickly.
“Vanessa.”
She ignored him.
“Do you know what happened downstairs? Amanda’s card got declined. Jennifer had to cancel the yacht. We had to pay for dinner ourselves.”
I stared at her.
“Yes. That’s usually how purchasing something works.”
“You are unbelievable.”
Daniel stepped between us.
“Vanessa, stop.”
She looked shocked.
Apparently, hearing her husband disagree with her was new.
“You’re taking her side?”
“I’m saying you shouldn’t have charged things to Mom.”
Vanessa laughed bitterly.
“Oh, please. She can afford it.”
I saw Daniel’s expression collapse.
Even he understood how ugly those words sounded.
Vanessa kept going.
“She owns this entire place. Eighteen thousand dollars means nothing to her.”
“It means something to me,” I said.
“What?”
“Trust.”
That silenced her.
For about three seconds.
Then she walked toward the door.
“Fine.”
She turned back.
“But don’t expect me to pretend this vacation is normal now.”
I smiled.
“It stopped being normal when I arrived.”
She slammed the door.
Daniel stared after her.
“I’ll talk to her.”
“No.”
“What?”
“I don’t need you to talk to Vanessa for me.”
He looked confused.
“Then what do you want?”
“I want you to decide what kind of man you intend to be.”
His face hardened.
“That’s unfair.”
“Is it?”
Before he could answer, my phone rang.
Richard.
I picked up.
“Mrs. Whitmore, I apologize for disturbing you.”
“What happened?”
There was a pause.
“We discovered someone attempted to access the executive office using your family authorization code.”
I slowly sat down.
“Who?”
“We’re reviewing security footage.”
Daniel looked at me.
“What is it?”
I ignored him.
Richard continued.
“There’s something else. The person was trying to reach the property ownership files.”
Every muscle in my body tightened.
“Lock the office.”
“Already done.”
“I’ll be downstairs in five minutes.”
I ended the call.
Daniel stepped closer.
“Mom, what happened?”
I picked up my purse.
“Someone just tried to get into a private office.”
He frowned.
“So?”
I looked at him.
May you like
“They used the authorization code I gave you three years ago.”
Daniel went completely still.
