Chapter 1 - The Empty Envelope

“Am I going too?”

My daughter’s voice was so small I almost missed it under the screaming.

Almost.

Across my parents’ living room, five children were tearing open white envelopes stamped with gold Mickey Mouse ears. My sister Vanessa’s three kids were jumping on the rug. Her best friend’s two children were already arguing over which ride they would go on first.

And my seven-year-old daughter, Lily, stood beside me with nothing in her hands.

Mom looked straight at her and smiled like she had forgotten the salt at dinner.

“Oh, honey,” she said. “We ran out.”

Lily blinked. “Of tickets?”

Dad laughed awkwardly. “It’s a big group already, kiddo. Your mom can do something fun with you over spring break.”

“Like what?” Lily asked.

“The zoo,” Vanessa said from the couch.

She actually laughed after she said it.

Lily wore the red velvet dress she had begged me to iron that morning. She had brushed her own hair twice because Grandma had told her there would be a “special family surprise.” She had spent two years saving quarters in a glass jar marked DISNEY.

Now she stared at the envelopes like they were proof of something she had always been afraid to ask.

“Grandma,” she whispered, “did I do something bad?”

That shut the room up.

For maybe two seconds.

Then Mom sighed.

“Rachel, don’t make this dramatic.”

I had not said a word.

That was the problem. I had spent thirty-six years not saying a word.

I swallowed, bent down, and zipped Lily’s little coat.

“Come on, sweetheart.”

“Are we leaving?”

“Yep.”

Mom rolled her eyes. “Rachel, seriously?”

I stood up.

Vanessa crossed her arms. “There it is. She always has to ruin things.”

Lily looked at me, tears caught along her lower lashes.

“Mommy, why don’t they want me?”

Something inside me went very still.

I kissed her forehead.

“They don’t get to decide how wanted you are.”

Then I pulled out my phone.

Dad smirked. “Calling an Uber?”

“No.”

I opened my email and typed one word into the search bar.

AEGEAN.

The confirmation came up instantly.

Twenty-one nights. Barcelona to Athens. Owner’s suite. Business-class flights. Private transfers. Excursions in six cities. A surprise retirement trip for my parents that I had spent nearly a year paying for.

Total: $38,740.

They thought Dad’s former employer had arranged it.

I had planned to tell them at the airport.

My thumb moved to the bottom of the reservation.

CANCEL ENTIRE BOOKING.

The screen asked if I was sure.

Mom was still talking behind me.

“You know, Rachel, if you teach Lily that every disappointment deserves a tantrum, life is going to be very hard for her.”

I looked at my daughter’s empty hands.

Then I tapped YES.

A red message appeared.

CANCELLATION REQUEST RECEIVED.

I thought that was the end of it.

My phone rang before we reached the front door.

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The caller ID said AEGEAN LUXURY VOYAGES.

And when I answered, the woman on the line said, “Ms. Morgan, before we process this, there’s something about the reservation you need to know.”