Chapter 2 - The Name on the Booking
I stepped onto the porch and pulled the door shut behind us.
Cold Ohio air hit my face hard enough to wake me up.
Lily stood beside me, hugging herself while muffled cheering continued inside.
“What do I need to know?” I asked.
The cruise representative lowered her voice.
“There was a change made to the reservation yesterday.”
My stomach tightened.
“What kind of change?”
“Two additional guests were added to the Rome segment.”
I stared at the frozen flower beds in my mother’s yard.
“I didn’t add anyone.”
“I understand. That’s why I called. The request came through the family access code.”
Only three people knew that code.
Me.
My father.
And Vanessa.
I had given it to Vanessa two months earlier because she had promised to help me collect Mom and Dad’s passport information without spoiling the surprise.
“Who did she add?” I asked.
There was keyboard tapping.
“Vanessa Morgan Pierce and Daniel Pierce.”
Her and her husband.
Of course.
“And the cost?”
“An additional eight thousand four hundred sixty dollars. The charge was attempted against the card on file, but it failed.”
My card.
My card had failed because I had frozen it three weeks earlier after a fraud alert.
The representative continued. “Ms. Pierce then requested a payment link be sent to the primary planner.”
I never received one.
“Where was it sent?”
She read an email address.
Not mine.
Vanessa’s.
I laughed once. It came out ugly.
Lily touched my sleeve. “Mommy?”
I put a hand on her shoulder.
“Can you fully lock the reservation?”
“Yes.”
“Do that. No changes. No rebooking. Cancel everything.”
“Understood.”
“And email me the activity log.”
There was a pause.
“I can send the audit trail to the original purchaser.”
“That’s me.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The front door opened behind us.
Vanessa stepped outside without a coat.
“Mom says if you leave now, don’t expect everyone to chase after you.”
I looked at her.
“Were you going to tell me you added yourself to their cruise?”
Her face changed.
Barely.
But I saw it.
“What are you talking about?”
“The Rome segment. You and Daniel. Eight thousand four hundred sixty dollars.”
Lily looked from me to her aunt.
Vanessa shut the door behind her.
“Rachel, not in front of your kid.”
“My kid just got publicly excluded from a family trip you helped plan.”
“That has nothing to do with this.”
“It has everything to do with this.”
Vanessa stepped closer.
“Mom and Dad invited us.”
“They think they won the cruise through Dad’s old company.”
She froze.
I watched the lie collapse in real time.
Then she recovered.
“Well, they would have invited us once they knew.”
“You charged it to my card.”
“I didn’t charge anything.”
“You tried.”
Her mouth opened.
Behind her, the door swung wide again.
Mom stood there, furious.
“What cruise?” she demanded.
Vanessa went white.
I looked at her.
May you like
She looked at me.
And for the first time that morning, my sister had nothing to say.
