Chapter 2: The Paper Behind the Passport
Derrick held the travel confirmation between two fingers.
Outside the van, sunlight glinted off the resort's glass entrance. Palm trees swayed above the driveway, and a bellhop pushed a luggage cart toward the building, completely unaware that a family was falling apart ten feet away.
Inside, nobody moved.
Vanessa reached for the paper again.
“Derrick, give it to me.””
He shifted his hand away.
“Tell me why you have a one-way ticket for tomorrow.””
“It's personal.””
“You're my wife. You're sitting in a van with my family, and my granddaughter just had to run after us because you left her behind. Don't tell me this is personal.””
Vanessa's eyes flashed.
“Your granddaughter?”” she repeated.
“You say that like I'm some stranger who wandered into your life.””
Mia lifted her head at the sound of Vanessa's voice.
Derrick immediately lowered his tone.
“It's okay, sweetheart. Nobody is taking you anywhere.””
Vanessa gave a short, disbelieving laugh.
“See? That's exactly the problem. You treat that child like she's made of glass.
She cries, and you drop everything. She asks for something, and you give it to her. What is she supposed to learn?””
Rochelle leaned forward from the back row.
“She was left on a driveway, Vanessa. What lesson were you trying to teach her?””
Vanessa turned toward Rochelle and pointed at her.
“You have spent this entire vacation criticizing me. You don't know what happens in this house.””
“I know what I saw this morning.””
“You saw a child who refused to keep up.””
“I saw you watching her in the mirror while the van pulled away.””
The accusation landed hard.
Vanessa's expression changed.
Only for a second.
But Derrick saw it.
He remembered the way she'd remained perfectly calm while Mia ran behind them. She hadn't looked confused. She hadn't shouted for the driver to stop. She had simply said, She'll be fine.
Derrick unfolded the confirmation further, but a crease obscured the remaining details.
He glanced toward the driver.
“Marcus, keep the van parked.””
Marcus nodded without asking questions.
Derrick turned back to Vanessa.
“Did you book this flight?””
“Yes,” she answered.
The quickness of the reply surprised him.
“When?””
“Last week.””
“While we were still planning this family vacation?””
Vanessa folded her arms.
“I needed options.””
“Options for what?””
“Derrick, I am not going to sit here and be interrogated in front of everybody.””
“Then answer one question. Were you planning to leave tomorrow?””
She stared out the window.
“I hadn't decided.””
“That's a lie,” Rochelle said.
Vanessa whipped around.
“Would you please shut your mouth?””
Rochelle recoiled, then sat straighter.
“No. Not after what you did to that baby.””
Mia began rubbing her scraped palms against Derrick's shirt.
He noticed immediately.
“Let me see those hands, princess.””
“They hurt,” Mia whispered.
“I know.””
“Did I make Auntie Vanessa mad?””
Derrick's face tightened.
“No, baby. You didn't do anything wrong.””
Mia looked toward Vanessa.
“I'm sorry I was slow.””
Vanessa looked away.
Derrick felt something inside him go cold.
He'd married Vanessa four years earlier, after two years of dating. She had seemed patient with Mia then, bringing her picture books, brushing her curls, and promising Derrick that she understood how difficult it was for a widowed father to raise a little girl alone.
When Mia's mother, Derrick's daughter Angela, died, Vanessa had held him through the funeral.
She'd told him he didn't have to carry the whole world by himself.
Now his granddaughter was apologizing for being abandoned.
Derrick carefully kissed Mia's forehead.
“You never have to apologize for needing somebody to love you.””
Vanessa grabbed her handbag.
“Fine. If everyone has decided I'm a monster, I'll get out right here.””
She reached for the door handle.
It wouldn't open.
The child-lock mechanism was engaged, and Marcus had not unlocked the doors.
“Marcus!”” Vanessa shouted.
“Open this door!””
Marcus looked at Derrick in the rearview mirror.
Derrick nodded.
The locks clicked.
Vanessa pushed the door open, but stopped when she noticed Derrick's phone in his hand.
“What else are you doing?””
“Checking something.””
He opened his banking application. A moment later, he turned the screen toward her.
“Your authorized access has been suspended. The resort charges are being reviewed, and the joint account is protected until I know what's happening.””
Vanessa's nostrils flared.
“You can't just cut me off!””
“I can stop transactions from accounts I own or control. And I have.””
“You promised I would never have to worry about money again!””
“I promised I'd take care of my family.””
“And I am your family!””
“Then why did you leave my granddaughter behind?””
Vanessa slammed her handbag against the seat.
“Because I couldn't take another day of this!””
Her voice echoed through the van.
Mia flinched.
Derrick pulled the little girl closer.
Vanessa noticed and lowered her voice, but the anger remained in her face.
“You have no idea what I've sacrificed to be part of this family.””
“Tell me,” Derrick said.
“What did you sacrifice?””
She opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Instead, she looked toward the resort entrance, then at her phone, then at the folded travel confirmation in Derrick's hand.
For one brief moment, her face showed something that looked less like anger than fear.
Her phone rang.
The caller's name appeared across the screen.
*UNKNOWN CALLER.*
Vanessa declined the call.
It rang again immediately.
Derrick watched her.
“Who keeps calling you?””
“Nobody.””
“Then answer it.””
“I'm not answering a call from an unknown number just because you told me to.””
The phone buzzed again, this time with a text message.
Vanessa glanced down.
Her fingers went rigid around the device.
Derrick saw the change in her face.
“What did that message say?””
“Nothing.””
“Vanessa.””
She shoved the phone into her handbag.
Then she looked directly at him.
“If you keep digging, you're going to destroy more than this marriage.””
Derrick held her gaze.
“Maybe the marriage isn't the only thing you've been trying to leave.””
Vanessa went completely still.
A moment later, her phone vibrated inside the bag again.
This time, a notification lit the exposed edge of the screen.
Derrick caught just three words before she snatched it away.
*DID YOU BRING HER?*
His eyes moved slowly from the phone to Vanessa.
Then to Mia.
“Bring who?”” he asked.
May you like
Vanessa's lips parted.
And from the back of the van, Rochelle whispered, “Derrick... look at the name on that ticket.””
