CHAPTER 3 — THE VACATION ENDS EARLY
Three days later, Chloe and Linda were still enjoying Hawaii.
They posted pictures.
Beautiful beaches.
Expensive dinners.
Luxury shopping bags.
They believed Lauren had lost.
They believed she was too soft to do anything.
Until the resort manager knocked on their door.
“Mrs. Mitchell, there seems to be a problem with your payment method.”
Linda smiled.
“What problem?”
“The card used for this reservation has been reported as unauthorized.”
The smile disappeared.
Chloe froze.
“What does that mean?”
The manager remained professional.
“It means the payment is being investigated.”
Suddenly, the luxury suite felt much smaller.
The champagne stopped tasting expensive.
The designer bags no longer felt exciting.
Because for the first time, they realized something.
Lauren wasn’t begging them to stop.
She wasn’t calling them angry.
She wasn’t apologizing.
She was fighting back.
Linda immediately called her daughter.
Lauren answered calmly.
“Lauren! Fix this right now.”
No apology.
No regret.
Just an order.
Lauren closed her eyes.
“I’m not fixing anything.”
Silence.
“What did you say?”
“I said I’m not fixing it.”
Her mother’s voice became colder.
“You’re really going to embarrass your family?”
Lauren replied quietly.
“No, Mom.”
May you like
A pause.
“You did that yourself.”
