Chapter 3 - Paper Shards
Rrrriiiip.
The sound of heavy bond paper tearing through the quiet room was as loud as a gunshot.
Andre ripped the three boarding passes down the middle. He aligned the halves, turned them ninety degrees, and ripped them again. The confetti of white cardstock fluttered from his open fingers, scattering across the dark oak floor and landing on top of Tanya's pristine plum suitcase.
Devin let out a sharp gasp, taking a step backward until his shoulder hit the living room bookshelf. "Dad..."
"Andre! Are you out of your mind?!" Tanya screamed, dropping to her knees on the floor as if she could somehow piece the torn barcodes back together with her bare hands. "Those are non-refundable! That's Delta Comfort Plus! What is wrong with you?!"
"What's wrong with me is that I forgot who I was married to for a second," Andre said, his voice cold as ice water. "I am not teaching my daughter that she is optional. I am not teaching her that when money gets tight, she gets cut from the roster while the rest of us go sip Mai Tais on a beach."
Maya stood on the stairs, tears finally spilling over her dark lashes, tracing hot lines down her cheeks. "Dad, don't do this... Mom is gonna hate me even more now. Just go. Please just go."
"Don't you ever call her 'Mom' again, Maya," Andre said, not taking his eyes off Tanya. "A mother doesn't leave a child behind to save a line item on an itinerary."
Tanya looked up from the floor, her eyes blazing with pure, unrestrained rage. The polite, polished corporate manager was completely gone. Her teeth were bared. "You think you’re a hero? You think this makes you father of the year? You’ve coddled that girl since the day her real mother walked out! You spoil her, you let her think she’s entitled to everything Devin has—"
"Entitled?!" Andre roared, his composure finally shattering. The sheer volume of his voice shook the crystal chandelier above them. "She is my child! She lives under this roof! She eats at this table! You don't get to treat my daughter like a second-class citizen in the house my labor pays for!"
"Your labor?" Tanya laughed bitterly, standing up and dusting off her knees with violent jerks. "I bring in six figures, Andre! I carry the health insurance! I run this household!"
"And you just ran it right into a concrete wall," Andre said.
He walked over to the stairs, reaching up to take Maya’s silver suitcase from her trembling hands. He set it gently on the floor, then reached up and wiped a tear from her cheek with the pad of his thumb.
"Go up to your room, Maya. Pack a bag with enough clothes for three weeks," Andre said gently.
Tanya’s head snapped toward him. "Three weeks? What are you talking about?"
Andre didn't answer her. He turned to Devin, who was standing by the couch with his head down, looking thoroughly sick to his stomach. "Devin. Unpack your bags. You’re not going to Hawaii, but you’re not in trouble. Go to your room."
Devin nodded quickly, clearly eager to escape the radioactive fallout, and dragged his heavy rolling bag toward the downstairs guest suite without saying a single word to his mother.
"Andre, talk to me right now!" Tanya demanded, stepping into his path as he moved toward the front closet. "Where do you think you’re taking her? We have a life here. We have a marriage!"
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Andre grabbed his heavy canvas duffel bag from the closet shelf and unzipped it with one violent pull.
"Check your phone, Tanya," Andre said quietly. "Because the bank alert just hit."
