Chapter 2 - Forty-Two Thousand Dollars
“What did you do?” Mom demanded before I could say hello.
“The cruise?” I asked.
“Your father got an email saying it was canceled.”
I looked at Emma through the mirror. “That sounds right.”
Mom’s voice dropped. “How would you even know about that trip?”
“Because I booked it.”
Silence.
“I paid $42,186 for it. And now I canceled it.”
She gasped. “Over a Disney ticket?”
“No. Over you deliberately humiliating my daughter.”
“It was a mistake.”
“You bought tickets for Diane’s kids.”
“They’re practically family.”
Emma heard that. Her face turned toward the window.
“Then let your practical family fund your cruise,” I said.
“You can afford it!” Mom snapped.
That sentence settled something inside me.
“So because I can afford it, it belongs to you?”
I ended the call.
Dad called. Jessica called. Mom called again.
The family group chat exploded.
Dad: This is cruel.
Jessica: You always make everything about yourself.
Mom: We need to talk like adults.
Then Diane sent me a private message.
Sarah, I’m so sorry. Carol told me Emma already had a ticket and the two extra envelopes were available because another family canceled.
A second message followed.
There’s more. Jessica told me last week your mom thought Emma would “make the trip difficult.”
I stared at the screen.
Difficult how?
Diane sent a screenshot from a group chat called MOM’S DISNEY CREW.
Jessica had written: If Sarah finds out early she’ll throw a fit. Just say you miscounted.
Mom replied: Exactly. One disappointed afternoon is easier than a whole week of drama.
I felt my stomach drop.
This had never been an accident.
They had planned Emma’s humiliation.
Then came a pounding on my front door.
Dad stood outside, red-faced and furious.
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And when I showed him the screenshot, he didn’t deny it.
He said, “We all agreed it was better if Emma didn’t come.”
