Chapter 1
My mother threw our family vacation into the trash and told me it was all my fault.
I was sixteen years old, standing in our beautiful kitchen, when she grabbed a thick white envelope from the marble counter and hurled it into the garbage.
"The trip is canceled because of YOU!"
Her voice was so loud that I flinched.
"You'll never see Hawaii now!"
I stared at her.
For almost two years, I had dreamed about that trip.
I had pictures of Honolulu saved on my phone.
I had watched videos of Waikiki Beach so many times that I could recognize the hotels without reading their names.
I had even bought a little notebook where I planned to record everything we did.
And now my mother was telling me it was over.
Because of me.
"What did I even do?" I whispered.
My mother, Denise Carter, stood with her arms folded across her cream sweater.
Her sleek black bob barely moved as she shook her head.
"You know exactly what you did."
"No, Mom. I don't."
"You ruined everything, Maya."
My fourteen-year-old sister, Tasha, sat on a stool beside the kitchen island.
She wore her favorite pink hoodie and had a small smile on her face.
That smile hurt almost as much as Mom's words.
Dad stood behind her.
Marcus Carter.
Forty-six years old.
A man who could command a room without raising his voice.
But that morning, he said nothing.
I looked at him.
"Dad?"
He shifted uncomfortably.
"Maya, your mother said you refused to go."
I stared at him.
"What?"
"She told me you didn't want to spend your summer vacation with us."
My mouth fell open.
"I never said that!"
Mom immediately stepped forward.
"Don't start lying."
"I'm not lying!"
Tasha looked down at her phone.
I noticed her smile disappear for a moment.
Mom pointed toward the stairs.
"Go to your room."
I stood frozen.
For weeks, Mom had been acting strangely whenever I mentioned Hawaii.
She told me not to worry about packing.
She said flight prices were changing.
Then she said the hotel was having problems.
Every explanation sounded different.
But whenever I asked questions, she accused me of being ungrateful.
Now she was claiming the entire vacation had been canceled because of something I supposedly said.
I felt tears burning behind my eyes.
"Why are you doing this?"
Mom's face hardened.
"Because someone needs to teach you that this family doesn't revolve around you."
I looked at Tasha.
She was staring at the trash can.
Something about her expression bothered me.
Then I remembered the envelope.
Mom had thrown it away so quickly.
Almost as though she didn't want me to see it.
I stepped toward the trash.
"Maya," Mom warned.
I ignored her.
I lifted the lid.
The envelope sat on top of a clean paper bag.
I reached inside.
"Don't touch that!"
Mom rushed toward me.
But I already had it.
I tore open the envelope.
Inside was a bright-blue travel packet.
HONOLULU.
My heart began pounding.
I pulled out the first page.
Three confirmed airline tickets.
Not four.
Three.
I looked at the passenger names.
Marcus Carter.
Denise Carter.
Tasha Carter.
I read them again.
Maybe I had missed something.
Maybe my ticket was printed separately.
But there was no fourth boarding confirmation.
No reservation under my name.
Nothing.
"The trip wasn't canceled," I whispered.
Dad moved closer.
"What?"
I held up the tickets.
"You just booked it without me."
The kitchen went silent.
Dad took the papers.
I watched his expression change as he read.
"Denise?"
Mom's face had gone pale.
"Marcus, I can explain."
He looked up.
"You told me Maya refused to come."
Mom glanced toward Tasha.
Then back at Dad.
"She did."
"No, I didn't!" I cried.
Dad lowered the tickets.
"Denise, look at me."
She wouldn't.
"Did Maya actually refuse?"
Mom pressed her lips together.
I could feel my whole body trembling.
For months, I had wondered why my mother seemed annoyed whenever I entered a room.
Why she bought Tasha expensive clothes but told me we needed to save money.
Why she acted like my presence was an inconvenience.
Now I was holding proof that she had deliberately excluded me from our family vacation.
And she had blamed me for it.
I looked at the envelope again.
Something else was inside.
A folded white document.
It had been tucked behind the travel packet.
I pulled it out.
Mom suddenly reached toward me.
"Give me that!"
I stepped backward.
"Why?"
"Because it doesn't concern you!"
Dad moved between us.
"Denise, stop."
I unfolded the paper.
At the top was the name of a luxury resort in Honolulu.
Below it were details about the reservation.
Three guests.
One ocean-view family suite.
Then I noticed a section labeled Additional Travel Arrangements.
I read the first sentence.
My stomach dropped.
The document mentioned a separate payment connected to a minor child who would not accompany the traveling adults.
I stared at the words.
There was my name.
Maya Carter.
But I wasn't listed as a passenger.
I was listed under a different arrangement.
Something involving temporary guardianship paperwork.
I didn't understand.
My hands began shaking.
"Dad?"
He looked at me.
"What is it?"
I held out the page.
"That's not all she changed."
Mom lunged toward the paper.
I jumped backward.
Dad caught her wrist before she could snatch it.
"Denise!"
Her eyes were wide.
"Marcus, you don't understand!"
I stared at her.
For the first time in my life, my mother looked frightened of me.
Not angry.
Not disappointed.
Frightened.
Dad took the document.
He read the first paragraph.
Then the second.
His jaw tightened.
"Denise," he said quietly, "what have you done?"
Mom began crying.
Tasha slid off her stool.
I looked between them.
Nobody would explain.
Then Dad reached the bottom of the page.
His face changed completely.
He turned toward Mom.
"You were going to leave Maya with who?"
My heart stopped.
Mom shook her head.
"It wasn't supposed to happen like this."
Dad looked at me.
There was something in his eyes I had never seen before.
Fear.
I whispered, "Dad, where were they going to send me?"
He opened his mouth.
But before he could answer, Tasha suddenly screamed.
"Mom, tell him about the money!"
Everything went silent.
Dad turned toward her.
"What money?"
Tasha covered her mouth.
May you like
Mom looked as though she might faint.
And I realized our family vacation was only the beginning of a secret that could destroy everything I thought I knew about my parents.
