Chapter 4

The trip began under a brilliant blue sky, the kind of perfect day that feels like a promise. I drove their oversized, luxury SUV, a gas-guzzling monster Ethan had bought for Chloe. My parents sat in the front with me-my mother critiquing my driving from the passenger seat, my father occasionally grunting about the traffic. In the back, Queen Chloe held court from a throne of pillows, a tablet playing some mindless reality show propped up in front of her.

For the first few hours, an illusion of peace settled over us. It was the quiet of a predator that has just been fed. They were content, lulled by the smooth hum of the engine and the knowledge that this entire experience was free.

The complaints started subtly.

"Ava, can you turn the air conditioning down? It' s blowing right on me," Chloe whined from the back.

I adjusted it.

Five minutes later, "Now I' m hot. Can you turn it up?"

I adjusted it again.

"This music is giving me a headache," my father grumbled. "Put on some classical."

I changed the station.

It was a constant barrage of small corrections and passive-aggressive digs, a familiar symphony of my family' s dysfunction. I just nodded, complied, and kept my eyes on the road. My silence seemed to unnerve them more than any argument could have.

The first real conflict erupted when we stopped for the night. I had booked rooms at a perfectly respectable, clean, and well-reviewed chain motel just off the highway. It was practical and sensible. In my first life, this was where my small budget had forced us to stay, and it had been a source of constant complaint. This time, I had booked it on purpose. It was the first test.

I pulled into the parking lot. Chloe peered out the window, her nose wrinkled in disgust.

"What is this?" she demanded.

"It' s our motel for the night," I said calmly.

"You' ve got to be kidding me," she sneered. "I' m not sleeping in a place where they probably rent rooms by the hour. Look at it, it' s disgusting."

"It has a four-and-a-half-star rating online, Chloe," I said.

My mother got out of the car and surveyed the building as if it were a slum. "Ava, Chloe is pregnant. She needs comfort. She could catch a disease in a place like this."

"It' s perfectly clean, Mom."

That was the wrong thing to say. Chloe wrenched her door open and stormed over to me as I was getting my bag out of the trunk. She shoved me hard against the side of the SUV. The metal bit into my back.

"Don' t you talk back to her!" she shrieked, her face inches from mine. Her breath was sour. "You did this on purpose, didn' t you? You got us to agree to this trip, and now you' re trying to cheap out on us! You are such a cheap, jealous bitch!"

My father and mother just watched, making no move to intervene. This was normal. This was how disagreements were handled when I was involved.

I didn' t react. I just looked at her, my face a blank canvas. My lack of fear, of tears, of any emotional response, seemed to enrage her further. She drew back her hand as if to slap me.

"That' s enough, Chloe," my father said, his voice bored. Not because he was defending me, but because he wanted a solution. "Ava is paying. She can pay for a better place." He turned his cold eyes on me. "Find a Four Seasons or a Ritz-Carlton. We' re not staying here. Fix it."

It wasn' t a request. It was an order.

I slowly pushed myself off the car, my back aching from the shove. I looked at the three of them, standing there in the fading light of the motel parking lot, their faces smug and expectant. They believed they were asserting their rightful dominance.

Inside my head, a checklist was being ticked off. Provoke with subpar accommodations. Check. Endure physical and verbal abuse. Check. Force them to reveal their limitless greed. Check.

"Okay," I said, my voice devoid of emotion. "I' ll cancel this reservation and find another hotel."

I pulled out my phone and started searching. They watched me, their arms crossed, tapping their feet impatiently. They had no idea that they weren't winning an argument. they were eagerly walking deeper into my web. Every demand they made, every dollar they forced me to spend, was another thread.

"I' ve found a suite at a resort about twenty minutes from here," I announced. "It has a spa."

"A spa?" My mother' s eyes lit up.

"Good," Chloe said, turning her back on me and getting back into the car as if the whole incident was forgotten, her victory assured. "Let' s go. This place is giving me hives."

As I got back into the driver' s seat, I caught my own reflection in the rearview mirror. My face was calm, my eyes were clear. Patience, I told myself. Their greed is a hungry animal. All I have to do is keep feeding it until it eats them alive.