Chapter 2: The Missing Suitcase
For the first time that morning, someone seemed genuinely concerned about Avery.
The airport employee crouched slightly so he wouldn't tower over her.
“My name is Daniel,” he said gently.
“Can you tell me how many bags you brought today?””
Avery sniffed.
“One suitcase and my backpack.””
“Your suitcase was checked in?””
“I thought it was.””
Daniel glanced toward the baggage area.
“Did you hand it to an airline employee?””
Avery shook her head.
“Dad said he would take care of everything.””
Daniel's expression tightened, but he kept his voice calm.
“Okay. Let's see what the system says.””
He tapped through several screens.
Avery watched his face.
First, he looked puzzled.
Then he looked irritated.
Finally, he looked toward the security checkpoint where Terrence, Vanessa, and Madison had vanished.
“That's not right,” he said quietly.
Avery gripped her backpack straps.
“What's not right?””
“Your reservation includes a checked bag.””
“Then where is it?””
Daniel didn't answer immediately.
He checked the booking again, scrolling through the passenger details.
“Your father's reservation is here. Your mother's. Your sister's.””
He paused.
“And yours.””
Avery blinked.
“So I can still go?””
Daniel looked at her carefully.
“I need to verify a few things first.””
Hope rose in Avery's chest so quickly that it almost hurt.
Perhaps there had been a mistake.
Perhaps her father had forgotten to explain something.
Perhaps they would come back, apologize, and tell her she could join them after all.
She imagined running through the terminal and catching up with them.
She imagined Terrence kneeling down and admitting that he had handled everything terribly.
She imagined Vanessa hugging her.
Even Madison apologizing would have been enough.
Then Daniel turned the tablet slightly toward himself.
“Your seat was originally assigned yesterday,” he said.
Avery nodded.
“Dad showed me. It was next to his.””
“And you didn't make any changes yourself?””
“No.””
“Did you ask anyone to cancel your reservation?””
“No!””
The answer came out louder than she intended.
Daniel raised a hand reassuringly.
“I believe you. I'm just trying to understand what happened.””
He continued checking the records.
Then he noticed something else.
The checked-baggage allowance remained on the reservation, but no corresponding bag had been scanned into the airline's system.
Avery's suitcase hadn't simply been delayed.
It had never entered the airport's baggage process.
Daniel's jaw tightened.
“Do you know whether your parents packed your suitcase last night?””
Avery hesitated.
“Mom told me to leave it by the front door. She said Dad would put it in the car.””
“Did you see him take it?””
“No.””
“Did you see the suitcase this morning?””
Avery shook her head.
“I thought it was in the trunk.””
Daniel looked toward the security checkpoint again.
Something about the situation clearly bothered him.
He excused himself briefly and spoke with another employee.
Avery couldn't hear their conversation, but she noticed the second employee looking repeatedly at the tablet.
Then both men glanced toward the terminal entrance.
When Daniel returned, his expression had become more serious.
“Avery, I'm going to ask you something, and I need you to tell me exactly what you remember.””
She nodded.
“Did your father tell you yesterday that you weren't going on this trip?””
“No.””
“Did your mother?””
“No.””
“Did anyone ask you to cancel your seat?””
“No.””
Daniel took a slow breath.
“Because the reservation history shows a change was made yesterday.””
Avery stared at him.
“What kind of change?””
“Your seat was removed from the original passenger arrangement.””
“But I didn't do that!””
“I understand.””
“Then who did?””
Daniel studied the record again.
“I'm trying to establish that.””
Avery felt the terminal tilt around her.
Her parents hadn't merely changed their minds at the airport.
Something had happened before they arrived.
Something planned.
She remembered Vanessa taking her phone the previous evening because she said Avery had been spending too much time on it.
She remembered Terrence standing in the kitchen with his laptop open.
She remembered Madison entering the room, seeing Avery's packed suitcase, and smiling in a way that had made Avery uncomfortable.
At the time, she had assumed her sister was simply excited about the vacation.
Now every little detail seemed different.
“Can I call my dad?”” Avery asked.
“Of course.””
She pulled out her phone and dialed Terrence.
The call rang four times.
Then it went to voicemail.
She tried again.
This time, he answered.
“What is it, Avery?””
His voice sounded irritated, as if she had interrupted something important.
“Dad, the airport says my reservation was changed yesterday.””
Silence.
Avery pressed the phone harder against her ear.
“Dad?””
“Who told you that?””
“An airport employee.””
“Put him on the phone.””
Avery looked at Daniel.
He nodded and accepted the phone.
“Good morning, sir. I'm assisting your daughter with a discrepancy in her reservation.””
Terrence's voice immediately became colder.
“There is no discrepancy. My daughter isn't traveling with us.””
“Sir, the booking history indicates that a change was made to her passenger details yesterday. We need to confirm the authorization.””
“The reservation was handled by our family.””
“I understand, sir. However, the system shows—”
“Listen to me,” Terrence interrupted.
“Avery isn't flying. She's staying with her grandmother. That's the arrangement.””
Daniel remained calm.
“Then could you clarify why the reservation history indicates a passenger transfer?””
The silence that followed was unmistakable.
Avery watched Daniel's expression change.
“What did you say, sir?””
Terrence answered too quickly.
“I said the seat was canceled.””
“Sir, those are two different actions.””
“Look, I don't have time for this. We have a flight to catch.””
Daniel glanced at Avery.
“Your daughter's seat appears to have been reassigned.””
“That's impossible.””
“I'm looking directly at the record.””
“Then you're looking at the wrong record.””
Terrence ended the call.
Avery stared at the phone.
Her father had hung up on her.
But it wasn't the rejection that frightened her most anymore.
It was the way he had reacted to the word reassigned.
He hadn't asked what the airline meant.
He hadn't wondered how a mistake could have happened.
He had immediately insisted it was impossible.
Daniel handed the phone back.
“Avery, I can't discuss every booking detail with you until the airline verifies the authorization. But I can tell you that someone made a change to this reservation.””
“Can you tell me who?””
“I'm requesting the full record.””
Avery looked toward the departure gates.
Her family was somewhere beyond them.
They were preparing to board a plane for a vacation she had spent months dreaming about.
And they had apparently arranged for someone else to occupy her place.
Her eyes filled again.
“Why would they do this to me?””
Daniel didn't pretend to know.
Instead, he pulled a chair closer and encouraged her to sit while he contacted his supervisor.
Avery lowered herself into the chair.
Her birthday card was still in her pocket.
She pulled it out and stared at the four figures she had drawn.
Then she remembered something.
The fourth figure wasn't the only one with a little heart above its head.
She had drawn her father holding her hand.
She had drawn her mother holding Madison's.
And she had drawn herself standing between them, believing there was room for everyone.
Avery folded the card carefully.
“Mr. Daniel?””
“Yes?””
“If someone took my seat, does that mean they wanted someone else to go instead of me?””
Daniel didn't answer immediately.
He looked back at the tablet.
Then he lowered his voice.
“That's what I'm trying to find out.””
At that exact moment, another notification appeared on his screen.
Daniel read it once.
Then again.
His face went completely still.
Avery leaned forward.
“What does it say?””
Daniel looked at her, and for the first time, he seemed unsure how much he should reveal.
“The passenger information has just been updated.””
“Updated to what?””
He turned the tablet away slightly as he contacted his supervisor again.
Then he said something that made Avery's stomach twist.
“Someone has checked in using the seat originally assigned to you.””
Avery gripped the edge of the chair.
“Who?””
Daniel didn't answer.
May you like
Because the name on the screen was not one Avery recognized from the airline's initial booking.
And whoever that person was, they had been added to her family's travel arrangements before Avery had even reached the airport.
