THE UNPLANNED ESCAPE
The glass walls of the Luz Group headquarters felt like a cage. Kei sat behind her massive mahogany desk, her eyes glazed over as she stared at a production report for the new line of luxury sedans. The silence of her office was heavy, broken only by the occasional hum of the city far below.
A sharp knock at the door startled her. Before Kei could answer, the door swung open and Sofia, her long-time friend, marched in. Sofia didn't look at the reports, she looked at the dark circles under Kei's eyes.
"You look like a zombie, Kei. A very rich, very stylish zombie, but a zombie nonetheless," Sofia said, dropping her designer bag on the sofa.
"I'm busy, Sofia. The K-Street expansion is...."
"The K-Street expansion is fine. The car company is fine. Your heart, however, is a mess," Sofia interrupted. She pulled out her phone and slid a digital flyer across the desk. "Pack a bag. We're going to the coast for the weekend. My mother is already at the private villa and guess who she's currently sipping tea with?"
Kei looked at the phone. It was a picture of Sofia's mother laughing on a sun-drenched balcony next to a woman with familiar, elegant features.
"My mother?" Kei whispered. "Why is she at your beach house?"
"Because our mothers are tired of us being workaholics," Sofia said with a shrug. "They decided that since you've been acting like a hermit, they'd force a vacation. No work. No phones. Just the ocean, the sand and two mothers who will probably nag us until we lose our minds."
Kei looked at the stack of contracts on her desk. She thought of Fay's cold face in the library, the shattered cake and the two weeks of deafening silence. Maybe a change of scenery was exactly what she needed to stop feeling like she was drowning on dry land.
"Fine," Kei said, her voice sounding human for the first time in days. "I'll go."
......
The beach was a paradise of white sand and turquoise water. The Luz family and the Sofia family's villa was tucked away in a private cove, far from the prying eyes of the media or the stress of the city.
When they arrived, the sound of the waves instantly calmed Kei's frayed nerves. Her mother, Mrs. Luz, met them at the entrance, her face lighting up with concern and love.
"Look at you, my daughter," Mrs. Luz said, cupping Kei's face. "You've lost weight. You're working too hard for those cars and restaurants. Come, we have fresh seafood and the sunset is about to start."
The evening was filled with the sound of the ocean and the gentle bickering of the two mothers. Sofia and Kei sat on the deck, watching the orange sun dip into the water. For a moment, the ghost of Fay Sterling felt miles away.
"You know," Sofia said, swirling her drink. "My mom mentioned something interesting. She heard from a friend at the medical association that a certain famous surgeon has been looking... unwell lately. Distracted. Losing her edge."
Kei's heart skipped a beat, but she kept her gaze on the horizon. "That's not my business anymore, Sofia. She made that very clear."
"Is it?" Sofia asked. "Because you're here at a beach paradise and you're still wearing that gold bracelet, The one that fay gave to you ten years ago"
Kei didn't answer. She reached up and felt the cold metal through her wrist. She had come to the beach to forget, but as the moon rose over the water, she realized that some ghosts were too stubborn to stay behind in the city.