Chapter 4

Meanwhile, Sophia started recording a video as soon as she arrived.

Sophia aimed the camera at Maria. "Smile, Madam! Now that Camilla isn't here, we can actually have some fun!"

Maria had been fighting the constant urge to throw up since they boarded the yacht, but she still forced herself to straighten her back and flash a peace sign at the camera.

Luca was still lugging his suitcase around, muttering, "God, I should have brought fewer things with me. Now that Camilla isn't here, who's gonna watch my bags for me?!"

Anna had to support Georgio Grieco, Matteo's father, with one hand while she held a glass of water in the other.

She was already sweating from the effort, but Sophia turned the camera on her and laughed. "See? We've got Anna with us, and she's way better at all this than Camilla!"

That made Maria feel a little better. She tightened her grip on her phone.

However, when they arrived at the hotel, they quickly realized their optimism had been premature.

The receptionist searched the hotel's database, before looking up. "You reserved the rooms a while ago, yes, but you haven't made the payment required for an upgrade."

"How's that possible? Camilla should have already paid for everything!" Maria argued.

The receptionist produced a receipt. "The rooms are reserved until 2:00 p.m. If you wish to stay beyond that time, you'll have to make another reservation and pay the outstanding amount."

Luca slammed his fist against the reception desk. "Can't you see there are more than a dozen of us standing right here? Don't you think you should prepare our rooms immediately?!"

The receptionist's expression darkened. "You'll need to pay extra if your party exceeds the rooms' maximum occupancy."

Matteo pulled his mother aside. "We really shouldn't drag this out. The children are tired. Let's just find a way to get into our rooms."

Sophia sidled up to him right on cue and cooed, "I'm exhausted, Matteo! I just wanna get into a room already!"

"Oh, we're taking care of that," he replied affectionately and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "With me around, there's nothing to fear!"

He nodded at Maria, who clenched her jaw and paid with her credit card. Once she received the receipt, she read it and felt her fingers tremble against the edge of the paper. She gritted her teeth to keep her shock and rage from spilling out.

…

The next morning, the Grieco family arrived for their yacht charter as planned.

After a headcount, a sailor announced, "Alright. Please settle the remaining balance before we set sail."

"Another outstanding balance?!" Luca grumbled.

The sailor showed them his tablet. "Here. It's part of the rules."

Some of the relatives who had joined them began to complain.

"I thought we were here for a free, all-expenses-paid trip! Why do we keep getting held up over unpaid bills?"

"Yeah! If you people can't afford it, then don't pretend you can. You Griecos are such posers."

The backlash was so intense that Maria shuddered.

Sophia quickly spoke up. "Wasn't Camilla supposed to have paid for this? Can't we just call her and tell her to send the rest of the money?"

It was a timely reminder.

Maria immediately dialed Camilla's number, but no one answered. She began bombarding her with voice messages.

"Enough of this petty scheme, Camilla!"

"Hey, there are a lot of relatives here with us right now. Do you really want your mother-in-law to be humiliated?"

"Camilla, please. Just transfer enough money to cover the outstanding balance. We can talk about this later once we get back."

Her tone had shifted from commanding to pleading, her voice thick with tears.

Unfortunately for her, Camilla didn't check her phone until the following afternoon. When I finally retrieved it from beneath the cushion and switched it on, missed-call notifications flooded the screen.