Mia‘s POV"Alexander?Sweetheart, what are you doing out here?""I had a nightmare, Mama," he said in a small voice. "It was really scary, and I called for you, but you didn't come."I must have been in the shower and didn't hear him."I went to wake up Ethan, but he was sleeping like a log," Alexander continued, "He didn't even move when I poked him. So I had to come find you myself.""Oh, baby," I said, sitting on the sofa and pulling him onto my lap. "I'm so sorry I didn't hear you. Tell me about the nightmare."He snuggled against my chest. "There were these bad people, and they were trying to take you away from us. And Ethan and me were calling and calling, but you couldn't hear us.""That does sound scary," I said, stroking his hair. "But dreams aren't real, sweetheart. They're just our brains making up stories while we sleep. I would never, ever let anyone take me away from you and Ethan.""Promise?" His voice was muffled against my pajama top."I promise with all my heart."His
Mia's POV"Get in the car," I said to my sons."Can we get Gas first?" Alexander bounced on his toes. "He's probably lonely at home.""And dogs need fresh air too," Ethan added. "It's important for their mental health."Despite everything, I found myself smiling at Ethan's concern for our dog's psychological well-being. "Fine. We'll get Gas.""Maybe we could drive to the ocean!" Alexander exclaimed. "I want to see if the water really goes on forever like in the pictures.""It doesn't go on forever," Ethan corrected with four-year-old authority. "It goes around the whole world and then comes back to where it started. That's called the water cycle.""But how do you know it comes back?" Alexander challenged. "What if it just keeps going and going until it falls off the edge?""There is no edge, Alexander. The Earth is round.""Prove it."I listened to their debate with half my attention while navigating through Manhattan traffic.Gas greeted us at the apartment door with his usual enthus
Mia's POVI woke up with the distinct feeling that something was watching me.My head felt like it had been stuffed with cotton and then hammered by a construction crew. Every muscle in my body ached, and my mouth tasted like I'd been chewing on gym socks.When I finally managed to pry my eyes open, I found Ethan and Alexander staring at me from the head of my bed.Both boys had their little brows furrowed. They were sitting cross-legged on my comforter.Ethan leaned closer to me, his dark eyes studying my face with the intensity of a tiny doctor. "Mum, are you alcohol poisoned?"Alexander clearly agreed with his brother's assessment, nodding solemnly. "You smell funny. Like the bottles grandma hides in the back of the cabinet."Their four little hands were gripping mine tightly, their small fingers warm and slightly sticky in that way children's hands always seemed to be. Even Gas was there, panting nervously at the foot of the bed, apparently disliking the whiskey smell wafting from
Mia's POVScarlett stared at me as if I had grown a second head, "Mia, what just happened there?" she asked."They were planning to drug us," I said briefly, keeping my voice low. "Date rape drugs. In our drinks. They gave the bartender five thousand dollars to put the drugs in our cocktails, and then they planned to have a few men from the neighboring hotel come over to accompany us.""Are you serious?" she screamed, her voice carrying across the bar and drawing fresh stares from nearby patrons."Very serious. I heard them discussing it in the bathroom. They didn't even check if there was anyone else in the bathroom."Scarlett's laugh was infectious, building from a giggle to full-blown hysteria. "It's fate! Jesus Christ, Mia. Do you realize what could have happened if you hadn't overheard them?"Waking up in some hotel room, disoriented and violated, with no memory of how I'd gotten there..."Let's go, Scarlett," I said.We made our way through the crowd, ignoring the curious stares
Mia's POV"Don't worry," I said calmly, turning toward Taylor. "You're next."Taylor's eyes widened, but she wasn't fast enough to escape. I picked up Scarlett's martini glass and slowly, deliberately, poured the drugged alcohol over Taylor's head.The gin cascaded down her perfectly styled blonde hair in slow motion, each drop catching the amber light of the bar's expensive fixtures. The liquid soaked through the expensive strands. Ice cubes tumbled from the glass, bouncing off her shoulders and scattering across the polished marble floor with sharp, crystalline sounds."How is it?" I asked. "How does this special cocktail taste?""What the hell is wrong with you?!" Taylor screamed, violently pushing the table away from herself. The force of her movement sent chairs crashing to the floor with a thunderous clatter that seemed to reverberate through the entire establishment.The entire bar fell silent. All conversation ceased as if someone had pressed a cosmic mute button.The entire ba
Mia's POV"Has the bartender boarded the ship?" Taylor's voice carried clearly across the marble bathroom."Completely. Who would turn down a five-thousand-dollar opportunity? He'll make sure they get special drinks."The sound of a powder compact clicking shut echoed through the bathroom, followed by the metallic twist of a lipstick tube being sealed."How long will the pills take to kick in?" Ketty asked, her voice pitched lower now, more conspiratorial."Twenty to thirty minutes, depending on how much they ate today. So we need to get back there and make sure they finish drinking."Twenty to thirty minutes. Pills. Roofies.The sound of high heels clicking against marble grew louder as they moved toward the door. Taylor's laugh drifted back toward the stalls."This is almost too easy," she said. "Mia always was pathetically trusting."I flushed the toilet. I washed my hands thoroughly.I tidied my hair, smoothing down the strands that had escaped my ponytail, and checked my makeup.