Chapter 3 - The Ownership of Karma
The fallout was swift and absolute.
Security arrived not to escort me away, but to lift the woman and her boyfriend from the resort grounds.
The woman was still clutching her hand, the sonic device having been deactivated by my husband, but the damage to her psyche was done.
The guests who had been mocking us only minutes ago were now silent, their eyes tracking my every move.
They had seen the way I stood—the posture of a woman who didn't just visit the resort, but commanded the very earth it was built upon.
The manager, now stripped of his nametag, tried to approach me.
"I didn't know," he stammered.
"I didn't know you were the owner."
"That is exactly why you are no longer the manager," I said, never breaking eye contact.
"You treated a mother and a child fighting for their lives as if they were trash."
"You made a choice."
"And now you must live with it."
My husband walked over, handing me a fresh smoothie for Lily.
He looked at me with a pride that warmed my heart.
We walked back to our cabana, the premium lounge chairs now empty, waiting for their rightful owners.
I sat down, pulling Lily onto my lap.
She leaned against me, her eyes heavy, but for the first time in weeks, they were bright with something other than pain.
She looked at the woman being escorted away, then at me.
"Mommy?" she whispered.
"Yes, baby?"
"Is she going to be okay?"
May you like
I kissed her head, the soft fur of the bear against her cheek.
"She’s going to be exactly what she deserves to be."
