Daniel’s mouth did not smile, but something in his eyes warmed.
Aunt Marcy stepped closer. “Your grandfather would hate this.”
Kate felt the words like a slap.
Then she thought of Grandpa’s kitchen, his old wooden table, and the way he always noticed when someone had been quiet too long.
She remembered him pressing a mug of tea into her hands after Lila ruined her college graduation dinner by announcing her engagement. Everyone had rushed around Lila, shrieking, hugging, crying. Kate had sat there in her cap and gown while her cake melted on paper plates.
Grandpa had found her on the porch.
“People who need the room to be about them will always find a way to steal the lights,” he told her. “That doesn’t mean you have to stand in the dark.”
Kate looked at Aunt Marcy.
“No,” she said. “Grandpa would hate that you used his death as an excuse to take advantage of me.”
The sentence silenced the lobby.
Aunt Marcy’s eyes filled, but Kate had known her long enough to recognize the difference between guilt and wounded pride.
Daniel cleared his throat gently. “Ms. Summers, there is one more matter. Because your contract includes a fraud-protection clause, you have the option to remove any guests from the package whose actions compromised the reservation.”
Lila’s head snapped up.
“Remove?” she said.
Brent straightened. “You can’t be serious.”
Daniel looked at Kate, not them. “That option is entirely at your discretion.”
Kate could have done it.
For one sharp second, she imagined it. Lila and Brent booking last-minute rooms somewhere else. Aunt Marcy paying for her own meals. Her mother finally understanding that Kate was not an endless emergency fund with a soft voice.
But Kate was tired.
Tired of teaching lessons no one wanted to learn.
Tired of being forced into cruelty just to prove she deserved basic respect.
So she chose something cleaner.
“They can stay,” Kate said.
Lila exhaled dramatically, as though she had survived persecution.
Kate turned toward her. “But I am no longer hosting them.”
The relief vanished from Lila’s face.
Kate looked at Daniel. “Please separate my room and remaining benefits from the group. No one gets access to my suite, my dining credits, or any premium reservations attached to my name.”
“Of course,” Daniel said.
Aunt Marcy frowned. “What premium reservations?”
Kate reached into her purse and pulled out the printed itinerary she had made for everyone. She flipped to the last page.
“The private sunset luau tomorrow night,” she said. “The catamaran breakfast cruise. The chef’s table dinner. The cabana booking. Those were all under my name because I paid the deposits personally.”
Brent looked at Lila.
Lila stared at Kate. “You can’t just go alone.”
“I can.”
“That’s pathetic.”
Kate laughed then.
It surprised even her.
Not loud. Not bitter. Just free.
“No, Lila. Pathetic is creating a fake email address to steal a hotel upgrade from your cousin and still acting like the victim when you get caught.”
A small sound came from somewhere near the bar.
Someone had coughed to hide a laugh.
Lila heard it. Her cheeks went crimson.
Elaine finally spoke. “Kate, honey, maybe we can all sit down and talk.”
Kate softened slightly, but not enough to bend.
“Mom, I love you. But
