Chapter 1

The paper made a dry, tearing snap as it left the plastic sleeve.

Margaret Ellsworth did not flinch. She stood beside the gate podium at Concourse B, Gate B12, inside Chicago O’Hare International Airport, her fingers still shaped around the clear vinyl travel organizer she had packed at five that morning. Her cream linen blazer was unwrinkled. Her plain gold wristwatch caught the harsh fluorescent wash coming down from the high arched ceiling. Behind the glass wall, a Boeing 777 sat motionless at the jet bridge, its silver fuselage reflecting the flat grey light of an Illinois November afternoon.

In front of her, Vanessa Ellsworth held the heavy stock boarding pass between two manicured fingers. Vanessa wore a mint-green knit cardigan draped over white slacks, her straight ash-blond hair pulled into a low, severe bun. Her pale, freckled skin was flushed with the dry heat of the crowded concourse.

Without looking Margaret in the eye, Vanessa pivoted on her heel and extended the boarding pass toward Rose Caldwell.

"Here you go, Mom," Vanessa said. Her voice carried across the three rows of black vinyl gate seating. "Seat 2B. Lay-flat sleeper, right behind Paul."

Rose sat with both ankles crossed, smoothing a floral silk scarf against her coral blouse. Beside her rested a hardshell suitcase in champagne metallic. Dangling from its top handle was a lime-green rubber luggage tag stamped with the raised silhouette of a palm tree and the word *MAUI* in clean white lettering. The plastic seal on the strap had not yet gathered airport scuffs; it had been purchased within the last forty-eight hours.

Rose accepted the printed pass with a small hum of delight. "Oh, honey. You shouldn't have spoiled me with business class."