Chapter 5 - Stranded in Paradise
Three thousand miles away, the Hawaiian Airlines flight touched down on the runway at Kahului Airport in Maui.
The afternoon sun was blazing hot, turning the tarmac into a shimmering expanse of heat waves.
Lorraine Vance stepped off the mobile jet bridge into the humid terminal air, adjusting her oversized straw hat.
"Mark, darling," she said loudly, making sure the nearby passengers heard her.
"Make sure the driver brings the Escalade right up to the executive pickup curb."
"My ankles swell horribly if I have to walk across the asphalt."
Mark was already walking toward the baggage claim with his phone pressed to his ear, his face pale and glistening with sweat.
During the three-hour layover in San Francisco, nothing had made sense.
His card had been declined for a couple of coffees and magazines.
He had assumed it was just a temporary network glitch or an overzealous security filter triggered by travel.
He had used fifty dollars of cash from his wallet to pay for his mother’s artisan salad and Dana’s snacks, telling himself he would sort it out once they reached the islands.
Dana strolled beside Lorraine, recording a video for her social media feed with her phone mounted on a handheld stabilizer.
"Guys, we just touched down in Maui!" she squealed into the microphone.
"Family vacation time! No negative energy, just pure luxury vibes!"
They waited by carousel three until all eight pieces of their oversized matching designer luggage tumbled onto the belt.
Mark hoisted the heavy bags onto two metal carts, his shirt already sticking to his back.
"Let's go get the cars," Mark said, his voice strained.
They pushed the carts through the sliding glass doors into the rental car facility.
Lorraine stood by the entrance, fanning herself with a glossy travel brochure while Mark approached the VIP counter.
The rental agent, a young woman wearing a floral Hawaiian shirt, smiled warmly at him.
"Aloha! Welcome to Maui. Name on the reservation?"
"Mark Vance. Two Cadillac Escalades, booked through the Platinum Concierge."
The agent typed his name into the terminal.
Her smile faltered slightly.
She typed again, clicking through several internal screens.
"I’m sorry, Mr. Vance, but I don't see an active reservation under that name."
Mark frowned, leaning over the marble counter.
"That's impossible. My wife... I mean, my office booked them weeks ago."
"Ah, let me check the confirmation number if you have it?"
Mark pulled up the email screenshot on his phone and read off the alphanumeric code.
The agent entered it, and her eyebrows rose.
"Oh, I see what happened. That reservation was canceled earlier today by the primary account holder, Claire Vance."
"The vehicles were released back into the fleet six hours ago."
"What?" Mark yelled, causing several travelers in the lobby to turn their heads.
"Why would she cancel them?"
Lorraine marched over to the counter, her gold bracelets clattering loudly against each other.
"Young woman, this is ridiculous. We have an oceanfront villa waiting for us in Makena."
"Give us the cars immediately. My son will simply pay with his own card."
The agent kept her professional composure.
"I can check our current same-day walk-up inventory, ma'am."
"However, because it's peak season, our only available vehicles are two standard compact sedans."
"And the rate for walk-up rentals requires a full security deposit of two thousand dollars per vehicle."
Lorraine glared at Mark.
"Well, pay it, Mark! Don't let her humiliate us like this!"
Mark pulled out his primary corporate debit card—the one connected to his personal consulting account.
He slid it across the glass terminal.
The agent swiped the card.
The terminal chimed with a dull, descending three-tone beep.
DECLINED – INSUFFICIENT FUNDS.
Mark stared at the small screen in utter disbelief.
"Try it again. That's a mistake."
The agent swiped it a second time.
DECLINED – CONTACT FINANCIAL INSTITUTION.
Lorraine’s voice rose an octave, shrill and piercing through the lobby.
"Mark! What is the meaning of this?"
"Mom, shut up for a second!" Mark hissed, his hands trembling as he pulled out his personal American Express card.
The card that had been an authorized user account under my primary line.
He handed it over.
The agent swiped it.
DECLINED – CARD REVOKED BY ISSUER.
"Is this some kind of prank?" Dana whined from behind the luggage carts.
"It's eighty-five degrees out here, Mark! I'm sweating through my linen dress!"
"Where are our Escalades?"
Mark grabbed his phone and frantically dialed my number.
The call didn't even ring.
It clicked straight to an automated operator:
"The number you have dialed is currently unavailable or outside the coverage area. Please try your call again later."
He dialed it again.
Same automated message.
He dialed my office line.
It went straight to my corporate voicemail greeting:
"Claire Vance Consulting is currently closed for the month of October. For urgent legal matters, please contact Sharma Law Partners."
Mark felt a cold drop of sweat roll down the middle of his spine.
"Call the villa," Lorraine demanded, her face turning an ugly shade of blotchy red.
"Call the Makena villa right now, Mark! Tell them we're taking a taxi directly there!"
Mark quickly dialed the direct concierge line for the Makena cliffside property.
A courteous Hawaiian voice answered on the second ring.
"Makena Luxury Estates, this is Keanu speaking."
"Yes, this is Mark Vance. We're at the airport. We had a delay with our rental cars, but we're heading over in a cab."
There was a momentary silence on the line, followed by the soft clicking of a keyboard.
"Mr. Vance? I'm sorry, but your reservation for Villa Seven was canceled this morning at nine-fifteen AM."
"The deposit was refunded back to Mrs. Claire Vance."
"The villa has already been re-booked by a wedding party from California."
"We have no vacancies for the remainder of this month."
The phone slipped from Mark's fingers, clattering loudly against the tiled airport floor.
Lorraine grabbed his arm, her fingernails digging deep into his linen sleeve.
"Mark? What did they say?"
"Where are we staying?"
Mark looked at his mother, his eyes completely hollow with dread.
"The villa is gone, Mom."
"The cars are gone."
"Claire canceled everything."
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"And my cards are completely dead."
Across the terminal lobby, Dana let out a loud, hysterical wail as a family of tourists stared at them in utter bewilderment.
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