Maya's Tears

Elena was still gripping the phone when the engine of the skiff sputtered and died. She had run the small outboard dry.

She looked around. She was in a narrow channel, the city skyline now a distant silhouette against the fading light. The sun was setting, turning the marsh water the color of old blood.

She needed to get to the library. To Maya.

She used the single oar to paddle toward a public boat ramp near the West Ashley bridge. It was slow, agonizing work, her arms burning with every stroke.

By the time she tied the boat to a pylon, her hands were blistered. She climbed the embankment to the road, ignoring the stares of a fisherman loading his trailer.

She checked the time. 5:12 PM.

She hailed a cab using an app on the burner phone.

"Downtown Library," she told the driver. "And please, hurry."

The ride was a blur of traffic lights and panic. Every red light felt like a trap. Every siren made her flinch.

When the cab pulled up to the library, she threw a wad of cash at the driver and sprinted up the steps.

The library was cool and quiet, smelling of paper and sanctuary. Elena scanned the main floor. Students. Homeless people charging phones. A few tourists.

No Maya.

She checked the teen section. Empty.

She checked the study rooms. Empty.

Her heart began to hammer against her ribs. Had she been too late? Had Julian intercepted her?

She ran to the information desk.

"Excuse me," she said to the librarian, a woman with gray hair and kind eyes. "Have you seen a girl? Sixteen, dark hair, school uniform? She might have been waiting for someone."

The librarian adjusted her glasses. "Honey, we see a hundred kids a day. Was she alone?"

"Yes. She—"

"Elena?"

A whisper from the stacks.

Elena turned. Maya was crouched behind a display of new fiction, hugging her backpack. She looked small. Terrified.

Elena rushed to her, pulling her into a hug. Maya was stiff at first, then collapsed against her, sobbing into her shoulder.

"I thought you weren't coming," Maya choked out.

"I'm here," Elena said, stroking her hair. "I'm here. Are you okay? Did your father see you?"

"He was at the school," Maya said, pulling back to wipe her eyes. "I saw his car. He was talking to the principal. I... I ran out the back, through the gym. I took the bus."

"You did good," Elena said. "You did exactly right."

She led Maya to a table in the back corner, away from the windows.

"Maya," she said, keeping her voice low. "I need you to look at something."

She pulled out the burner phone. She opened the banking app.

She showed Maya the screen. The frozen account. The zero balance.

Maya stared at it. She didn't cry this time. Her face went pale, her expression hardening into something that looked frighteningly like Isabel.

"They really did it," she whispered. "They really took it."

"They stole it," Elena said. "To pay for the loan they took out in my name. They're trying to save the estate, Maya. And they're using your money to do it."

Maya looked up at her. "It's not just money, Elena."

"What do you mean?"

Maya reached into her backpack. She pulled out a thick envelope. It was crumpled, the seal broken.

"This came in the mail today," she said. "Before I left for school. I hid it."

Elena took the envelope. It was from the Sorbonne.

It wasn't a rejection letter.

It was a deferral notice.

*Dear Ms. Hawthorne,*
*Per the request of your legal guardian, Constance Hawthorne, we have processed your deferral for the upcoming academic year. We understand that medical issues require you to remain in the United States for treatment.*

Elena looked up. "Medical issues?"

"They're not just keeping me here," Maya said, her voice trembling. "They're committing me. Just like they did to my mom."

She pointed to the bottom of the letter.

*Attached: Physician's Statement of Incapacity.*

*Signed: Dr. Aris Thorne.*

"They stole it," Maya whispered, tears spilling over again. "They stole my future like they stole my mom's."