From there, I made my way toward security, moving with the same controlled pace while everything around me continued as usual. People were talking, moving through lines, and going about their routines without any concern, and I stayed within that flow, not giving anyone a reason to look twice at me.
When it was my turn, I went through the process without any issues. There were no delays, no questions, and nothing that made me think something was off.
Once I cleared security and collected my things, I felt another layer of pressure lift from me. It wasn’t gone, but it was lighter now, and for the first time since this started, I felt like I might actually get out of this clean.
I adjusted my cuff and continued toward the terminal, letting myself breathe a little easier while I walked.
I decided to stop for a drink before boarding because I needed something to settle what was left running through me. The bar wasn’t crowded, which worked in my favor, and I took a seat, resting my hands lightly against the counter.
“Macallan,” I said. “Neat.”
The bartender nodded and moved to prepare it while I sat there, letting my eyes move over the space without focusing on anything in particular. Everything felt controlled again, and that alone was enough to keep me steady.
A minute later, the glass was placed in front of me.
I reached for it and lifted it slightly, but before I could take a sip, I heard a woman’s voice beside me speaking in a calm tone that I recognized immediately.
“Booking a flight out of an airport my family owns was a very poor decision.”
I turned my head slowly. When I saw Abeni Mensah sitting beside me, I froze for a second.
A wide-brimmed hat sat low on her head, angled just enough to shadow part of her face, and the diamond pin on the side caught the light every time she moved. She held a glass in her hand like she had been here the whole time, calm and composed, not a single thing about her out of place.
And just like that, I felt that sting hit my chest before I could react to anything else.
I hadn’t even noticed her sitting there.
For a moment, I didn’t say anything. I just looked at her, trying to understand how she got in front of me without me seeing it coming.
She gave me a small smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes.
“I can see that surprised you,” she said calmly. “There are a great many things you’ve never taken the time to understand about my family. We own damn near everything on this island.”
I pushed my hand against the counter and started to rise, but before I could fully stand, she spoke again without raising her voice.
“I would sit down if I were you.”
Something in her tone made me pause.
I looked around, and that was when I noticed the men. They were positioned throughout the area in a way that looked natural at first glance, but the longer I looked, the more obvious it became that they were watching everything… including me.
I lowered myself back into the seat slowly.
My heart was beating harder now, and I could feel the change in my body even as I tried to keep my expression calm.
Abeni turned slightly toward me, folding her hands in her lap as if we were having a casual conversation.
“I have been dealing with something personal,” she said, her voice calm and even. “Stage two breast cancer. It has been a very… humbling experience.”
I said nothing…
I watched her, waiting for where she was going with this.
“It changes your understanding of time,” she continued. “When you know that your life may not move the way you expected, you begin to see things differently. You begin to understand what it means for something to be taken from you slowly.”
Her eyes met mine then, and there was something behind them that wasn’t soft, even if her tone remained that way.
“I no longer find satisfaction in deciding who lives and who dies,” she said. “Not when I am being reminded that I do not control that outcome for myself.”
