Gemotions

The invitation felt…off. It was a beautiful card, cream-colored with embossed gold lettering. Yet, as Amelia held it, a prickle crawled up her spine. The font was her mother's favorite, but the wording was overly effusive, almost saccharine. "Come celebrate the enduring legacy of our beloved Eleanor and Richard!" It was all a bit much. Standing in her kitchen, she re-read the RSVP section, running a finger along the finely drawn script, a frown etched on her face. Something about this entire affair felt carefully constructed.

She’d agreed to give a speech, of course. Her mother had requested it specifically, a gentle insistence that felt less like a request and more like… a gentle command. Amelia glanced at her reflection in the microwave, the knot in her stomach tightening. She had a bad feeling about this, a creeping sense that things were not what they seemed.

The retirement party was in a rented ballroom. The room was lavishly decorated, balloons, streamers, and professionally lit photographs of her parents smiling and happy. Amelia noted the positioning of the security guards stationed near the entrance. They were presentable, but their expressions were stony, their eyes scanning the crowd with a guarded vigilance.