Eliot Reyes had slipped away from the family beach area just after lunch, leaving Liam in the care of the resort's supervised playgroup.
The five year old had been ecstatic, waving goodbye with a fistful of seashell presents for Santa's underwater elves.
"Be good, Papa. I'll guard the fort." Liam had chirped, his dinosaur swimsuit speckled with glitter from a craft station.
Eliot had ruffled his curls, heart swelling with that familiar mix of love and guilt. Christmas Eve in paradise, but his wallet was a ticking bomb.
With Liam safe, he headed to the resort's modest administrative office, a thatched hut tucked behind the main pavilion, to sort out some things.
The clerk, a cheerful local named Manny with a Santa hat perched jauntily, clicked through the system as Eliot explained hi
