The airport security officer stopped me just as my boarding group was called, and before I could even process what was happening, my mother’s voice rang through the terminal. She pointed at me in front of everyone, accusing me of stealing from the family business and trying to flee the country. My father stood beside her, demanding that security arrest me before I boarded the plane. Travelers stopped to stare as my family turned the airport into a public spectacle, convinced they could scare me into staying.

But while they shouted, I focused on the Customs officer approaching us. He studied my passport, then looked directly at me with sudden recognition. That small shift in his expression made my stomach tighten—and my mother’s confidence falter. She realized something was wrong with her plan. Three weeks earlier, I had discovered my passport missing from the lockbox in my room. It hadn’t been lost. My parents had taken it to stop me from leaving for Rome.....