Chapter 5 - Three MinutesRachel moved quickly.
She asked another flight attendant to notify the captain while quietly instructing nearby passengers to remain seated.
Victoria began crying.
“I didn't mean for this to happen.”
I stared at her.
“You planned to take my son.”
“I was supposed to take him away from you for a few minutes. That's all.”
“For a few minutes?”
She wiped her cheeks.
“They told me you were unstable. They said the baby was involved in a custody dispute.”
“Who told you that?”
“Mr. Cole.”
“And you believed him?”
Victoria didn't answer.
I wanted to scream at her, but Leo stirred in my arms. I focused on his warm cheek, his tiny fingers curled around the fabric of my shirt.
I couldn't afford to lose control.
Not now.
Rachel returned with the senior cabin manager, a tall woman named Denise. After listening to Maya's recording, Denise instructed another crew member to stay near Victoria while a second watched the man in Row 14.
The man seemed to sense that his plan was unraveling.
He pressed a button on his armrest and asked for water.
When the flight attendant approached, he leaned close and whispered something.
She stepped back immediately.
Denise noticed.
“What did he say?”
The flight attendant hesitated.
“He asked whether the baby had been moved to the rear galley.”
My stomach dropped.
Leo was still in my arms.
But someone had been planning to separate him from me.
Denise immediately contacted the cockpit again.
The captain announced that the crew was handling a security matter and asked everyone to remain seated. No further details were given.
Then the man in Row 14 did something none of us expected.
He reached beneath his seat and pulled out a small black bag.
Victoria began shaking her head.
“No. No, you said nobody would get hurt.”
He looked at her with cold disgust.
“Be quiet.”
Maya grabbed my hand.
“Mom, that's the bag I saw him carrying at the gate.”
The man unzipped it.
Inside were several documents, a spare phone, and a tiny blanket.
Leo's blanket.
The yellow one with the embroidered blue rabbit.
The blanket I'd packed in my carry-on that morning.
I looked down at my bag.
May you like
The zipper was open.
Someone had already been close enough to touch my baby.
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