Chapter 4 - The Woman Who Was Supposed to Be DeadWarren thought his wife was buried nine years ago. The hijackers had just given him a reason to question the grave.
The timer wasn't visible.
That was what terrified me.
If I couldn't see the threat, I couldn't predict it.
The aircraft leveled.
Victor remained standing.
I grabbed his arm.
“Explain.”
“Not here.”
“You have ten seconds.”
“Your wife discovered something.”
“What?”
“She found the money.”
I stared at him.
“What money?”
“The money that built your empire.”
I felt the cabin shift beneath my feet.
My entire life after her death had been constructed around one belief.
I had built the organization because I needed control.
Because I had lost the only person who could reach me.
Because grief was easier when converted into power.
But if Victor was right, then the foundation underneath all of it was rotten.
“What did she find?”
Victor looked toward Norah.
“Your daughter.”
I turned.
Norah was holding her teddy bear.
Victor's eyes stayed on it.
“The bear.”
“What about it?”
“Did she ever tell you why her mother gave it to her?”
“No.”
Victor nodded.
“She hid something inside.”
I felt something cold move through my chest.
I looked at the teddy bear.
Old fabric.
One stitched eye.
A tiny tear near the paw.
Nothing unusual.
Except Norah had carried it everywhere since she was four.
Victor continued.
“Your wife knew she was being watched.”
I remembered that time.
Her last month alive.
She had become distant.
Restless.
She started looking over her shoulder.
I had assumed she was worried about me.
I had never considered that she might have been afraid for herself.
“What did she hide?”
Victor shook his head.
“That's what they're trying to retrieve.”
“Who?”
“You know who.”
I did.
The Kane network.
The cartel.
The remnants of the old military intelligence operation that officially never existed.
And one man.
Elias Vane.
The man I had killed.
The man everyone said was the mastermind.
Except Victor had just told me his son had inherited the war.
“His son,” I said.
Victor nodded.
“Adrian Vane.”
I hadn't heard that name in years.
Not aloud.
Not from anyone I trusted.
“Where is he?”
Victor glanced toward the cockpit.
“Closer than you think.”
A flight attendant screamed.
Everyone turned.
The cockpit door had opened.
The first officer stumbled out.
His face was gray.
He whispered:
“They're in the cockpit.”
My eyes narrowed.
“Who?”
He pointed behind me.
“Your crew.”
I turned.
The captain was standing there.
But the look on his face wasn't fear.
It was calculation.
The cockpit door clicked shut behind him.
I suddenly understood.
The captain wasn't the target.
He was part of the plan.
I rushed forward.
Victor grabbed my shoulder.
“Warren.”
I spun.
“Don't.”
“Why?”
“Because the man in the cockpit isn't trying to crash the plane.”
“How do you know?”
Victor stared at me.
“Because if he wanted everyone dead, you wouldn't have been invited.”
Then the cabin lights turned off completely.
A voice came through the intercom.
“Mr. Hayes.”
I recognized it.
The distorted male voice.
“Your daughter has something that belongs to us.”
I looked at Norah.
She hugged the teddy bear tighter.
“I want the bear.”
“No.”
“You don't understand.”
I looked at Victor.
“What happens if I refuse?”
The voice answered for him.
“Then we open the cargo bay.”
Passengers began to panic.
Victor's expression changed.
“What did they mean?”
I didn't answer.
I knew enough about aircraft.
The cargo bay wasn't designed to be opened in flight.
But if someone had manipulated the pressure system…
The consequences would be catastrophic.
The voice continued.
“Ten minutes.”
Then silence.
I crouched beside Norah.
She stared at me.
“Dad, why are you scared?”
I forced a smile.
“I'm not.”
She looked at me with the terrifying honesty only children possessed.
“Yes, you are.”
I touched her cheek.
“Listen carefully.”
She nodded.
“Where did Mom give you this bear?”
“At home.”
“Did she say anything?”
Norah thought.
Then whispered:
“She said if Daddy ever looks sad…”
She stopped.
“What?”
“She said I should give him the bear.”
My heart cracked.
“What else?”
Norah looked down.
“She said…”
Her voice trembled.
“Tell Daddy not to trust the sky.”
I closed my eyes.
My wife had known.
She had known the sky was being used against us.
And suddenly I understood why.
I took the teddy bear.
Norah let me.
My fingers found the seam.
There was something hard inside.
Not stuffing.
A small metal capsule.
I looked at Victor.
“What is it?”
May you like
He whispered:
“The reason they hijacked this plane.”
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