Chapter 5 - The Corporate Arrival
The aircraft turned slowly on the tarmac, its engines idling quietly as it was guided back toward the private terminal gate. Inside the cabin, the atmosphere shifted from impatient annoyance to palpable confusion. Passengers unbuckled their seatbelts, standing up in the aisles to complain to the flight crew, but the attendants themselves looked just as bewildered.
Near the front, Ava remained calm, leaning against the galley bulkhead with her arms crossed over her burgundy handbag. She watched as the heavy cabin door was unlocked from the outside and swung open.
A blast of warm jet-bridge air rushed into the cabin, followed by the sound of rapid, purposeful footsteps.
Marcus Bennett, a senior corporate executive of Carter Aviation Group, strode through the doorway with an expression of absolute granite. Flanked by two uniformed ground security officials, Bennett didn't look at the murmuring passengers or the stressed flight crew. His eyes were locked straight ahead, fixed entirely on row two.
The silver-haired man in seat 2A saw Bennett approaching and immediately recognized him from industry circles. A fleeting look of recognition, followed by confusion, crossed the man's face. He stepped out into the aisle, smoothing down his suit jacket with a confident, welcoming smile, eager to assert his professional standing.
"Marcus!" the man called out, extending a hand. "Good to see you. What on earth is going on? Some kind of mechanical failure? I have a crucial board meeting in New York, and this delay is completely unacceptable—"
Marcus Bennett completely ignored the outstretched hand. He walked right past the man, stopping dead in his tracks beside row two. His cold eyes stared down at the expensive leather briefcase resting on seat 2A.
Beneath the briefcase, a small, unassuming piece of white hotel stationery had been neatly tucked against the armrest.
Marcus reached down, his fingers pulling the paper free from beneath the heavy leather bag. He didn't say a word as his eyes scanned the handwritten words scrawled across the page in bold ink.
May you like
Two simple words.
Owner’s daughter.
