Shortly after the call ended, Daniel contacted Elise with an urgent warning. "Elise, someone is attempting a remote wipe of the server archives. The main power in the corporate terminal just went out."
Her phone vibrated with an anonymous text message: Stop digging, or Flight 247 won't be the only thing grounded.
Chapter 5: The Flight Was Never About a Seat
By early next morning, news of Flight 247 had gone viral, with over 20 million views of the passenger video showing Cynthia's outburst and Elise's calm response. Public pressure forced Peter Vale to resign, citing "corporate governance differences."
At 8:30 p.m., a visibly shaken Cynthia Hale requested a private meeting with Elise. Stripped of her arrogance, Cynthia handed over a small black notebook containing her husband's hand-written notes.
"Graham was terrified of Peter Vale," Cynthia admitted, her voice trembling. "They were using a contractor named Northstar Aviation Services to invoice millions for fake maintenance and ground operations."
Elise reviewed the notes, seeing shell companies, transaction amounts, and recurring initials: PV , GH , and RM .
"Who is RM?" Elise asked.
"I don't know," Cynthia swore. "But I know Northstar handled the pre-flight servicing for Flight 247 yesterday."