“Do not touch me,” Elena said coldly. “You were worried about who belonged in First Class. Let me make this clear: people who treat others with cruelty, arrogance, and prejudice do not belong in First Class. In fact, they do not belong in my company.”
Elena looked past Victoria toward the First Officer, who had stepped out into the galley with a first-aid kit.
“Call Chicago O’Hare Airport Police,” Elena said. “Inform them that a senior crew member has committed an unprovoked physical assault on a passenger in seat 2A. Request two officers and a supervisor at the gate. I will be pressing charges for misdemeanor and battery.”
Victoria let out a strangled shriek, burying her face into the floor carpet. “No! Please! Not police! Marcus, tell her! We’ve worked together for five years! Tell her I’m a good person!”
Marcus looked down at Victoria with utter disgust. “You struck a passenger in her seat, Victoria. You disgraced this uniform. You disgraced this entire crew. I wouldn't defend you to the devil himself.”
The sound of the jet bridge moving back toward the forward cabin door groaned through the aircraft hull. Outside the windows, the amber flashing lights of airport police cruisers began pulling up near the tarmac stairs.
Elena Carter walked past Victoria’s trembling, weeping body into the galley. She took a clean glass from the galley cabinet, opened the chilled water dispenser, and filled the glass to the brim.
She took a slow, refreshing sip.
Then, she turned back to the cabin. Every eye in rows one through four was fixed on her in breathless anticipation. The live stream on seat 2B’s phone already had fifty thousand viewers and was climbing rapidly, comments flooding the screen in an avalanche of righteous fury.
Elena set the empty glass down on the counter.
“Captain Reynolds,” Elena said, her voice ringing clear and steady. “Have ground operations deplane everyone from this flight. Provide every passenger in First, Business, and Economy with a full refund, a two-thousand-dollar travel voucher, and five-star hotel accommodations for the night while a replacement crew is assembled.”
Cheers erupted from the economy cabin behind the curtain.
“And Captain?” Elena added, turning her gaze back to the shivering, sobbing figure of Victoria Vance on the floor.
“Yes, Mrs. Carter?” Marcus asked.
“Call Arthur Sterling on his direct line,” Elena said, a chilling, sovereign smile touching her lips for the first time. “Tell him I am waiting for him at the O’Hare operations office. And tell him he has precisely twenty minutes to arrive before I replace him, too.”
Chapter 3
The hydraulic hiss of the cabin doors opening gave way to the sharp, authoritative cadence of heavy leather boots marching up the jet bridge. Four uniformed officers from the Chicago Police Department filed into the forward cabin, their tasers and utility belts clicking softly in the stunned silence of the Boeing 777.
At the front of the pack, Sergeant Miller took one look at the red welt spreading across Elena Carter’s cheekbone, then shifted his gaze down to Victoria Vance, who was currently curled on her knees beside the jumpseat, sobbing hysterically.
"Officers! Thank God you're here!" Victoria shrieked, instantly scrambling toward them and reaching for Sergeant Miller’s pant leg. Her polished demeanor was completely shattered; mascara ran in dark, greasy streaks down her flushed cheeks. "This woman attacked me! She became combative during standard pre-flight procedures! I was defending myself—I was upholding FAA federal aviation regulations! She’s dangerous!"
The young tech executive in seat 2B scoffed loudly, holding his iPhone aloft so the entire room could see the glowing red recording icon. "Nice try, lady. I have every single second of your racist, power-tripping meltdown in 4K. Fifty-two thousand people are watching your little monologue right now, and the chat wants to know if you practiced those crocodile tears in the mirror."
Sergeant Miller held up a hand, silencing Victoria. He turned to Captain Marcus Reynolds. "Captain, report."
"Victoria Vance committed unprovoked assault and battery against passenger Elena Carter," Marcus stated clearly, his voice devoid of any hesitation. "She refused direct de-escalation, used verbal hostility, and struck Mrs. Carter across the face with an open palm. Furthermore, Mrs. Carter is the majority shareholder and Chairman of the Board of Apex Air. I personally witnessed the strike, as did my first officer, the cabin lead, and every passenger in rows one through four."
Victoria’s jaw unhinged. She looked desperately at Miller. "Marcus is lying! He has a personal vendetta against me because I reported his flight time irregularities last month! You can't believe him! I have rights! I’m Arthur Sterling’s personal appointment—you can’t touch me!"