I'm safe. Do not intervene further without speaking to me first.
Olivia responded immediately.
Understood. Executive operations is concerned.
Maya glanced toward the galley.
They should be.
Another message appeared.
The board's governance committee has requested an update.
Maya's expression changed.
She hadn't expected the situation to reach the committee so quickly.
That troubled her.
Only a handful of people knew she was flying on Flight 417.
Even fewer knew why.
She typed:
Who notified the committee?
Olivia replied:
We're checking.
Maya stared at the screen.
For months, she had suspected that information inside Atlantic Crown Airways was being controlled.
Customer complaints disappeared into internal review systems.
Employee concerns were summarized without supporting details.
Operational reports reached senior leadership with reassuring conclusions that didn't always match what she observed.
That was one reason she had started traveling without announcing her identity.
She wanted to see the company as ordinary passengers experienced it.
But now she had another question.
How had someone at headquarters learned about her presence before she contacted Olivia?
Maya locked her phone.
Something about the situation no longer felt accidental.
In the forward galley, Sarah approached Michael Reeves.
"Can I speak to you privately?"
Michael looked up.
"Of course."
She showed him the tablet.
He read the screen.
Then read it again.
His expression changed.
"What is this?"
Sarah lowered her voice.
"An executive authorization attached to seat 2A."
Michael frowned.
"Why would a passenger have that?"
"I don't know."
"Have you contacted operations?"
"They contacted us."
Michael looked toward Maya.
She was speaking quietly with David Mercer.
"Does the captain know?"
Sarah shook her head.
"Not yet."
Michael rubbed his forehead.
"We need to stop this before it gets worse."
Sarah nodded.
"I agree."
Then the interphone rang.
Sarah answered.
"Forward cabin."
She listened.
Her posture changed.
"Yes, sir."
A pause.
"He's standing right here."
Another pause.
Sarah slowly turned toward Captain Arrington.
"Captain."
He looked up.
"What now?"
"There's a call for you."
"From whom?"
Sarah swallowed.
"Executive operations."
Arrington frowned.
"Tell them I'm handling a passenger issue."
Sarah didn't move.
"Sir, they specifically requested you."
Michael stepped forward.
"Captain, I strongly recommend taking the call."
Arrington looked between them.
Something about their expressions finally made him hesitate.
He turned toward Maya.
She was watching quietly.
No smile.
No satisfaction.
No visible fear.
Just patience.
The captain looked back at Sarah.
"What exactly is going on?"
Sarah didn't answer.
Instead, she held out the receiver.
"Sir, they said you need to answer immediately."
Arrington stepped toward her.
"Who said that?"
Sarah's hand trembled.
"The office of the chairman."
The captain stopped.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Arrington reached for the phone.
He lifted it to his ear.
"This is Captain Thomas Arrington."
A voice answered.
The captain's expression changed.
His shoulders stiffened.
His eyes moved toward Maya.
And then the voice on the other end said:
"Captain Arrington, before you remove that passenger, there's something you need to know about the woman sitting in seat 2A..."