Chapter 3 - Secrets in the Sky
The lights in the cabin were dimmed. The soft hum of the airplane engines provided a steady white noise that kept both Leo and Maya in a deep slumber.
My arms were growing numb, but I didn't dare shift. Leo's breathing was a warm flutter against my neck.
Alexander Sterling hadn't slept. He sat perfectly still, observing me with the sharp, calculating gaze of a man used to analyzing every variable in a boardroom.
"You're traveling alone," he said. It wasn't a question.
"I have an aunt meeting us in Rome," I lied quickly, keeping my eyes fixed on the baby's fine, dark hair.
"Is that so?" Alexander's voice was smooth, dangerously calm. "Marcus pulled the passenger manifest. The tickets for Lily and Maya Vance were purchased with a prepaid debit card twelve hours before the flight. No adults booked under that itinerary."
My heart hammered against my ribs, throwing off the steady rhythm I had established for Leo. The baby stirred, whimpering.
I quickly adjusted my breathing, forcing my heart rate down, and resumed the slow, steady patting.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Leo settled back down.
I glared at Alexander. "You shouldn't go digging into people's lives just because they helped you."
"I dig into people's lives because I need to know who is holding my son," he countered effortlessly. "You have bruises on your wrists, Lily. They look like finger marks. Your sister's shoes are held together by duct tape, yet you somehow afforded international plane tickets."
I clamped my mouth shut.
"You're running," he stated.
"That's none of your business, Mr. Sterling."
Marcus leaned down from the aisle, his massive frame blocking out the overhead light. "Boss. I ran the names through the domestic database. There's an Amber Alert that just went live in Chicago. Two missing girls. Fled from a foster home. The primary guardian, a man named Richard Vance, claims they were abducted."
Panic, cold and sharp, flooded my veins.
Richard.
If Richard found us, he wouldn't just beat me this time. He had threatened to separate us. He had threatened to sell Maya to people who wanted a pretty little girl.
Tears sprang to my eyes, hot and terrifying. I hugged Leo tighter, burying my face in the baby's soft blanket to hide my breakdown.
"Don't let him take us," I choked out, my tough exterior shattering in an instant. "Please. He locked Maya in the basement. He took all the money our parents left us. I had to steal the emergency cash just to get us out. If they send us back..."
I couldn't finish the sentence. The sob tore through my throat.
Alexander's expression changed. The calculating businessman vanished, replaced by a cold, terrifying fury directed entirely at the man who had hurt us.
He reached out, his large hand gently resting on my trembling shoulder.
"Breathe, Lily," he commanded, his tone leaving no room for argument. "You will wake my son."
I forced a breath in, then out.
Alexander looked up at his security guard.
"Marcus," he said, his voice dropping to a register that made the hair on my arms stand up. "Contact the legal team. Tell them to block the extradition order the moment we land. Then, find everything there is to know about a man named Richard Vance."
Marcus nodded grimly. "Consider him ruined, sir."
May you like
Alexander looked back down at me, his steel-gray eyes softening just a fraction.
"Nobody," he said quietly, "is sending you back to a basement."
