Chapter 7 - The Call I Wasn’t Supposed to Hear
For five full seconds, nobody moved.
Then Daniel took the passport from my hand.
“You don’t understand.”
“I understand the picture.”
“It’s an old legal name.”
“Issued three years ago.”
He looked toward Valery.
“This is exactly why I didn’t tell you. Because people hear one detail and invent the rest.”
Valery laughed softly.
“You told me Adam Blake was a nickname ten minutes ago.”
Daniel’s eyes hardened.
I stood.
“I want the plane turned around.”
He shook his head. “No.”
“I wasn’t asking you.”
I moved toward the galley.
Daniel stepped into my path.
“Claire, we are thirty minutes from Santa Rosa. Sit down.”
“Move.”
He didn’t.
Valery approached calmly.
“Sir, you need to let her pass.”
Daniel looked at her name badge.
“You really think this uniform gives you authority over my wife?”
“My name gives me authority over myself. The uniform gives me responsibility for this cabin.”
He stared at her.
Then he stepped aside.
I called my banker from the forward seat.
No answer.
I called again.
Voicemail.
Daniel stood near the window pretending not to listen.
I texted: URGENT. FREEZE NORTHLINE. CALL ME.
A minute later, my phone rang.
It wasn’t the bank.
It was my older brother, Evan.
“Claire, where are you?”
“On a plane.”
“Is Daniel with you?”
I looked at him.
“Yes.”
Evan’s voice dropped.
“Do not tell him I called.”
My stomach tightened.
“Why?”
“I got an alert from Dad’s family office. Daniel tried to transfer money out of the Mercer-Reed trust using your electronic signature.”
I gripped the phone.
“How much?”
“Two point six million.”
Daniel watched my face from across the cabin.
May you like
Evan whispered, “Claire, the transfer was scheduled for tonight.”
Private Jet Story - 20 Chapters
