Chapter 5 - The Man Behind the Smile

"You want the truth?" Grant asked, unbothered by Damon's grip. "Your wife walked into something she didn't understand."

Grant had eaten Christmas dinner at Damon’s table. He had been there when Noah came home from the hospital and offered to install a second nursery camera. Damon thought of every time he had turned his back on that man without a second thought, and his stomach twisted.

Damon tightened his hold. "Tell me what happened to her."

"Let go first."

Lin pulled a restraint strap from an empty seat. With two passengers helping, she secured Grant while Damon stepped back to avoid escalating the struggle. It didn't make him feel safer. Grant seemed almost pleased to be restrained.

"I never wanted the baby hurt," Grant said.

Celeste covered her mouth. "Grant, stop talking."

Damon turned toward her. "You knew."

"Not what he planned."

"But you knew enough."

Grant laughed softly. "That bottle was never supposed to kill Noah. It was supposed to make him sick enough to get him into an Aster facility. Once he was admitted, custody would become complicated."

Maya's face hardened. "You threatened a newborn to manipulate a hospital admission."

"Business decisions get ugly."

"No," Damon said. "People get ugly. They call it business afterward."

The cockpit door opened a crack. The captain's voice came through. "Mr. Vale, I need you up here. Alone."

Damon stayed where he was. "You can talk from there."

"The navigation system is showing a landing approach we didn't file. I have a backup route to Denver, but someone has locked the flight management tablet."

Lin hurried forward to help the pilots verify the route against their independent instruments. No one relied on a single electronic message now.

Grant studied Damon. "They won't stop with this plane. You think you can protect the boy forever?"

Damon looked at Noah, whose eyes had finally drifted closed against Maya's shoulder. "I can protect him tonight. Tomorrow's a separate fight."

Celeste whispered, "Damon, there is one thing you don't know."

"Try me."

"Hannah's body was never identified by DNA."

The cabin went silent.

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Then Celeste said the sentence that broke him open.

"Because Hannah might still be alive."