Chapter 2 - Two Tickets, One Lie
Captain Luis Ortega put the second ticket between David and Catherine. Same flight. Same seat. Different passenger.
The name read ELLIOT VANCE.
“That's a mistake,” Catherine said quickly. “Reservations double-booked the cabin.”
“Then why didn't you tell my son that?” David asked.
Catherine crossed her arms. “I was trying to resolve it without delaying departure.”
Malik lifted his hand. “She never looked at my ticket.”
Every adult in the galley turned toward him. He wished they hadn't.
The airport manager, Nora Patel, checked both documents. Malik's ticket had been issued six weeks earlier. Elliot's had been generated nineteen minutes before boarding.
“Who authorized the second assignment?” Nora asked.
Catherine said, “It comes from the system.”
“Systems log names,” Nora replied. “Who?”
The two executives traded a look. One was Harold Pike, vice president of airport operations. The other was Selena Brooks, head of customer experience. Selena had a phone pressed against her side as if she were afraid of what it might say.
David stepped aside so Malik wouldn't hear the whole conversation. “I am not asking you to fire anyone on an airplane. I want my son treated safely, and I want an accurate record of what happened.”
“Of course,” Harold said. “We can offer him a private transfer.”
“He has a confirmed seat.”
“Yes, but given the circumstances—”
“No,” Malik said.
He hadn't meant to interrupt. Still, he forced himself to look up. “I want to go to Denver. Grandma's waiting.”
David's expression softened. His mother had undergone surgery the week before. Malik had spent months building a photo album for her birthday.
“Then we make sure you get there,” David said.
Captain Ortega informed the gate that boarding would pause while the records were checked. He invited Malik to sit in the quiet front row while Nora printed the transaction history.
Catherine stepped into the galley. Her phone lit up with a message. David caught only four words before she turned the screen away.
GET THE BOY OFF.
He looked at Harold. Harold's face had changed.
May you like
A passenger named Elliot Vance had yet to board, but somebody wanted Malik's seat badly enough to create a second ticket.
Then the gate agent called through the intercom. “Captain, Mr. Vance is here. He says he owns the aircraft.”
