“I know.”
“Seven years.”
“I know.”
“He asked me why every other kid had a father at school events.”
Static.
“He asked me whether his father would have liked him.”
Ethan made a sound Maya had never heard from him before.
A broken breath.
“Maya…”
She wiped her eyes.
“Save the plane.”
Then she left the cockpit.
Behind her, Ethan whispered over the radio:
“I’ll save both of you or I’ll never forgive myself.”
Maya did not turn around.
She had six minutes.
PART 5
THE SECRET BENEATH ROW TWO
The access hatch beneath row two was barely large enough for Maya’s shoulders.
Aaron met her there.
“Leo?”
“With Torres’s cabin crew. He’s safe.”
“Celeste?”
“Gone.”
“Gone where?”
“That’s the problem.”
Maya looked at the narrow opening.
“Of course it is.”
Aaron handed her a flashlight.
“You know what you’re looking for?”
“A red isolation collar attached to a relay that shouldn’t exist.”
