Chapter 4 - The Ambush at Thirty Thousand Feet
Silas took the satellite phone, his expression hardening into stone. “Speak,” he commanded into the receiver.
Khloe stood up, retreating toward the forward galley, but she couldn't block out the low, cold tone of Silas’s voice as he listened to his contact on the ground.
“They think they can intercept the convoy at the private hangar?” Silas said, a cruel, mocking smile touching his lips. “They underestimate my security. Tell Marcus to clear the south entrance. I want them box-in before my wheels touch the tarmac.”
He hung up the phone and handed it back to Victor. “Alert the ground crew. We switch to Contingency B upon landing.”
“Understood, boss,” Victor said, retreating to the rear.
Khloe stood by the coffee maker, her heart racing. She was a professional flight attendant, used to dealing with demanding billionaires, politicians, and celebrities. But this was different. This was the violent reality of Silas Costello’s world bleeding into her sanctuary at thirty thousand feet.
Silas walked into the galley, his large frame filling the tight doorway. He saw the tension in her shoulders.
“You’re frightened,” he said quietly.
“I’m a flight attendant, Mr. Costello,” Khloe said, keeping her chin up as she wiped down a spotless stainless-steel counter. “My job is safety. When my flight involves armed tactical teams waiting on the ground, it concerns me.”
“Nothing will happen to you, or to this aircraft,” Silas said, his tone absolute. “My problems remain outside these doors.”
“And what about Mateo?” Khloe turned to face him, her eyes flashing with sudden anger. “He’s six years old! He’s deaf, terrified, and you’re bringing him right into the middle of a war!”
Silas’s eyes narrowed, a flash of danger crossing his face at her defiance. But as he looked at her brave, unyielding expression, his anger faded into cold reality.
“His mother died because I couldn't protect her from a sniper in Miami,” Silas said, his voice dropping so low it was almost lost in the hum of the engines. “I brought him to New York to keep him safe while I cleared Chicago. I am bringing him home because he has nowhere else to go. I am all he has.”
Khloe felt her anger melt into profound empathy. She saw the heavy burden this man carried—a king surrounded by enemies, trying to protect a fragile prince who couldn't even hear the sirens coming.
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Suddenly, a loud bang rattled through the floorboards of the jet, followed by a violent vibration in the left engine. The aircraft lurched sideways, the cabin lights flickering wildly before plunging into emergency amber illumination.
In the main cabin, Mateo woke up with a sharp gasp, feeling the violent shudder of the plane, and began to scream in silent terror.
