Chapter 19 - The Sound of Thunder
Vanessa dragged Emily by the fabric of her cardigan, trying to physically throw her toward the aisle exit.
“You are nothing!” Vanessa spat, her face inches from Emily’s tear-drenched cheek.
“You are a parasite, and I will scrub you out of my son’s life if it’s the last thing I ever do!”
Emily collapsed to her knees on the soft carpet, weeping hysterically, her forehead pressed against her arms.
She curled into a tight defensive ball on the floor, shielding her unborn baby from whatever blow might come next.
Vanessa stood directly over the kneeling, pregnant woman, her chest heaving, her manicured hand raised into the air.
Hannah was pushed back against the bulkhead, crying out in sheer helplessness.
The cabin had turned into a nightmare chamber at forty-one thousand feet.
And then—
A sharp, violent click cut through the sound of the jet engines.
At the far end of the long corridor, the motorized heavy wooden partition began to slide open.
The sound was subtle, but the sudden shift in cabin air pressure was immediate.
Vanessa froze.
Hannah froze.
Even Emily’s breathless sobs hitched in her throat as a cold draft swept down the center aisle.
From the dark doorway of the private soundproof stateroom, a figure emerged.
Daniel stood completely still.
He was wearing his sharp black suit, his tie straight, his encrypted satellite phone still held in his left hand.
His dark eyes took in the horrific scene before him in less than a single second.
The cream handbag ripped open, its contents scattered across the carpet.
Hannah pressed terrified against the wall with bruised shoulders.
His eight-month pregnant wife kneeling on the floor in a ball, sobbing hysterically and clutching her belly.
And his mother, standing over her with a raised hand, her face contorted in psychotic rage.
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Every ounce of color drained from Daniel’s face until he looked like carved marble.
Then, the silence of the cabin was obliterated.
