The Suspicious Breakfast

PART 2 — THE MAN IN THE GRAY UNIFORM

Airport security boarded the aircraft within minutes.

Two officers approached Captain Reeves while another escorted Patricia to the forward galley for questioning. The remaining crew members were instructed to stay on board until every catering tray had been accounted for.

Ava sat quietly in her seat, clutching her phone.

“Can I call my father?” she asked.

Captain Reeves nodded. “Of course.”

Before she could dial, her phone rang.

“Dad!”

“Ava, sweetheart, are you hurt?” Michael Carter asked urgently.

“No. I’m okay. But everyone thinks I caused trouble.”

“You did nothing wrong. You noticed something dangerous and spoke up. I’m proud of you.”

Ava’s eyes filled with tears. “Dad, was someone really trying to hurt me?”

Michael paused.

“I don’t know for certain yet. But I need you to stay with Captain Reeves and follow the security officers’ instructions. I’m on my way to the airport.”

“Why did you sound so worried when the captain called you?”

“Because someone tried to tamper with a meal delivered to my office three days ago,” Michael admitted. “My assistant became violently ill after eating it. We initially believed it was a catering mistake.”

Ava covered her mouth.

“Was it the same person?”

“That’s what we’re trying to establish.”

Before Michael could say more, another voice came through the phone.

“Mr. Carter, we’ve found him.”

Michael immediately asked, “Where?”

“Near the service elevator. He was attempting to leave the terminal.”

Ava heard hurried footsteps and indistinct voices before the call ended.

Captain Reeves crouched beside her seat.

“Your father is handling things. You don’t need to worry about solving this yourself.”

“But what if the man comes back?”

“He won’t get near you.”

For the first time that morning, Ava felt she could breathe.

Across the aisle, the businessman who had mocked her earlier lowered his newspaper completely.

“I’m sorry,” he said awkwardly. “I shouldn’t have laughed at you.”

Ava gave him a small nod but said nothing.

She was still thinking about the scar near the man’s eyebrow.

Then a security officer entered the cabin carrying a transparent evidence bag.

Inside lay a gray uniform jacket, a forged airport identification badge, and a small key card.

Captain Reeves examined the badge.

“Where did you find these?”

“In a service corridor near the catering storage area. The suspect was caught trying to dispose of them.”

The officer continued, “He’s refusing to explain why he approached the child. But we found something else in his locker.”

He handed the captain a photograph.

Daniel Reeves stared at it.

It showed Ava leaving her father’s office building two days earlier. Beside the photograph was a handwritten note:

CARter’s daughter. Flight 218. Seat 2A.

Ava recognized the picture immediately.

“That’s me,” she whispered. “But how did he know my seat number?”

Captain Reeves looked toward the security officer.

“Was this flight information obtained internally?”

“We’re checking that now.”

The officer lowered his voice.

“There’s another problem. The suspect claims he wasn’t hired to poison anyone. He says he was paid to make sure the girl became seriously ill before landing.”

Ava felt cold all over.

“Why would anyone want that?”

Nobody answered.

Then Michael Carter arrived.

He strode into First Class wearing a dark navy suit, flanked by two security professionals. His normally composed expression disappeared the moment he saw his daughter.

“Ava!”

She rushed into his arms.

Michael held her tightly, checking her face and hands as though he needed to convince himself she was unharmed.

“I’m okay, Dad,” she whispered.

He kissed the top of her head.

“You were very brave.”

Then he turned to Captain Reeves.

“Tell me everything.”

The captain explained the suspicious tray, the forged identification, and the photograph.

Michael studied the note for several seconds.

Finally, he looked at the security officer.

“Did the suspect give you a name?”

“Yes. His name is Robert Hayes.”

Michael’s expression hardened.

“I know that name.”

Captain Reeves frowned. “Who is he?”

“Six months ago, Hayes worked for a private logistics company that supplied several of my businesses. He was dismissed after an internal investigation uncovered missing shipment records.”

“Do you believe this is connected to your company?”

Michael looked down at his daughter.

“I believe someone wants me to think it is.”

His phone vibrated.

An unknown number had sent him a message.

You should have accepted the offer, Michael. Now your daughter has become part of the negotiation.

Michael read it twice.

Then he slipped the phone into his pocket and looked at Captain Reeves.

“Cancel the flight. Preserve everything. And don’t let anyone access the passenger manifest.”

“What offer?” Ava asked softly.

Her father hesitated.

He had hoped to protect her from the dangerous side of his business for as long as possible.

But now someone had brought that danger onto an aircraft carrying his child.

Michael knelt in front of her.

“There’s something I should have told you earlier, sweetheart. Someone has been trying to force me to sell my company.”

Ava stared at him.

“And they used my breakfast to threaten you?”

Michael took her hands.

“I won’t let anyone use you to get to me.”

But as security escorted them toward a private airport office, another message appeared on his phone.

This one contained a photograph of their family home.

And beneath it were six words that made his blood run cold.

You haven’t checked on your wife.