The Woman in 1A

PART 2 — THE MAN BEHIND THE MESSAGE

Daniel turned the tablet toward me.

The new message was short.

FROM: GREGORY HARRIS — CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

Make sure Karen Vance does not reach Los Angeles before the board meeting. Handle the situation quietly. Richard must remain unaware.

For several seconds, nobody spoke.

Victoria looked as though she might faint.

I slowly raised my eyes toward Daniel.

“Who else has seen this message?”

“Only me, Mrs. Vance.”

“Good. Make a copy and preserve the original.”

Richard stepped closer.

“Karen, Gregory has been trying to undermine your leadership for months. I suspected something, but I didn’t think he’d go this far.”

I nodded.

“Apparently, he underestimated how much I wanted to understand my own company.”

Victoria suddenly spoke.

“Mrs. Vance, I was only following instructions. Mr. Harris told me that Seat 1A had to be cleared. He said there was a security concern.”

I looked at her.

“And you decided that accusing a passenger of stealing a seat was an appropriate way to handle it?”

Her eyes filled with tears.

“I didn’t know who you were.”

“That is precisely the problem, Victoria.”

I turned toward Daniel.

“Has the aircraft door been closed?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Then nobody is going anywhere until we finish documenting this incident. Follow the airline’s safety procedures and notify the appropriate operations team.”

Daniel immediately began making calls.

Richard leaned toward me.

“The board meeting is scheduled for ten tomorrow morning. Gregory has been telling directors that you’re inexperienced in airline operations.”

I almost laughed.

“Twelve years ago, I was dismissed from an airline because a wealthy passenger lied about me. Now a senior executive thinks he can use an airline to humiliate me again.”

Richard looked uncomfortable.

“What are you going to do?”

I glanced at Victoria.

“I’m going to find out how many people Gregory has convinced that the rules don’t apply to them.”

A few minutes later, airport security escorted Victoria off the aircraft for questioning as part of the investigation. She kept looking back at me.

“Mrs. Vance, please. I have a family.”

I remained calm.

“So do the passengers you treated as though they were beneath you. I won’t punish you without evidence, but I won’t protect you from the consequences of your own decisions.”

Before leaving, Daniel approached me.

“Your executive team is waiting for instructions.”

“Tell them the board meeting will proceed as scheduled.”

Richard frowned.

“You’re still going?”

“Of course.”

I looked at the message one more time.

“Gregory wanted to keep me off the plane. Tomorrow, he’ll have to explain why.”

But I hadn’t yet discovered the most disturbing part.

When Daniel checked the original reservation history, he found that someone had accessed my travel details three days before the flight.

Someone had been tracking my movements.

And Gregory Harris wasn’t acting alone.