Chapter 4 - The Passenger Who Should Not Exist
The person standing in the cockpit doorway smiled.
I had never seen that smile before.
But Adrian had.
And the second he saw it, every instinct in his body changed.
He wasn't looking at an enemy.
He was looking at a memory.
A dangerous one.
The man slowly stepped out of the cockpit.
He was wearing a pilot uniform.
The same uniform as the man who had been flying the plane.
But he wasn't the pilot.
Not anymore.
Because the real pilot was lying unconscious on the floor behind him.
The stranger looked at Adrian.
"Still protecting everyone except yourself?"
Adrian's face became cold.
"Marcus."
The name fell into the cabin like a warning.
The woman holding Lily immediately stepped backward.
"No."
Her voice was barely audible.
Adrian looked at her.
"You know him."
She didn't answer.
That was enough.
I looked at all of them.
Everyone knew each other.
Everyone had secrets.
Everyone except me.
"Someone explain what is happening."
Nobody listened.
Adrian moved slowly toward Marcus.
"You should be dead."
Marcus laughed.
"So should half the people in this plane."
The engines continued shaking beneath us.
The alarm kept screaming.
The entire plane felt unstable.
But nobody looked afraid of crashing.
They were afraid of the man standing in front of them.
Marcus looked at Lily.
His smile disappeared.
"She's bigger than I expected."
Adrian's expression changed instantly.
"Don't look at her."
The warning in his voice made even me step back.
Marcus raised his hands.
"Relax."
Then he looked at me.
"And you must be Claire."
My heart dropped.
Again.
Everyone knew my name.
Everyone except me knew why.
"How do you know me?"
Marcus tilted his head.
"Because Daniel talked about you."
The mention of my husband's name felt like a knife.
I stepped forward.
"What did he say?"
Marcus looked amused.
"He said you were the only person in his life who believed he was better than what everyone thought."
I swallowed.
For a moment, I forgot who I was talking to.
I forgot the danger.
Because hearing something from Daniel felt like hearing his voice again.
"What else?"
Marcus looked at Adrian.
"Did you tell her?"
Adrian didn't answer.
Marcus smiled.
"No."
The woman holding Lily whispered:
"Adrian..."
"Not now."
"No, she deserves to know."
Adrian's eyes turned sharp.
"Elena."
So that was her name.
Lily's mother.
Elena looked back at him.
"You can't keep protecting her with lies."
The words hurt because they were true.
I looked at Adrian.
"What lie?"
Nobody spoke.
Then Marcus laughed.
A quiet, cruel laugh.
"The biggest one."
Adrian moved.
Fast.
But Marcus was faster.
He pulled something from his pocket.
Not a gun.
A phone.
He pressed a button.
The screen showed a video.
Daniel.
My entire body froze.
It wasn't a photograph.
It wasn't a note.
It was him.
Alive.
Sitting somewhere dark.
Talking directly into the camera.
My hands started shaking.
"No."
I whispered.
"No."
Adrian watched my face.
He knew.
He knew this moment would destroy me.
The video played.
Daniel looked tired.
Older.
Afraid.
But it was him.
"Claire."
My breath stopped.
"If you're watching this, then something went wrong."
I covered my mouth.
The tears came before I could stop them.
"I know you're going to be angry."
Daniel looked away from the camera.
"You have every right."
A pause.
Then he continued.
"I lied to you."
The words broke something inside me.
Not because I didn't know.
Because I still hoped I was wrong.
"I wasn't a financial consultant."
Daniel took a breath.
"I worked with Adrian Voss."
The video paused.
Marcus looked at me.
"Keep watching."
I hated him for saying that.
But I couldn't look away.
Daniel continued.
"There are things I never told you because I wanted one person in my life to see me as just Daniel."
His eyes filled with regret.
"Not an investigator."
"Not a man chasing dangerous people."
"Just your husband."
I touched the screen.
Almost like I could reach him.
Then Daniel said something that made Adrian look away.
"Lily is not the reason they came after me."
Elena's face changed.
The video continued.
"The reason they came after me is because I found out who was controlling the Black Circle."
The plane shook again.
Everyone grabbed something to steady themselves.
But I didn't move.
Because Daniel's next words were for me.
"Claire, if Adrian is with you, listen carefully."
Adrian looked at the screen.
"Do not trust everyone on that plane."
The video ended.
Silence.
Nobody breathed.
Then Marcus spoke.
"Interesting."
Adrian turned toward him.
"You edited it."
Marcus smiled.
"Did I?"
Adrian's expression hardened.
"You removed the second half."
My heart stopped.
"There was more?"
Nobody answered.
Elena looked terrified.
Marcus looked satisfied.
And Adrian looked like he had just realized something horrible.
"Where is the rest of the video?"
Marcus stepped closer.
"Safe."
"Where?"
Marcus looked at Lily.
"Somewhere only Claire can find."
My stomach tightened.
"Me?"
Marcus nodded.
"Daniel trusted you more than anyone."
I shook my head.
"No."
But even I didn't believe myself.
Because deep down, I remembered.
Daniel had always hidden things.
Not because he didn't love me.
Because he thought he was protecting me.
Adrian took the phone from Marcus.
He checked the file.
His face became darker.
"This isn't from Daniel's apartment."
Marcus smiled.
"No."
"Where did you get it?"
Marcus looked at me.
"From the place where Daniel died."
The words hit harder than anything else.
Because I had spent six months believing Daniel died alone.
A random accident.
A tragedy.
But now I knew.
He hadn't been alone.
Someone had been there.
Someone had watched him die.
And someone had hidden the truth from me.
The plane suddenly tilted.
A warning light flashed above us.
The pilot's voice came through the speaker.
"We are losing altitude."
Adrian immediately moved toward the cockpit.
Marcus followed.
"There's something you should know."
Adrian stopped.
"What?"
Marcus looked serious for the first time.
"The person who hacked the navigation system isn't trying to crash us."
A pause.
"They're trying to force us to land."
Adrian stared at him.
"Where?"
Marcus looked at the coordinates on the screen.
Then at me.
His expression changed.
Because he recognized the location.
"No."
Adrian stepped closer.
"What?"
Marcus pointed at the screen.
"The coordinates are leading us to Daniel Bennett's final location."
Nobody spoke.
I felt cold.
Because Daniel's death was supposed to be the end of his story.
But someone was taking us there.
Someone wanted me to see something.
The plane dropped lower.
The lights flickered.
Adrian grabbed my arm.
"Claire."
I looked at him.
His voice was serious.
"Whatever happened there..."
He stopped.
Because the communication system suddenly activated.
A woman's voice came through the speakers.
A voice I recognized.
A voice that should not have been possible.
"Claire Bennett."
I froze.
The woman continued.
"I know you can hear me."
Adrian's face changed.
Because he knew the voice.
Elena dropped Lily's blanket.
Marcus stepped back.
May you like
And Adrian whispered the name of the woman speaking through the radio...
"Your sister."
