Chapter 3
"Honey?" Michael blurted out.
The word came out of Michael before he could stop it, and it landed in that galley like a bomb, and for one second, the attendants who had given up saw a way out.
Michael's surprise burned off fast, and something heavier and more irritated took its place.
He never let go of Evelyn. He rubbed his brow with his free hand.
"Charlotte, what are you doing here? Is this the new job you mentioned last night? An intern flight attendant at our own airline?"
I nodded calmly.
His eyes went over my soaked uniform, and his voice dropped. "Stop making a scene. Do what Mr. Chase asked and apologize. We'll deal with the rest after we land."
As soon as he said that, the whole galley froze.
It was not only me. Every attendant in that space had frozen.
Their eyes went from shock to hopelessness, and then to nothing at all.
Evelyn saw it and pushed herself further into Michael. "Michael, so that's Charlotte? She was so harsh a minute ago. My brother must have been terrified."
Michael patted her back with sympathy all over his face. "Evelyn and her brother are simple people. They don't scheme. All they want is an apology.
"Be good and get on your knees and apologize to Mr. Chase. Don't put me in a difficult position."
I looked at him and smiled, and it never reached my eyes.
"Michael, do you remember what you knelt down and promised me before we married? It's time to keep it."
Without waiting for his reply, I hung up the call.
I ended the call without a second thought.
I turned on my heel and went straight to the crew locker.
I took out the heavier satellite phone.
"Grandpa," I said, keeping my voice steady.
"Someone's messing with the cabin crew and causing chaos on board.
"Have the captain land at the nearest airport.
"And when we touch down, I want those divorce papers ready for me and Michael."
Ryan stared at the satellite phone in my hand, went blank for two seconds, then covered his mouth and started laughing.
"What is this act, new girl? You wave a clunky satellite phone around and suddenly you're an heiress? Calling your grandpa to save you?"
His eyes were full of contempt. "Do you have any idea who Michael Reed is? In this industry, when that man moves, the ground moves."
I laughed without looking at him. "Michael Reed? He's nothing."
He was a man who had married into the Sinclair family.
Years ago, his grandfather had done me a favor.
The Sinclairs didn't forget things like that, and my grandfather carried it with him his whole life.
So when Michael's family lost everything, my grandfather came to me and asked me to honor an arrangement our families had made when we were children.
He seemed capable enough and honest enough, so I agreed.
Before the wedding, I called him into the study and made it plain.
"Michael, loyalty is where my line is. The day you betray me or do anything to hurt me, I file for divorce immediately."
And how did he respond?
He got down on his knees in front of my grandfather and swore he would never wrong me, and that if he broke it, he would walk away with nothing and never get up again.
But my grandpa and I kept a card up our sleeve.
We never told him the Sinclair Family was rich enough to rival entire nations.
So Michael always thought I was just another regular heiress.
And he believed the general manager's chair he got after the wedding came from his own ability and his own work.
He was that stupid.
That day, I was going to let him see exactly what he was worth without me.