Chapter 5 - Gate 17On the morning of July 14, Dakota dressed before sunrise.
She applied simple makeup, secured her hair, and pinned her silver wings above her name badge.
Adam was already gone.
He had left a note on the kitchen counter.
Flying to Miami. Big meeting. Don’t wait up.
Dakota folded the note and placed it inside her handbag beside the divorce papers.
At the airport, she checked in with the crew and reviewed the passenger manifest.
Adam Gibson.
Seat 2A.
Trinity Cole.
Seat 2B.
Dakota stared at the names until Melissa touched her arm.
“You can still back out.”
“No.”
“Are you going to serve them?”
“Yes.”
Melissa studied her face.
“You’re frightening me a little.”
“Good. I’ve spent too much time being frightened of him.”
The crew completed the safety inspection.
Dakota checked champagne bottles, glassware, meal orders, and emergency equipment.
Every movement felt strangely normal.
That normality steadied her.
At 8:25, first-class boarding began.
Dakota stood inside the galley, partially hidden by the curtain.
She heard Adam before she saw him.
He was laughing.
It was a warm, confident laugh—the one he used at company dinners when he wanted a room to notice him.
Trinity entered beside him in a pink dress.
Her stomach showed a small but unmistakable curve.
Adam carried both of their bags.
He looked attentive, protective, and proud.
Dakota had not seen him look at her that way in years.
For one painful second, she remembered their honeymoon.
Adam had carried her suitcase through a rainstorm after their rental car broke down. They had laughed beneath a broken umbrella and promised that nothing would ever make them strangers.
Dakota closed her eyes.
The man from that memory no longer existed.
Perhaps he never had.
Adam and Trinity took their seats without seeing her.
Trinity looked nervous.
“Do you think she’ll sign quickly?” she whispered.
“She doesn’t have a choice,” Adam replied.
“What about the house?”
“I told you. It’s basically mine.”
Dakota’s hand tightened around the curtain.
The house was not basically his.
Adam had contributed less than one-third of the purchase price. Dakota’s inheritance and years of flight pay had covered the rest.
Trinity lowered her voice.
“I don’t want her hurt.”
“She’ll be fine. Dakota is practical. Her job is her whole life anyway.”
Dakota stepped back before they could see her.
Melissa stood nearby, anger burning across her face.
“He told her you don’t care?”
“It appears so.”
“What is Trinity talking about signing?”
“Probably the divorce papers Adam hasn’t given me yet.”
Dakota took a slow breath and picked up the champagne bottle.
Her phone vibrated.
A message from Rebecca appeared.
The bank confirmed the signature discrepancy. Hawthorne has scheduled an emergency board vote. Proceed as planned.
Dakota slipped the phone into her pocket.
Then she pushed the service cart into the cabin.
May you like
When Adam looked up and saw her, the confident man at Gate 17 disappeared.
In his place sat a frightened liar who had finally run out of exits.
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