The complaints had been dismissed as isolated incidents.
Monica didn't believe in isolated incidents.
Patterns mattered.
That was why she had decided to travel without her assistant.
Without security.
Without the usual introduction.
She wanted to see how the system treated someone who didn't look important.
She hadn't expected the test to begin before she even boarded.
Inside the aircraft, Daniel was waiting.
He looked embarrassed.
“You shouldn't have had to experience that.”
Monica placed her carry-on beside the seat.
“Actually, I'm glad it happened.”
Daniel frowned.
“Glad?”
“Yes.”
She sat down.
“Now we know the problem isn't theoretical.”
Daniel sat opposite her.
“Rebecca has never had a complaint like this.”
“Not one?”
“Not formally.”
Monica looked through the window.
Rebecca was still standing outside.
A security officer was speaking to her.
Monica sighed.
“Daniel.”
“Yes?”
“Don't fire her.”
He looked surprised.
“Why not?”
“Because if you remove the person who made the mistake without examining why she felt entitled to make it, nothing changes.”
Daniel nodded slowly.
“That sounds like you.”
Monica smiled faintly.
“No. It sounds like my father.”
The aircraft door closed.
The stairs were removed.
The engines began to spool.
Rebecca watched from the ground.
The G700 started moving.
Only then did she realize the most humiliating part.
Monica hadn't demanded an apology.
She hadn't threatened her.
She hadn't called anyone.
She hadn't even raised her voice.
She had simply boarded.
And somehow that made Rebecca feel worse.
The Manifest
At 8:31, Rebecca was called into the operations office.
She expected anger.
Instead, she found silence.
Daniel Brooks sat behind a conference table.
Beside him was the head of aviation compliance, Margaret Lewis.
A legal adviser sat near the window.
Rebecca took the empty chair.
Margaret placed a printed document on the table.
“Do you know what this is?”
Rebecca looked down.
“The passenger manifest.”
“No.”
Margaret turned the page.
“This is the master manifest.”
Rebecca stared.
There were two versions.
One had been loaded onto her tablet.
The other was the official manifest from operations.
Monica Hayes was listed as Passenger One.
Owner access.
Full executive clearance.
Rebecca's throat tightened.
“Why wasn't this version on my tablet?”
Margaret answered.
“Because someone replaced it.”
Rebecca looked up.
“What?”
Daniel leaned forward.
“The system recorded a modification at 7:42 this morning.”
Rebecca shook her head.
“I didn't change anything.”
“No one said you did.”
“Then who did?”
Margaret slid another document across the table.
“That's what we're investigating.”
Rebecca read the name attached to the modification.
Edward Vance.
Vice President of Charter Services.
Rebecca knew him.
Everyone did.
He had been with Hayes Meridian for twenty-one years.
He was considered untouchable.
Rebecca looked up.
“Why would Mr. Vance remove Mrs. Hayes from the manifest?”
“That,” Margaret said, “is the question.”
Rebecca suddenly remembered something.
“Wait.”
Everyone looked at her.
“There was an email.”
“What email?”
“Last night.”
Rebecca pulled out her phone.
“Someone told me that the passenger list had been revised.”
“Who sent it?”
Rebecca found the message.
Her face changed.
The sender address appeared legitimate.
But Margaret immediately noticed something.
“The domain is wrong.”
Rebecca stared.
The email looked real.
The signature was correct.
The formatting was perfect.
But the final character in the company domain was different.
Someone had created a nearly identical address.
Margaret leaned back.
“This wasn't a mistake.”
Rebecca looked pale.
“What was the purpose?”
Daniel answered.
“To keep Monica Hayes off the aircraft.”
“Why?”
Nobody knew yet.
But there was another problem.
The aircraft had been scheduled for Houston.
And the meeting there involved a company whose acquisition would expose a major financial irregularity inside Hayes Meridian Aviation.
Someone had a reason to delay Monica.
Maybe even to frighten her.
Rebecca suddenly understood something.
Her mistake had been real.
But someone else had created the conditions for it.
And that meant she was not the only person under investigation.
The Deal in Houston
The Gulfstream landed at 9:27.
Monica spent most of the flight reviewing documents.
She didn't mention Rebecca again.
Daniel did.
Twice.
Monica ignored him both times.
The meeting in Houston was held at a glass office tower overlooking the downtown skyline.
Waiting inside was Adrian Cole, CEO of AeroVector Systems.
The acquisition would bring AeroVector's proprietary safety technology into Hayes Meridian Aviation.
The first hour went smoothly.
Then Adrian placed a folder on the table.
“There is one issue.”
Monica looked at him.
“Which one?”
“Our internal audit.”
She opened the folder.
Several pages were highlighted.
“Unauthorized maintenance charges.”
“That's correct.”
“How much?”
“$4.8 million over eighteen months.”
Monica looked at Daniel.
“Were these discovered before or after the acquisition review?”
“Before.”
“Why wasn't I informed?”
Daniel hesitated.
“We were still verifying them.”
Monica closed the folder.
“Who authorized the payments?”