I smiled.
“Perfect.
Daniel knew me too well.
That smile worries me.
I opened my computer.
He kept all the documents.
Ticket.
Confirmation of seat.
Boarding register.
Mail with the airline.
And, more importantly, he had photographs taken minutes after the incident.
Marks on both arms.
Suitcase destroyed.
Crushed drugs.
I had also asked at the counter to leave written record of the real reason for my expulsion.
They had refused.
But the whole conversation had been recorded by several airport cameras.
Are you going to sue them?
“Not yet.
“Then?
I want to see how far they are willing to lie.
In New York, Ethan was getting worse.
His heart rate became unstable.
The doctors managed to stabilize him temporarily, but everyone knew the situation was precarious.
Claire came into her room.
His brother had wires on his chest and a central track placed on his neck.
“Did you find Amelia?” he asked.
Claire denied with her head.
“Not yet.
Do you know what happened?
She hesitated.
Then he told him everything. When he mentioned the destroyed blisters, Ethan closed his eyes.
Those were for me, right?
"Yes.
Did you try like this to give me a seat?
Claire did not answer.
Ethan let out a bitter laugh that ended up becoming a cough.
“Amazing.
“Don’t talk.
Who authorized him to go up?
Marcus said he spoke to someone on the airline.
Ethan looked at her again.
Did you know you were taking Amelia out?
They didn’t know his identity.
He remained silent for several seconds.
“That doesn’t do better.
Claire immediately understood what she meant.
Even if I was a teacher.
A waitress.
A student.
A mother traveling alone.
An unemployed.
A completely unknown person...
Nothing justified the treatment he had received.
It was not serious because they had humiliated a famous surgeon.
It was serious because they thought they could humiliate me precisely because they thought I was nobody.
At 7:36, the airline’s chief executive received the first really worrying call.
It wasn't from a reporter.
He was from the president of the Walsh Medical Group.
Richard Walsh.
“I want to know who made the decision to disembark a passenger from Flight 714 this morning.
“Mr. Walsh, we are investigating...
I don’t want an investigation. I want names.
Ten minutes later I had the first one.
Vanessa Cole.
Chief of cabin.
Twelve years working for the company.
