Chapter 1: The Man She Thought She Owned
I never told my stepmother I owned the airline.
She snapped her fingers at me in the lounge, demanding I carry her bags.
"You're used to manual labor," she smirked, forcing me to sit in Economy while she took First Class.
The plane taxied, then stopped.
The pilot came out, walked past her, and saluted me.
"Madam, we cannot take off with disrespectful passengers." I stood up and looked at her.
"Get off my plane.
Now."
"Alex, put down that coffee and take my three Louis Vuitton trunks to the gate immediately."
Victoria snapped her fingers in the First Class lounge, her voice sharp enough to make nearby passengers turn.
Then she smiled at the woman beside her.
"My stepson.
He's used to manual labor.
His father always said those hands were better suited for a mechanic than a manager."
I said nothing.
I simply closed my laptop and lifted her three heavy trunks.
Victoria watched me like I was hired help.
What she did not know was that inside the laptop I had just closed were the board minutes and a notarized document effective that very morning.
Fifty-one percent of AeroVance's controlling stock had been transferred into a trust under my name.
The very airline she was about to board.
At the priority gate, Victoria stepped straight to the front.
The agent, Brenda, scanned her boarding pass.
"Welcome aboard, Mrs.
Vance."
Victoria barely acknowledged her and gestured for me to keep carrying the luggage.
I placed my phone beneath the scanner.
BEEP.
But it was not the ordinary confirmation sound.
Three low tones rang out.
Brenda froze.
A red banner appeared across her screen:
RED-ALPHA-ONE
OWNER ON BOARD.
Her eyes widened.
Her hand moved immediately toward the intercom, ready to announce the arrival of the airline's owner.
I met her gaze.
Then slowly placed one finger against my lips.
Silence.
Brenda glanced at my simple jeans and blazer.
Then back at the flashing red message.
Behind me, Victoria grew impatient.
"Alex!
Are you planning to stand there all day?"
I turned and smiled.
She still believed she was ordering around a man with no power.
In a few minutes, Victoria would board the aircraft she thought her family controlled…
And discover that the person she had just ordered to carry her luggage was now the one who decided whether she flew at all.
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What will Victoria do when she realizes who Alex really is?
Comment **"NEXT"** if you want Part 2 — it's already in the comments.
