Chapter 7 - The Empty Lining
At the airport, I stood beside Nina while a uniformed officer inspected my suitcase in a private room. The torn lining was still visible. There was no white package inside it. Somehow the emptiness frightened me almost as much as the powder had.
"This damage happened inside your home?" the officer asked.
"Yes."
"You're free to travel. We may ask you for another statement."
Through the glass, families dragged wheeled bags toward check-in counters. A little boy cried because he'd lost a stuffed dinosaur. The world kept going, even while mine had cracked down the middle.
I boarded with a security escort and sat next to a window. I should have been thinking about the client meeting waiting in Singapore. Instead, I kept hearing Carlos say, SHE'S TOO TRUSTING.
Ten minutes before takeoff, an email arrived from our company account: a photo of me entering the private inspection room, cropped to make it look like I'd been detained.
Subject line: NORTHSTAR CEO UNDER INVESTIGATION.
The message had gone to every board member.
June called. "It's Carlos. He says you've been arrested. He's demanding emergency control of the bank accounts."
"Tell them I'm on the plane."
"I did. He's calling my statement a cover-up."
"Can the bank stop him?"
"For now. But he's trying to remove me."
The flight attendant asked me to switch my phone to airplane mode. My hand hovered over the screen. I had built Northstar one difficult shipment at a time, taking Mom's last savings and risking my own house. Carlos was trying to steal it with one photograph and a lie.
June sent one final message before the signal disappeared.
May you like
SOMEONE INSIDE THE BANK HAS ACCEPTED HIS DOCUMENTS. THE FIRST TRANSFER IS PENDING.
Then the plane started moving.
