Chapter 3 - The Money Behind the Ticket
The cabin door closed.
The safety announcement began.
Julian barely heard it.
His eyes remained on Elena.
“How much do you know?”
Elena looked out the window.
“Enough.”
“You don't understand the situation.”
“I understand the bank transfers.”
His face tightened.
“What transfers?”
“The ones paying for Chloe's apartment.”
Chloe looked at Julian.
“My apartment?”
Elena opened the folder.
“Two hundred eighty thousand dollars.”
Chloe shook her head.
“You told me it was a gift.”
“It was.”
“From you?”
Julian hesitated.
“Yes.”
Elena looked at him.
“From the company.”
Chloe's face went pale.
Julian leaned toward Elena.
“Keep your voice down.”
Elena looked around.
Nobody was listening anymore.
Then she whispered:
“Why?”
He couldn't answer.
“You thought nobody would notice?”
“I was going to repay it.”
“When?”
“After the merger.”
Elena's expression changed slightly.
“The merger isn't happening.”
Julian froze.
“What?”
“The board canceled it this morning.”
His face drained of color.
“That's impossible.”
“I attended the meeting.”
Julian stared.
“You weren't on the board.”
Elena smiled.
“Not until yesterday.”
He looked at the folder.
She turned the next page.
A shareholder agreement.
Her name appeared beside the controlling voting rights.
Julian's fingers tightened.
“You've been planning this.”
“No.”
She looked directly at him.
“You've been planning this.”
He lowered his voice.
“Elena, listen to me.”
“No.”
“We can fix this.”
“We could have.”
“When?”
“When you first lied.”
Julian looked away.
Chloe whispered:
“Why didn't you tell me she controlled the company?”
Julian didn't answer.
Elena closed the folder.
The plane began moving toward the runway.
Julian suddenly remembered something.
He turned to Elena.
“Who is the new CEO?”
Elena didn't respond.
“Who?”
She adjusted her sunglasses.
“You'll meet him in New York.”
Julian's heart began pounding.
“Why is he on this flight?”
Elena smiled.
“Maybe he isn't.”
Julian stared at her.
Then his phone vibrated.
An email appeared.
BOARD APPOINTMENT CONFIRMED.
The sender was anonymous.
Julian opened it.
His own name appeared under one sentence:
May you like
CEO REMOVAL EFFECTIVE UPON LANDING.
👉 Julian had spent months planning a secret future, but Elena had already scheduled the moment his old life would legally end.
