Chapter 2 - The Billion-Dollar Bully
To understand the absolute, apocalyptic tension erupting in row 24, you had to understand exactly who the man in the quarter-zip sweater was.
His name was Richard Vance. He was the ruthless, fifty-year-old billionaire CEO of Vanguard Investments. He was only flying in economy because a massive storm had grounded his private jet in Chicago, forcing him to buy the absolute last available commercial ticket to New York. He was furious about sitting with "the peasants," and he was taking it out on the easiest target he could find.
But Richard Vance was more than just a bully. He was a monster.
Three years ago, Richard’s firm had executed a hostile takeover of a manufacturing company in Ohio. To maximize his own profits, Richard had intentionally, illegally liquidated the pension fund of five hundred factory workers.
One of those workers was Arthur, Margaret’s husband of forty years.
When Arthur lost his entire life savings a month before his retirement, the sheer, crushing stress triggered a massive, fatal heart attack. Margaret had buried her husband in a cheap casket because Richard Vance had stolen their money to buy his third yacht.
For three years, the workers had tried to sue Vanguard Investments, but Richard had hidden the stolen money in a labyrinth of encrypted offshore accounts. He was a ghost. He was untouchable.
Until today.
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Margaret hadn't boarded this flight by accident. She had tracked Richard’s private jet tail number. When it was grounded, she knew exactly which commercial flight he would be forced to take to make his crucial merger meeting in Manhattan.
👉 Richard thought he was just sitting next to a harmless old woman, but the trap she had set was about to snap shut.
