Chapter 5 - FLIGHT OF THE SHADOWS
The wind screamed in Daniel’s ears as the ground rapidly fell away. Ten feet. Twenty feet. Fifty feet.
The landscape of his sprawling estate transformed into a miniature patchwork of green grass, blazing orange fire, and flashing blue emergency lights far below. The icy rush of wind tore at his clothes, threatening to rip his grip away from the slick aluminum landing skid.
Inside the cabin, Victoria looked down through the open side door. Her eyes met Daniel’s with a mixture of disbelief and savage fury.
“Kick him off!” Victoria shrieked at the pilot, who was struggling to maintain altitude while compensating for the unexpected weight on the left side of the aircraft.
“I can’t let go of the controls, ma'am! We’re unbalanced!” the pilot yelled back over the deafening engine roar.
Victoria grabbed a heavy fire extinguisher mounted inside the bulkhead, unhooked the metal latch, and leaned out over the edge, raising the heavy cylinder directly above Daniel’s bleeding hands.
“You should have died in the fire, Daniel!” she screamed, her face twisted in pure rage.
From inside the cabin, a small figure surged forward.
Lily leaped onto Victoria’s back, biting down hard on the woman’s wrist with all her might.
Victoria let out a piercing shriek of pain, dropping the fire extinguisher. The heavy metal canister tumbled past Daniel’s head and plummeted into the forest below.
Using the split-second distraction, Daniel hauled his body upward with sheer willpower, kicking his legs up and pulling his torso through the open sliding door. He rolled onto the cabin floor just as Victoria shoved Lily backward against the leather passenger seats.
Daniel rose to his feet like a wounded lion.
“Touch my daughter again,” Daniel growled, his voice cutting through the thrum of the engine, “and I will throw you out of this aircraft myself.”
Victoria backed into the corner of the cabin, clutching her bleeding wrist. Her perfect facade was entirely shattered, leaving behind only the desperate, cornered predator.
“Pilot! Land this bird at the private airstrip immediately! The Coast Guard is tracking our transponder!” Daniel barked, stepping between Victoria and Lily.
The pilot, recognizing the billionaire owner whose name was on the registration of the aircraft, immediately throttled down. “Yes, Mr. Carter! Aborting flight plan, returning to base!”
“No! You work for me!” Victoria screamed, reaching into her jacket pocket.
She pulled out a small black remote control with a blinking red LED.
Daniel froze. Lily buried her face in his waist, weeping.
“You think you’ve won, Daniel?” Victoria laughed, a ragged, unhinged sound. “You think getting back down to the ground saves your precious Eleanor? This remote is connected to the life-support grid at St. Jude Sanitarium. If I press this button, the backup power to her isolation ward cuts out permanently. She will suffocate in thirty minutes.”
Daniel held his hands up, his heart sinking into a freezing void. “Victoria, put it down. Whatever you want—money, the offshore accounts, immunity—I will give it to you. Just don’t do this.”
Victoria’s eyes gleamed with triumphant madness. “I don't just want your money, Daniel. I wanted your name. I wanted to be the queen of Carter Enterprises. But since you took that away... I’ll take everything you love.”
Her thumb hovered directly over the red detonator button.
Cliffhanger:
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A sudden sharp crack echoed outside the cockpit window, followed by the deafening blast of a state police tactical helicopter matching their altitude, an amplified voice blaring over the radio:
“Unidentified aircraft, you are surrounded. Drop your weapons and land immediately, or you will be engaged!”
