Chapter 2 - The Empty Seat
I dropped aggressively to my knees on the dirty carpet, searching frantically beneath the rows of seats for my little sister.
"Maya!" I screamed loudly, completely ignoring the irritated stares of the sleeping passengers waking up around me.
A frustrated flight attendant rushed quickly down the aisle, her face twisted in deep annoyance.
"You need to return to your seat immediately, sweetie, you are disturbing the cabin," she scolded, reaching out for my arm.
I slapped her hand aggressively away with a fierce, desperate strength born of pure terror.
"Someone took my sister!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.
The heavy curtain rustled violently behind me as Silas stepped into the economy cabin with his sleeping baby held tightly to his chest.
He absolutely did not look like a wealthy corporate businessman anymore.
He looked exactly like a violent warlord preparing for an absolute massacre.
"Lock the exterior cabin doors right now," Silas commanded the flight attendant in a voice that left absolutely no room for debate.
She blinked rapidly in confusion, clearly not understanding the imminent, deadly danger we were in.
"Sir, you absolutely cannot just give orders on a commercial flight," she stammered defensively.
Silas reached deeply into his suit jacket and pulled out a solid gold badge that caught the dim cabin lights.
"I own this entire airline, and I am telling you that we have an active hostile threat on board my plane."
The flight attendant turned completely pale and instantly rushed to the emergency wall phone.
Vance appeared completely silently beside his boss, his massive hands resting dangerously near the concealed weapon at his waist.
"I aggressively checked the lavatories, Boss," Vance reported with a grim expression.
"She is absolutely not in any of them."
I felt hot tears spilling rapidly over my cheeks as pure panic forcefully gripped my throat.
I had promised my dying mother on our living room floor that I would protect Maya with my life.
"They violently took her because they know I can easily identify them to the police," I sobbed, clutching the pink stuffed rabbit tightly to my chest.
Silas placed a warm, incredibly heavy hand on my small, shaking shoulder.
"We are going to find her, kid, I swear it to you on my life."
He looked sharply over at his massive guard.
"Check the rear cargo access hatch immediately."
Vance nodded respectfully and began moving completely silently down the aisle like a dangerous shadow.
I followed incredibly close behind him, my small borrowed sneakers making absolutely no sound on the thin carpet.
We finally reached the back galley where the flight attendants normally prepared the food carts.
The heavy curtain was drawn tightly shut, completely blocking the area from the passengers' curious view.
Vance carefully pulled back the heavy fabric and immediately raised his concealed weapon.
I gasped in absolute, undeniable horror at the bloody sight before us.
A flight attendant was slumped completely unconscious against the metal beverage cart with a brutal bruise on her forehead.
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Standing perfectly still in the center of the cramped space was a tall man in a gray trench coat holding a terrifyingly sharp knife.
The cold steel blade was pressed directly against Maya’s tiny throat as she cried completely silently in his arms.
