I walked back to the galley, the pieces of the puzzle locking into place with terrifying clarity. He hadn’t used my father’s money to save his business. He had used it to finance a luxury European vacation, a Rolex, and a diamond bracelet for his mistress.

Ten minutes later, the curtain to the galley rustled open. I knew it would be him. Adrian stepped into the narrow space, his face pale, hands trembling as he tried to maintain a casual demeanor in case another crew member walked in.

“Elena,” he hissed in a panicked whisper. “What are you doing on this flight? You told me you were flying to London this week!”

“Schedules change, Adrian,” I said, cleaning a tray with a microfiber cloth without looking up. “Just like destinations change. Dallas is lovely this time of year, isn’t it?”

“Listen to me,” he said, stepping closer, his voice desperate. “It’s not what it looks like. Chloe is… she’s the daughter of a major international client. Her father is a massive investor. I had to bring her along to close the deal. The intimacy, the hand on her back—it’s just a front, Elena. I’m playing a part to secure the future of our family.”

I finally stopped wiping the tray and looked up at him. The sheer audacity of his lie was almost breathtaking. “A one-year anniversary front? With a diamond bracelet purchased using my father’s hard-earned retirement money?”

Adrian froze. The color didn’t just leave his face this time; he looked physically ill. “How did you…”

“Passengers talk, Adrian. Especially happy ones,” I said, my voice dropping to a dangerous, icy whisper. “Now, go back to your seat. I have a cabin to manage. If you create a scene at 30,000 feet, I will have the captain arrange for local authorities to meet you at the gate in Madrid for disrupting flight operations. Do you understand me?”

He backed away slowly, his eyes wide with a mixture of fear and rage, before disappearing behind the curtain.

The moment he left, I pulled out my phone and connected to the high-speed crew Wi-Fi network. My hands flew across the screen. First, I took a clear, high-resolution photo of the passenger manifest displaying Salvatore, Adrian and his companion in first class, paid for with a credit card that I recognized as the business account linked to my father’s loan. Next, I took a discrete photo from the galley opening of the two of them holding hands across the central console.