He Forced His Hidden Wife to Step Down for His Mistress, Unaware She Was the World’s Elite Aerospace Engineer—Until He Had to Trust Her to Save Their Plane at 30,000 Feet
Part 1: Shadows Above 30,000 Feet
The fluorescent lights of the crew briefing room flickered, casting harsh shadows across the stainless-steel counters. Outside the tinted glass, jet engines hummed a low, vibrating bass line that reverberated through the soles of Leela Voss’s shoes. She adjusted her silk neck scarf with precise, practiced movements, staring at her reflection in the dark glass. Three years. Three years of playing the diligent, silent chief flight attendant by day, and retreating into the shadow of an secret marriage by night.
A low, familiar laugh broke her concentration. Behind her, Jackson Cole—Captain Cole, the face of Skyross Airlines and heir to the Cole Global empire—leaned against the doorframe. His captain’s cap was tilted slightly, masking the exhaustion in his dark eyes.
“Thank you once again for flying with American Airlines,” Jackson murmured, his tone laced with a dry, quiet irony.
Leela didn’t turn around. She smoothed her navy blazer, her fingers trembling ever so slightly. “Not here, Jax. Someone could walk in.”
“Why the sudden fear?” he asked, stepping closer until the scent of cedar and expensive cologne enveloped her. “It’s not as if we haven’t done this here before. Three years of the Voss family’s bankruptcy, three years of liquidation, and we still pretend to just be nominal colleagues during shift changes.”
He reached out, his long fingers brushing against her wrist, but she pulled away sharply, clutching her abdomen beneath the tailored jacket.
“I can’t do this today, Jax,” she whispered, her voice tight with an emotion she fought to suppress. “It’s not too late. My period hasn’t come yet. The doctor told me yesterday that I need to rest. Starting tomorrow, you won’t be flying with me anymore.”
Jackson’s brow furrowed, his hand dropping back to his side. “Go see the doctor again. Take care of your health. Don’t forget, Grandfather is still waiting for a grandchild.”
A cold weight settled in Leela’s chest. Grandfather. It was always about the old man, always about the promise that kept the Cole family fortune tied to her debt.
Before she could speak, footsteps echoed down the tiled hallway. Chase Miller, a senior co-pilot, stepped into the room, tossing a flight folder onto the table. He glanced between Jackson and Leela with a knowing, cynical smirk.
“Why did it take you so long to finally quit, Chief Attendant Voss?” Chase asked, leaning back against the desk. “You’ve been Captain Cole’s chief attendant ever since you joined Skyross. But he’s been dragging his feet because he knows Jenna Carter is back.” He turned his gaze to Jackson. “Seriously, Captain Cole. When are you actually going to divorce your wife at home? Everyone knows Jenna is your true love. If your grandfather hadn’t forced you two apart, that Mrs. Cole title would never belong to the woman sitting in your house.”
Leela froze. The words cut deeper than she cared to admit, though she had heard the rumors a thousand times. Jenna Carter—the brilliant, beautiful aviation safety specialist, and, as Leela had recently discovered to her horror, her own half-sister.
Jackson didn’t deny it. He merely straightened his cuffs, his face a hardened mask. “Mind your own business, Chase.”
“I’m just looking out for my career,” Chase muttered, heading toward the door. “And maybe pointing out the obvious.”
As the door clicked shut, Leela pulled out her phone. Her fingers moved swiftly across the glass, dialing the operations desk. “Hello. This is Leela Voss. I want to transfer to Flight 0312 for tomorrow’s trip.”
She hung up and looked at Jackson one last time, her eyes burning with quiet resolve. “If this marriage was forced on you, Jackson Cole… then I am giving you your freedom.”
The next afternoon, Flight 0312 soared through the cloud deck at 30,000 feet. The cabin air was dry, smelling faintly of heated coffee and jet fuel. Leela walked down the aisle, double-checking overhead bins, her mind miles away. Suddenly, the floor lurched beneath her feet.
A violent shudder racked the aircraft. The warning chimes chimed frantically across the cabin.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is the flight deck,” a panicked voice crackled over the intercom, not Jackson’s voice, but a younger pilot’s. “We are experiencing severe turbulence. Please return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts immediately—”
The plane pitched violently downward. Passengers screamed as loose trays and cups flew into the air. The cabin lights flickered and died, replaced by the eerie red glow of emergency strip lighting.
“What is happening?!” a man shouted, pulling wildly at his seatbelt. “The plane is dropping! We’re falling!”
“Please remain calm!” Leela shouted over the roar of the engines, holding onto an overhead rack to steady herself. “All crew members are working to ensure your safety! Fasten your seatbelts!”
“We’re at 30,000 feet!” another passenger shrieked, hysterical. “I don’t want to die! Give me a parachute! Let me out of here!”
Leela moved quickly down the aisle, her professional training kicking in despite the adrenaline surging through her veins. “Sir, calm down! We are contacting air traffic control! I promise you, we will make it through this!”
“If Skyross Airlines was reliable, this wouldn’t be happening!” the man screamed back. “We’re going to die! Everyone, call your families while you still have signal! Say your goodbyes!”
Panicked murmurs spread like wildfire. Passengers pulled out phones, weeping, typing out desperate messages. Leela reached for the galley jumpseat telephone, dialing the private cabin line. Her heart hammered against her ribs. She dialed Jackson’s personal number—a habit she couldn’t break even in the face of death.
Ring… ring…
On the fourth ring, the line clicked open.
“Hello? Who is this?” a woman’s smooth, calm voice answered.
Leela froze, the receiver heavy in her hand. In the background, she could hear Jackson’s voice talking softly to someone else.
“Jackson…” Leela whispered, but the line was abruptly cut off from the other end.
A sudden wave of nausea hit her, accompanied by a sharp, stabbing pain in her lower abdomen. She gripped the bulkhead, sweat pouring down her neck. She couldn’t focus on the betrayal now; the plane took another nauseating dive.
Grabbing the emergency headset linked to the flight deck, Leela spoke with absolute authority. “Captain! This is Chief Attendant Leela Voss! Adjust course to 35 degrees west immediately and climb to 2,700 meters! You are heading straight into a microburst!”
“Shut up!” the young pilot barked through the static. “You’re just a flight attendant! What the hell do you think you’re doing? You’re going to get us all killed!”
“Listen to me!” Leela yelled back, her voice cutting through the cockpit noise. “There are hundreds of lives on this plane! Before I was an attendant, I worked in aerospace safety control! Adjust the heading now!”
A junior stewardess huddled beside her gasped. “Leela… how do you know that? Why did you switch to Flight 0312 today of all days?”
Leela stared out the tiny oval window at the pitch-black storm clouds swirling outside, her hand pressing firmly against her stomach. “Because,” she murmured, a bitter edge to her voice, “I thought I was escaping a storm… only to fly right into one.”
The aircraft shuddered violently once more, a loud alarms ringing through the flight deck, as the nose tipped further into the dark void below.
Part 2: The Facade of Safety
The descent was agonizing, but Leela’s frantic technical instructions through the interphone guided the terrified young pilot through the dense atmospheric wall. Against all odds, the heavy tires of Flight 0312 slammed onto the rain-slicked tarmac of the emergency runway, the reverse thrusters roaring like wounded beasts until the aircraft finally ground to a halt.
Cabin lights flickered back to full brightness. Oxygen masks hung like hollow yellow ghosts from the ceiling, but oxygen was returning to the lungs of two hundred sobbing, cheering passengers.
“Flight 0312 has landed safely,” Leela announced, her voice surprisingly steady despite her shaking hands. “Please remain seated until the aircraft comes to a complete stop, and disembark in an orderly manner.”
As the passengers filed out, weeping and embracing the ground crew, the junior stewardess, Mia, leaned against the galley counter, wiping tears from her face. “Leela… that was terrifying. Something that serious almost took us down. Where is your husband? Didn’t you call him?”
Leela adjusted her crumpled scarf, her face unreadable. “I forgot to tell you. My husband is dead.”
Mia blinked, stunned. “What? Really?”
Before Leela could answer, a commotion near the terminal entrance drew the attention of the remaining ground staff. Flanked by airport executives and security personnel, a tall figure in a tailored captain’s trench coat stepped into the hangar.
“Look! That’s Captain Cole!” a ground agent whispered loudly. “No wonder he’s the face of Skyross. What an entrance.”
“Name another airline CEO who looks like that,” another added. “And look who’s standing right beside him—that’s the new head of safety, Jenna Carter! Word is she turned down a massive overseas salary just to come work for Skyross because of him. They’re a perfect match.”
Leela stood near the mobile stairs, watching the pair approach. Jenna Carter walked with poised elegance, a tablet tucked under her arm, looking up at Jackson with a soft, affectionate smile. Jackson’s face was stoic, but he didn’t pull away when Jenna leaned in to whisper something to him.
“She’s alright, I guess,” Mia muttered beside Leela, crossing her arms. “Can’t compare to you, Leela. It’s a shame you’re… well, widowed.”
Jackson’s sharp eyes scanned the hangar until they locked onto Leela. He walked straight toward her, Jenna following half a step behind.
“Chief Attendant Voss,” Jackson said, his voice deep and formal, stripped of any personal warmth. “On behalf of Skyross Airlines, I want to thank you for your… extraordinary initiative during this incident.”
Jenna stepped forward, a polished smile on her lips. “Yes, excellent work, Leela. However, protocol was severely breached. To ensure compliance, your annual bonus will be docked for unauthorized intervention in flight deck operations.”
Leela looked directly at Jenna, her eyes cold as flint. “You’re just the new head of safety for Skyross, aren’t you, Ms. Carter? Since when do you have the authority to decide bonuses for chief attendants on the tarmac?”
Jenna’s smile wavered slightly, but she quickly smoothed it over. “Oh, I’m not overstepping. It’s just that Jax has a severe sore throat today. His doctor ordered him to rest his voice. As his safety chief—and close advisor—I’m taking care of the administrative details while Captain Cole conducts a thorough investigation into the root cause of this incident.”
Jenna turned to the gathering crowd of press and staff, raising her voice gracefully. “Skyross Airlines will give everyone a full explanation. In addition, all staff involved in this incident will receive three months of additional compensation.”
A murmur of applause broke out among the ground staff. “Ms. Carter is so generous!” someone called out. “No wonder she’s going to be the future Mrs. Cole!”
Leela stared at Jackson. He remained silent, his throat wrapped in a dark scarf, his dark eyes fixed on her. Jackson Cole, Leela thought, her heart swelling with an unbearable bitterness, you never publicly acknowledged our relationship. Were you just waiting for this day all along?
Jenna tapped her tablet, stepping closer to Jackson. “Jax, here is the preliminary incident report. We need to find out who tampered with the backup navigation system immediately. I’ve already reached out to the world’s top aerospace safety engineer, MSR.”
Leela felt a dry, ironic laugh form in her chest. MSR. The top aerospace safety engineer in the world—a ghost identity she herself had operated under for five years to build her own secret capital.
Jenna turned to Leela, leaning in close enough so only she could hear, her voice dripping with sweet venom. “Well, dear half-sister… three years, and you’re still nobody to Jax. Not even a title to your name. You were just a breeding machine forced on him by Old Man Cole. What were you hoping for?”
Leela didn’t flinch. She stepped closer to Jenna, her voice a sharp whisper. “Jenna, if you like taking my leftover trash, feel free to keep it. But don’t stand too close—it smells.”
Jenna’s eyes flashed with rage, but before she could retort, Leela turned on her heel and walked away into the pouring rain.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket. It was a encrypted message from her private broker, Ronnie: “Massive client offer came through. They want MSR to audit an international airline fleet. Are you taking it?”
Leela rubbed her throbbing temples as she stepped into a taxi. “I’m too tired lately,” she texted back. “Lower the volume. I’m not taking anything.”
Ronnie replied instantly: “But Leela! They’re offering 100 million dollars! 100 million!”
Leela stared at the glowing screen. A dull, persistent ache radiated from her lower abdomen, growing sharper by the minute. She leaned her head against the cool glass of the window. “Not even for 100 million. I don’t know what’s wrong with me lately. My stomach keeps hurting. I’m going to the hospital.”
Part 3: The Price of a Secret
The private reception room at the Cole Global Headquarters was stifling. Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, illuminating the dust motes hanging in the air.
Jackson sat behind his massive mahogany desk, his face pale, a glass of warm water untouched in front of him. Opposite him, Chase Miller threw a file onto the desk.
“Mr. Cole,” Chase said, crossing his legs. “Miss MSR rejected our offer.”
Jackson’s eyes narrowed. “Reason?”
“I heard about her reputation while I was overseas,” Chase replied, shaking his head. “Rumor has it she only listens to money. She doesn’t care about corporate prestige.”
“Then add another 100 million,” Jackson ordered coldly.
Chase raised an eyebrow. “200 million? Isn’t that a bit excessive for a safety audit?”
“She is the best in the industry,” Jackson said firmly. “She is worth every single cent. Contact MSR’s team again immediately.”
Before Chase could respond, the heavy double doors of the office swung open. Leela walked in, wearing a sharp grey suit, her hair pulled back into a tight bun. She threw a stack of documents directly onto Jackson’s desk.
Jackson dismissed Chase with a flick of his wrist. As the door closed, Jackson stood up, looking at Leela. “What is this?”
“An audit of your personal accounts,” Leela said coldly. “And a message. Stop sending your people to my apartment.”
Jackson’s expression hardened. “Leela, you have the nerve to act this volatile? Don’t you think you’re going too far?”
“Overreacting?” Leela laughed, a hollow sound. “Isn’t everything I said true? You just want me to publicly acknowledge who you are, don’t you? You want everyone to know you’re the CEO of Skyross! You don’t care about the title of Mrs. Cole—whoever wants it can take it!”
Jackson slammed his palm onto the desk. “I’ve endured you for three years, Leela! And I can’t take it anymore! Do you want all my real estate? Are you even worth that much? Grandfather promised that if you had an affair, I would decide the asset division. I’m even nice enough to leave you your underwear!”
Leela felt as though she had been slapped. “Three years ago, when my family went bankrupt, your grandfather paid off the debt! The agreement I signed with him was that I could only divorce after giving birth to an heir for the Cole family! Jackson Cole, do you think I didn’t want to have a baby? You’re the one who doesn’t know how to do it!”
Jackson’s eyes turned dark and dangerous. He stepped out from behind the desk, grabbing her wrist and pulling her flush against his chest. “I’ll show you right now whether I can do it or not!”
“You deceitful bastard! Let go of me!” Leela struggled violently, hitting his chest, but his grip was iron.
Suddenly, Jackson’s phone on the desk rang loudly on speakerphone. Old Man Cole’s stern, raspy voice echoed through the room.
“Jackson! I told you to bring Leela home for dinner tonight! Where are the two of you?”
Jackson paused, his chest heaving, his hand still gripping Leela’s waist. “We’re on our way back.”
Leela shoved him away with all her strength, straightening her jacket. “Stop right there! Where do you think you’re going? Jackson, we are getting divorced! You have no right to tell me what to do!”
“Grandfather wants us to have dinner at the manor,” Jackson said, his tone dropping into a icy quiet. “Grandfather has done enough for you. You don’t even bother to have dinner with him? Where is your gratitude?”
“Jackson Cole, you’re the one without gratitude!” Leela snapped. “Until I sign those divorce papers, I am still the Mrs. Cole of the Cole family. But after this dinner, we are done.”
An hour later, the black sedan pulled up to the ancient, sprawling Cole Manor. The dining hall was lit by crystal chandeliers, the long table laden with exquisite dishes.
Sitting at the side table was Vivian Cole, Jackson’s snobbish aunt, sipping wine. She sneered the moment Leela walked in alone.
“Leela Voss,” Vivian drawled, setting her glass down with a sharp clink. “Jax didn’t come back with you? You can’t even hold onto a man’s heart. Totally useless.”
Leela walked past her, taking her seat calmly. “Aunt Vivian, the only thing you need to leash is a dog, not a man.”
Vivian’s face flushed with anger. “No manners at all! I don’t know how you can even be compared to Jenna Carter. If you have time to worry about Jax and me, maybe you should figure out how to make up for the 1 billion dollar loss from that failed business deal with Jenna Carter! You think she’s your best friend, but she’s just scamming you.”
“You!” Vivian stood up, but a stern voice from the head of the table cut her off.
Old Man Cole sat in his carved wooden chair, his eyes sharp despite his advanced age. “This is a family dinner. I don’t want to hear the name of anyone who isn’t a member of the Cole family. Vivian, if you keep taking outsiders’ sides, you won’t be carrying the Cole name much longer.”
Jackson walked in quietly, taking the seat beside Leela. He reached out to dish some food onto her plate, but Leela pulled her plate away instantly.
“Stay away from me,” she whispered coldly. “Don’t move.”
“You want Grandfather to see us fighting?” Jackson muttered through gritted teeth. “What is your problem now?”
Leela looked at the plate he had served—a rich, steaming portion of garlic butter prawns. She felt a sudden, violent surge of nausea rise in her throat.
“Jenna is the one who likes seafood,” Leela whispered, her face turning pale. “I am severely allergic.”
Jackson froze. “This has nothing to do with Jenna—”
Before he could finish, Leela stood up abruptly, pressing a hand to her mouth, and rushed toward the restroom.
Old Man Cole’s sharp eyes followed her, his brow furrowing instantly. He turned to Jackson, his voice trembling with a sudden, intense hope. “Leela… is she pregnant?”
Part 4: The Unwanted Heir
Silence fell over the opulent dining room. Jackson stared at the empty doorway where Leela had vanished, his mind racing, a strange, suffocating panic rising in his chest.
“No,” Jackson said quickly, turning back to his grandfather. “It’s just stomach trouble.”
“Call Doctor Chen immediately!” Old Man Cole commanded, striking his cane against the floor. “My great-grandchild cannot suffer any mishaps! And clear all this shrimp off the table! Bring out the clam soup Leela likes!”
Within twenty minutes, Doctor Chen, the Cole family’s private physician, stepped out of the guest restroom, wiping his hands with a towel. Old Man Cole leaned forward anxiously.
“Doctor Chen, how is she?”
Doctor Chen smiled broadly, bowing slightly. “Congratulations, Old Mr. Cole. Mrs. Cole is two months pregnant.”
Old Man Cole let out a booming laugh, his face lighting up with genuine joy. “Three years of marriage with nothing, and now this! Leela, you are the hero of the Cole family! Jax, if Leela gets so much as a single scratch, I will hold you personally responsible!”
Jackson stood frozen beside the table, his eyes fixed on Leela as she walked back into the room, her face pale, her hands resting protectively over her stomach. “Don’t worry, Grandfather,” Jackson murmured mechanically. “I will take good care of her.”
“Look at the time,” Old Man Cole said, waving his hand dismissively. “It’s late. Leela needs rest. Take her home right now.”
As soon as they stepped into the private elevator leading to the underground garage, the silence between them exploded.
Leela leaned against the mirror wall, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. “Don’t worry. I will get an abortion. It won’t get in the way of you and Jenna.”
Jackson rounded on her, his face dark with sudden fury. “What the hell are you talking about?!”
“I am voluntarily divorcing you,” Leela said, her voice dripping with ice. “So that you and Jenna can be the tragic, star-crossed lovers you think you are. I’m even taking care of all your unfinished business for you. What more do you want?”
“Leela Voss!” Jackson grabbed her shoulders, shaking her slightly. “How many times do I have to tell you? Jenna and I are just—”
Ding.
The elevator doors slid open in the VIP parking garage. Standing right outside, leaning against a sleek red sports car, was Jenna Carter. She held a leather portfolio, her eyes lighting up the moment she saw Jackson.
“Jax!” Jenna called out softly, stepping forward. Then, noticing Leela, her expression stiffened slightly. “Oh… Leela. What are you doing here?”
Leela stepped out of the elevator, brushing past Jackson without a second glance. “I’m not staying to watch the two of you put on a show.”
Jenna stepped into Jackson’s path, holding up a file. “Jax, we have a business meeting with Miss MSR’s representative. I came to pick you up. The person offering 100 million dollars to hire MSR… was you, wasn’t it?”
Leela stopped in her tracks, turning her head slightly. A cruel, amused smile touched her lips. “Jackson Cole… offering 100 million dollars to hire MSR? Save your money. Miss MSR will never accept an offer from Skyross.”
She turned back to her phone, dialing Ronnie’s number as she walked toward the main gate. “Ronnie. Tell Jackson Cole that even if he offers 200 million, MSR won’t take the job. Let Skyross go bankrupt.”
Behind her, Jackson’s face turned deathly pale. “Leela! Stop right there!”
Twenty minutes later, Leela sat in a high-end lounge in the city center, nursing a cup of warm water. Sitting across from her was Ronnie, her private broker, looking at her with a mix of awe and concern.
“I can’t believe Jackson is such a bastard,” Ronnie said, shaking his head. “Forget 200 million. We won’t take this deal even if they offer 2 billion dollars. Let Skyross Airlines rot. But Leela… stop laughing. It looks terrible.”
Leela wiped a tear of bitter laughter from the corner of her eye. “Even if I owed Old Man Cole three years of my life… three years of marriage to Jackson Cole has paid off every single cent.”
“Are you still hung up on him?” Ronnie asked gently.
“I’m not,” Leela lied instantly.
“You can fool everyone else, but you can’t fool me,” Ronnie sighed. “What’s so great about a man like Jackson anyway? If you really like pilots, I can find you a hundred of them right now.”
Ronnie snapped his fingers. A door behind them opened, and a dozen men in crisp, tailored aviation uniforms—pilots, first officers, engineers—filed into the lounge, standing in a neat line.
“See?” Ronnie grinned. “Uniforms, good looks, height—we have everything. Pick whoever you want. I’ll deliver him straight to your doorstep.”
Leela shook her head, a genuine smile finally touching her lips. “Isn’t this a bit much?”
“Too much?” Ronnie scoffed. “Choosing a man requires picking the best out of a hundred!” He pointed to a dashing young man in a captain’s uniform standing near the end. “Look at this one! Look at that face, that build! So much better than that ruined old man you have at home, right?”
The young captain stepped forward, bowing gracefully, a single crimson rose in his hand. “I’ve had my eye on you for a while, Mrs. Voss. Choose me instead of him.”
Ronnie blinked, startled. “Wait… Captain Hartfield? You said you only came here to act as a backup! Why are you self-nominating?!”
Owen Hartfield, the younger heir of Dragon Wing Airlines, smiled warmly at Leela. “That’s because I didn’t know the friend Ronnie was talking about was Mrs. Voss. Mrs. Voss, I am Owen Hartfield from Dragon Wing Airlines. I hear you are looking to get married?”
Part 5: The Bidding War
Leela looked at Owen Hartfield, slightly taken aback by his directness. Before she could answer, the glass doors of the private lounge slammed open.
Jackson stood in the doorway, his chest heaving, flanked by two security guards. His eyes swept over the line of uniformed men, landing heavily on Owen kneeling before Leela with a rose.
“What is the meaning of this?” Jackson’s voice was lethal, echoing through the room.
Owen didn’t flinch. He stood up slowly, adjusting his captain’s hat, looking Jackson dead in the eye. “Captain Cole. What a coincidence.”
“Owen Hartfield,” Jackson sneered, stepping into the room. “Proposing with a single rose? Don’t you think that’s a bit stingy?”
“It’s funny hearing you say that, Mr. Cole,” Owen replied smoothly. “Dragon Wing may not be as massive as Skyross Airlines, but it is still one of the top airlines in the country. When I propose, I bring much more than a flower.”
Owen turned back to Leela, his voice filled with unwavering sincerity. “If Mrs. Voss says yes, 50 percent of Dragon Wing Airlines’ shares will belong to her immediately, plus a 2 billion dollar cash dowry. That is what I call generosity. Much better than a stingy man who gives her nothing.”
Ronnie cheered from the couch. “Yes! Say yes, Leela! Take the 2 billion!”
Jackson’s face turned dangerously dark. He stepped directly between Owen and Leela, blocking her from view. “Leela Voss! Don’t you dare!”
“Why wouldn’t I dare?” Leela asked, stepping out from behind Jackson, her voice cold and mocking. “Are you going to bid against him, Captain Cole?”
“Are you selling yourself for 2 billion dollars?!” Jackson demanded, his hands clenching into fists. “How greedy can you be?!”
“2 billion dollars?” Leela laughed bitterly. “Jackson, did you ever give me even 2 billion cents? Yes! I, Leela Voss, am a money-grubbing woman! So, Mr. Cole, are you starting an auction or not?”
Jackson glared at her, his jaw tight. “I’ll pay 5 billion dollars! Is that enough?!”
“Not enough,” Leela said coldly. “Jackson, do you think I’m a fool? When we divorce, I will get much more than 5 billion dollars from the Cole estate.”
Jenna, who had followed Jackson inside, stepped forward, her voice sweet and patronizing. “Leela… you’re a married woman. You should be more careful when appearing in public like this. If this gets out, it will ruin the reputation of Skyross Airlines.”
Owen turned to Jenna, an amused smile on his face. “I’m a bit confused here. If Mrs. Voss is truly Mrs. Cole, why are you so worried about Skyross’s reputation, Ms. Carter? Who exactly are you? Oh… I see. You like married men too. Looks like we have something in common.”
The room erupted into quiet titters among the staff. Jenna’s face turned bright red. “Jax and I are just old friends! How dare you—”
“Jenna Carter,” Leela interrupted smoothly, “you’re wasting your talents working as the head of safety. You really belong in Hollywood.”
Jackson stepped forward, placing a protective hand on Jenna’s arm. “Leela, stop making a scene! Jenna has tolerated your nonsense for a long time without fighting back! Do you really want to humiliate everyone here?”
Leela looked at Jackson’s hand on Jenna’s arm, her heart hardening into solid ice. “Jackson… understand this clearly. Who has been enduring whom? And you…” She turned to Jenna. “If you like jumping into other people’s relationships so much, why don’t you go be a decorative ornament?”
“Leela Voss!” Jackson shouted. “Can you stop fighting for no reason?!”
“Did I hurt your little lover?” Leela sneered, stepping closer to Jackson. “Don’t forget, I am carrying your precious Cole family heir. I don’t care if I live or die, and I certainly don’t need your pity. I will clear every single obstacle for your little love story. See you in court on Monday.”
She turned and walked out of the lounge without looking back.
Late that night, Jackson sat alone in the massive, quiet living room of his penthouse. The lights were off, save for a single lamp casting long shadows across the floor.
The housekeeper, Rita, walked in cautiously, carrying a tray. “Young Master… please eat some porridge. You haven’t eaten all day.”
Jackson took a spoonful, tasted it, and immediately set the bowl down with a frown. “Why does this taste different from what I usually eat?”
Rita sighed softly. “Young Master… Mrs. Voss used to handle all your meals and daily needs. We… we don’t know her exact recipe.”
Jackson stared at the bowl, a hollow feeling opening up in his chest. “Call her. Ask her for the recipe.”
Rita hesitated, then pulled out her phone and dialed Leela’s number on speaker.
“Hello?” Leela’s voice came through, tired and distant.
“Mrs. Voss…” Rita said nervously. “It’s Rita. How… how do you make the stomach-soothing porridge for the Young Master? He’s having severe stomach pain tonight.”
There was a long silence on the line. Then, Leela’s cold voice answered: “If it’s that severe, take him to the hospital.”
“He says the porridge makes it better,” Rita pleaded. “But I don’t know how to make it.”
“Rita,” Leela said dryly, “there is a convenience store downstairs. Buy a 5-dollar bowl of fried rice and give it to him.”
“But Mrs. Voss, that’s not the same!”
“It’s the same,” Leela replied. “Jackson has the tastebuds of a dog. He won’t tell the difference. It won’t kill him anyway. Anything else?”
“N-no…” Rita stuttered.
Jackson snatched the phone from Rita’s hand, his voice low and commanding. “I want a meal cooked by your own hands. Bring it to my office tomorrow. If you don’t come, I won’t sign the divorce papers.”
On the other end, Leela let out a sharp, cold laugh. “Eat it, eat it, eat it! Go ahead and choke to death!”
The line went dead.
Part 6: The Unmasking
Monday morning arrived with a gray, overcast sky. The headquarters of Skyross Airlines was buzzing with activity.
Leela stepped into the executive floor, holding a small bag containing a simple thermos. As she walked toward Jackson’s office, several junior attendants bowed politely, whispers following her down the hall.
“Is that Chief Attendant Voss?” one whispered. “I heard her husband passed away recently… poor thing.”
Leela stopped, turning to them with a calm, sweet smile. “Sad? Why should I be sad? He cheated on me, and the universe got sick of it. He got hit by a car and died. I’m thrilled. Why should I be sad about him?”
The attendants gasped, horrified.
“He was useless at everything,” Leela added loudly, knowing Jackson’s office door was crack open. “Especially in bed. And he cheated. Like a toad crawling on a shoe—not dangerous, just deeply disgusting.”
Suddenly, a strong hand grabbed her wrist from behind, pulling her into an empty conference room and slamming the door shut.
Jackson pinned her against the door, his face dark with rage, his breathing heavy. “What the hell are you saying out there?!”
“Let go of me!” Leela struggled. “Jackson Cole, are you insane? What if people see us?”
“Are you that afraid of them finding out?!” Jackson barked. “You’re the one who never wanted to make our marriage public!”
“I didn’t make it public to avoid affecting work!” Leela yelled back. “So just because I told you to keep quiet, you go around telling everyone I’m dead?! That I’m useless in bed?!”
Jackson leaned down, his eyes blazing, his voice dropping into a dangerous whisper. “You know better than anyone whether I can perform or not!”
He reached for her waist, pulling her flush against him. Leela froze, her heart hammering, feeling the heat radiating through his shirt.
“Don’t move,” Jackson murmured, his tone softening slightly as his hand rested gently over her stomach. “I won’t hurt the baby.”
Outside the conference room window, Jenna walked down the hallway, flanked by two senior managers. She paused, seeing the shadows through the frosted glass, and her face twisted in fury.
She pushed the door open without knocking. “Jax! Mr. Scott from aerospace security has arrived for the system audit!”
Jackson immediately stepped back from Leela, smoothing his tie. “I’ll be right there.”
Jenna glared at Leela, her voice dripping with condescension. “Leela, you’re just a chief attendant. You have no professional technical experience. You aren’t qualified for technical safety work. If you’re curious, you can sit in the back.”
Ten minutes later, in the main command center, Mr. Scott—a renowned, elderly technical consultant—was reviewing the network architecture on a massive wall screen.
“Mr. Cole,” Mr. Scott announced proudly. “I have patched the vulnerability. I guarantee this is the most secure system in the world. No one can hack it.”
Jenna beamed with pride. “Mr. Scott’s skills are top-tier! MSR isn’t the only one who can do this. And for our agreed payment of 300 million dollars—”
“Hold on,” Leela’s clear voice cut through the room. She stood up from the back row, walking slowly toward the terminal. “You want 300 million dollars for a system riddled with basic security backdoors?”
Mr. Scott’s face darkened. “What do you mean, young lady? What does a flight attendant know about system architecture?”
“I mean,” Leela said, leaning over the main console, her fingers flying across the mechanical keyboard with terrifying speed, “Ms. Carter just wasted 300 million of Skyross’s money on garbage. 3… 2… 1.”
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Red emergency lights flashed across the command room. Main server displays turned bright red, displaying a critical system crash warning.
“Mr. Cole!” a technician yelled in panic. “The online booking system has been completely locked out by an external intrusion! Passengers can’t buy tickets!”
Jenna turned pale. “That’s… that’s impossible! Mr. Scott said—”
Mr. Scott stared at the lines of code scrolling rapidly on Leela’s screen, his jaw dropping in absolute shock. He looked at the silver badge pinned secretly inside Leela’s jacket collar.
“That badge…” Mr. Scott stuttered, pointing a shaking finger at Leela. “You… you are MSR?!”
The entire room went deathly silent.
Jackson stared at Leela, his mind reeling. MSR? The world’s top aerospace safety engineer… was his wife all along?!
Leela grabbed her handbag, looking coldly at Jackson and Jenna. “Jackson Cole… you’re blind, deaf, and incompetent. Keep your 300 million dollars.”
She turned and walked out of the room.
Part 7: The Final Storm
Jackson sprinted down the executive corridor, ignoring the stares of his staff, catching up to Leela near the private elevator bay.
“Leela! Stop!” Jackson grabbed her hand, pulling her back.
“Let go of me!” Leela snapped, trying to wrench her wrist free.
“Why didn’t you tell me?!” Jackson demanded, his eyes wide with a mix of shock, betrayal, and confusion. “Why didn’t you tell me you were MSR?!”
“Why should I?” Leela laughed bitterly. “In your eyes, in Jenna Carter’s eyes, I was just a useless, uneducated country girl! Why should I ruin your comfortable little illusion?”
Before Jackson could respond, his assistant, Chase, ran up out of breath. “Mr. Cole! It’s bad! Miss Carter tried to manually override the server backup, and now the entire navigation relay for the transoceanic flights is corrupted!”
Jackson didn’t look at Chase. His eyes remained fixed on Leela. “Fix it, Leela. Please.”
“Unless you sign the divorce papers right now,” Leela said coldly, “I won’t lift a single finger for Skyross.”
Jackson took a deep breath, pulling a folded paper from his jacket pocket—the signed divorce agreement she had sent him earlier. He looked at it, then slowly tore it into tiny pieces, letting them fall to the floor.
“I am not divorcing you,” Jackson said, his voice terrifyingly calm. “Not now. Not ever.”
“You lunatic!” Leela yelled. “The transoceanic flight—Flight 0312—is airborne right now with two hundred passengers! If the relay fails completely, they will lose all communication over the ocean!”
Jackson’s face stiffened. “Flight 0312? That’s… that’s the flight Chase was supposed to co-pilot!”
“I am taking the captain’s seat,” Jackson declared instantly, turning to Chase. “Get the flight gear ready. Leela… you are coming into the cockpit with me as chief safety controller.”
Leela stared at him, her professional duty warring with her personal rage. She looked at the flashing red warning lights on the terminal screen, knowing the lives at stake.
“Fine,” Leela whispered, her jaw set. “For the passengers. But after this… we are dead to each other.”
An hour later, Skyross Flight 0312 was cruising at 35,000 feet over the dark, turbulent waters of the Atlantic. Inside the cockpit, the atmosphere was suffocatingly tense. Jackson sat in the captain’s chair, his hands steady on the yoke, while Leela sat at the jumpseat console, her fingers moving across the emergency diagnostic panel.
Suddenly, a massive wall of black storm clouds appeared on the radar—a sudden, unpredicted convective cell.
“System error!” the automated voice chimed. “Relay link lost!”
The cockpit instruments flickered wildly. The artificial horizon pitched violently as severe turbulence slammed into the heavy aircraft.
“We lost contact with Air Traffic Control!” Chase shouted from the co-pilot seat. “Weather radar is completely dark!”
“Leela!” Jackson called out over the roar of the wind battering the windshield. “Can you patch the backup protocol?!”
“Someone deliberately altered the source code before we took off!” Leela shouted back, her eyes scanning lines of corrupted data. “It was Jenna! She used her administrative access to override the safety parameters!”
Down in the passenger cabin, lights flickered out, replaced by screaming passengers as the plane plunged 2,000 feet in a matter of seconds.
Inside the cockpit, Jackson pulled back on the yoke with all his strength, fighting the powerful updrafts. He looked back at Leela, seeing her face pale, her hands trembling as she clutched her lower stomach in pain.
“Leela!” Jackson yelled, his voice cracking with a raw, terrifying desperation he had never felt before. “Hold on! I will get us down safely! I promise you!”
“Fix the heading!” Leela gasped through the pain, typing the final override sequence into her manual terminal. “Right 15 degrees! Lower altitude to 28,000 feet! Do it now!”
Jackson slammed the controls into position. The engines roared, fighting against the storm, until suddenly—
BEEP.
The emergency navigation link restored. The storm radar cleared, showing a safe corridor through the dark clouds ahead. The violent shaking slowly subsided as the aircraft broke through the cloud deck into clear night air.
Chase let out a massive gasp of relief, slumping in his seat. “We… we made it.”
Jackson immediately unbuckled his harness, turning around to check on Leela. She was leaning against the bulkhead, sweat soaking her forehead, her face dangerously pale.
“Leela!” Jackson caught her as her knees gave out, lifting her gently into his arms. “Leela, look at me! Are you okay?!”
Leela looked up at him, her vision blurring, her hand resting weakly against his chest. “Jackson… the baby…”
“Doctor! Get a medical team to the runway!” Jackson roared into the radio headset, his voice shaking violently, tears blurring his eyes for the first time in his life. “Clear the runway immediately!”
As the runway lights of the destination airport appeared through the front glass, Jackson held her tightly against his chest, leaning down to press his forehead against hers.
“Don’t leave me, Leela,” he whispered, his voice breaking in the quiet cockpit. “I was wrong… I was wrong about everything. Just stay with me…”
Leela closed her eyes, the dark void pulling her under, leaving the unresolved storm hanging in the freezing sky above.
