Chapter 2 - Altitude Sickness
Eleven thousand feet in the air, inside the hushed, pressurized luxury of the first-class cabin, Alexander leaned back in his reclining leather seat and took a sip of vintage Dom Pérignon. Khloe sat across the aisle in her custom white sundress, her legs crossed, sipping champagne with a self-satisfied smirk playing on her lips.
"She really bought it, didn't she?" Khloe whispered across the aisle, leaning in close so the flight attendants wouldn't overhear. "The little tummy ache routine was a nice touch. I thought for a second she was going to make a scene right there at the check-in counter."
Alexander chuckled, a low, arrogant sound. "Sophia has always been naive, Khloe. Pretty, well-bred, but entirely spineless. Once we get to Maui, the lawyers will serve her the initial asset-freezing papers. By the time she realizes her family's fortune has been legally transferred to Vanguard, she won't have a single penny to fight back. We’ll institutionalize her for 'severe emotional instability' under her family’s medical history clause, and we'll be completely untouchable."
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He turned his head to look out the triple-paned window, watching the endless expanse of clouds stretching out below them like a white desert. He felt invincible. He had climbed from the absolute bottom of the corporate ladder, married into old money, and outsmarted everyone who ever doubted him.
Yet, deep in the back of his mind, a strange, phantom itch of unease began to tingle. He tried to brush it away, telling himself it was just leftover adrenaline from the airport rush. He closed his eyes, eager to sleep off the hours until paradise. He had no way of knowing that paradise had just been canceled.
