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Chapter 1 - The Descent from the CloudsThe heavy cabin door hissed shut behind me, sealing in the scent of expensive cologne, manufactured corporate harmony, and betrayal. As I stepped back onto the sun-baked tarmac of the private aviation terminal

Before my high heels could click twice against the concrete, the flight’s chief purser, Mr. Vance, hurried down the folding metal stairs after me, his cap clutched tightly in his hands, his face pale with panic.

"Ma'am, please wait," Vance breathed heavily, catching up to me near the tarmac shuttle. His eyes darted nervously back toward the aircraft before locking onto mine with absolute deference. "The entire charter contract, the flight deck authorization, and the aviation insurance are registered under your primary corporate holdings, Sterling Global Assets—which, according to our legal files, is a wholly owned subsidiary of your personal family trust. Should we cancel the clearance? We can have them offloaded within five minutes."

A slow, razor-sharp smile touched the corners of my lips. Carter thought he was the master of the universe because his name was embossed in gold leaf on the company's glass doors. He had completely forgotten who owned the building those doors were bolted to.

"Don't cancel the clearance, Mr. Vance," I said, my voice carrying a terrifying, crystal-clear calm that made the veteran purser flinch. "Let them take off. Let them fly all the way up to thirty-eight thousand feet. Let Khloe feed him all the peeled oranges she wants. But inform air traffic control to route their flight plan directly over international airspace toward our subsidiary facility in Delaware—and initiate Protocol Zero across all company servers simultaneously."

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Vance swallowed hard, a bead of sweat tracing down his temple. "Protocol Zero, ma'am? That... that will freeze every operational asset, liquidate their liquidity channels, and revoke all executive credentials globally."

"Did I stutter?" I asked, sliding my oversized sunglasses back onto the bridge of my nose. "Do it now."

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