Chapter 4 - The 14-Hour Flight of Arrogance: Ethan Vance Celebrates His Freedom in Business Class
Ten thousand meters above the vast, sapphire expanse of the Pacific Ocean, EVA Air Flight BR12 sliced through the clear night skies toward the western coast of the United States.
In the premium business class cabin, Ethan Vance reclined in his lie-flat leather pod, swirling a glass of vintage Dom Pérignon with a look of supreme self-satisfaction. Across the aisle, his mother, Evelyn, was flipping through a luxury lifestyle magazine, her neck adorned with a pearl necklace that Ethan had purchased using Clara's joint credit line two months prior.
In the seat behind them, ten-year-old Chloe—Ethan's daughter from his previous relationship—stared quietly out the oval window, clutching a small stuffed elephant Clara had bought for her at the Phuket night market.
"Daddy?" Chloe’s small voice broke through the hum of the jet engines. "Where is Clara? Why didn't she come on the plane with us? Her bag was still in the room."
Evelyn turned around instantly, her expression hardening into a severe scowl. "Chloe, stop asking about that woman. Clara decided to stay in Thailand. She didn't want to be part of our family anymore. She was ungrateful, selfish, and completely incapable of appreciating everything your father provided for her."
"That's not true," Chloe mumbled, looking down at her sneakers. "Clara helped me with my homework every day. She made my breakfast. You were always yelling at her."
"Chloe, that is enough!" Ethan snapped, though his voice lacked conviction. He took another large swallow of champagne. "Your grandmother is right. Clara was holding us back. Once we land in Los Angeles, things are going to change. My firm is about to close the multi-million-dollar Pacific Heights development deal. We’re moving to the estate in Bel-Air permanently, and we won't have to listen to Clara’s constant whining about budgets and financial prudence."
Evelyn leaned across the aisle, a wicked, triumphant smirk playing on her thin lips. "You did the right thing, darling. Leaving her passport and phone behind was a stroke of genius. By the time that pathetic little orphan manages to contact the American embassy in Bangkok, fills out the paperwork, and begs for repatriation funds, at least three weeks will have passed. By then, you will have transferred the remaining equity from her accounts, filed for abandonment and default divorce in California court, and secured full control of the firm's assets."
"I left her five hundred baht under the lamp," Ethan chuckled, swirling his champagne glass callously. "That’s about fifteen dollars. More than enough for street food. Let her see what the real world feels like without my name attached to her."
"She brought nothing into this marriage," Evelyn scoffed, adjusting her cashmere blanket. "She worked as an obscure digital illustrator. She had no family, no connections, no pedigree. She should have kissed the ground I walked on for allowing her to sit at our table. To think she had the audacity to refuse co-signing the bridge loan for the firm! The insolence!"
"It doesn't matter anymore, Mother," Ethan said smoothly, closing his eyes and letting the gentle turbulence rock him into a state of deep complacency. "The bank will process the loan documents on Monday using the power of attorney paperwork I had her sign in the pre-marital packet. She’ll never know. And even if she makes it back to the States a month from now, she’ll be penniless, legally divorced, and completely powerless to stop us."
Ethan closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep with visions of luxury sports cars, exclusive country club memberships, and high-society galas dancing in his mind.
He had no idea that at that exact moment, flying at forty-five thousand feet along a direct sub-orbital trajectory, a sleek matte-black Gulfstream G650 was currently overtaking their commercial airliner at Mach 0.90.
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He had no idea that every bank account bearing his name was currently being systematically liquidated by forensic accountants in Zurich.
And he had no idea that the "penniless orphan" he had left behind in the dust was waiting for him at the finish line.
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