Chapter 2

The cabin lights flickered, then stabilized.

Passengers were already restless, voices rising in concern and annoyance.

"Denver? Why Denver?"

"What kind of emergency?"

A flight attendant tried to calm them, her voice strained.

Alex. He was already on the internal comms, probably talking to the crew, spinning his narrative.

I felt his eyes on me, even from the cockpit.

He knew.

He remembered the past life too. I could feel it.

His rage from the past, his blame, it would all be there, simmering.

He would expect me to support his decision, to play the worried wife for his "dear friend."

The thought made my stomach churn.

Suddenly, a commotion erupted a few rows ahead in first class.

A man gasped, a choked sound.

"Help! Somebody help!" a woman screamed.

My paramedic instincts kicked in, overriding the shock of my rebirth.

I unbuckled my seatbelt.

A flight attendant rushed towards the disturbance.

I moved to follow, but then I saw Alex emerge from the cockpit, his face a mask of controlled fury.

He wasn't looking at the commotion.

He was looking straight at me.

"Evie," his voice was low, a growl. "Stay in your seat. Don't interfere."

His eyes burned with a familiar malice, the same look he'd given me before he destroyed my life.

He remembered. He definitely remembered.

He expected me to crumble, to obey.

I met his gaze, my expression carefully neutral, a mask of mild confusion.

"Alex? What's wrong?" I asked, my voice deliberately soft, a hint of manufactured concern.

Inside, I was calculating. He was unchanged, still blinded by Brittany.

This was my chance to see how he' d play it this time, to gather my strength.

He sneered. "Don't play dumb with me, Evie. You know exactly what this is about. Just stay out of it."

He turned his attention to the first-class crisis, but not before shooting me another warning glare.

The shouts from first class grew more urgent.

"He's not breathing well!"

"Is there a doctor on board?"

I saw a flight attendant speaking frantically into the intercom.

Then, a name.

Julian Knight.

The actor. The man I tried to save in my past life.

He was having a stroke. Again. The stress, the delay, just like before.

The passengers around me were panicking now, their voices a wave of fear.

"We need to land immediately!"

"What is the captain doing?"

This was it. The critical moment.

Julian Knight was my priority, not Alex' s manufactured drama.

Alex might be the captain, but he was compromised.

His obsession with Brittany was a danger to everyone on this plane.

And Julian, he could be my ally, if I could save him.

He was a public figure. His voice mattered.

My hand went to my carry-on bag beneath the seat. My kit was there.

My grandmother's remedies, the rapid stabilization techniques.

They were unconventional, but they worked.

I took a deep breath. No more hiding. No more being a victim.