All Chapters of Airline Denied, I Went Nuclear: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

“Call whoever you want,” Leo said. “Call the president, for all I care. You’re not getting on that plane.”He lifted the radio clipped to his shoulder.“Security to Gate Twelve. We have a disturbance. Send someone over.”I wiped at my face and looked at the name tag on his chest.“Leo Carter,” I said. “I’ll remember that.”He pressed a hand to his chest in mock fear.“Oh no. I’m terrified.” His smile widened. “What exactly are you going to do? Call the chairman and have me fired?”A laugh came from somewhere behind me.Then a bright light hit my face.A man with a phone rig had pushed his way through the small crowd, filming before I even understood what was happening. His hair was overstyled, his loafers were too shiny, and he was chewing gum with his mouth open.“Guys, you seeing this?” he said into the camera. “We’ve got a live one at Solstice Air. Girl shows up dressed like she slept at a bus station, then tries to extort the airline with some sob story about her grandma dying.”I

I hit the pavement outside the terminal.Behind me, the glass doors slid shut.Leo stood just inside the entrance, bright terminal lights glowing behind him.“Don’t dirty the place,” he called. “Bad luck follows people like you.”Then he turned and walked away.For a while, I couldn’t move.The night air was cold against my torn shirt. My palms stung. My knees throbbed. My cheek ached where the phone had hit me.I pressed the power button with numb fingers.The screen flickered once.Twice.Then it came alive.The moment the signal returned, notifications flooded in.Missed calls.Messages.More missed calls.At the top was a voice message from Dad, sent ten minutes earlier.My hands started shaking before I even tapped it.His voice came through the speaker, hoarse and exhausted.“Nessa, you said you’d be here this afternoon.”A pause.“Your grandmother kept waiting for you. She held on as long as she could.”My breath stopped.“But night came, and you still weren’t here.”Another pau

“Chairman Sterling, these are Leo Carter’s financial records from the past six months.”The legal director placed a thick stack of documents on the table in the VIP lounge.The room had been cleared.Bodyguards stood at every entrance.The airport general manager hovered near the wall, sweating, too nervous to sit.Leo knelt in the center of the room, his hands shaking uncontrollably.I sat at the head of the table.“Read it,” I said.The legal director opened the file.“Internal investigation confirms that Leo Carter repeatedly abused his authority as a gate agent,” he began. “Under the pretext of overbooking, he denied boarding to selected passengers.”Leo’s head snapped up.“That’s not...”“Quiet,” my father said.Leo fell silent.The legal director continued.“The vacated seats were then resold at inflated prices through third-party brokers, or privately reassigned in exchange for direct payments.”He turned a page.“Over the past six months, unexplained deposits into his personal

“If this gets out,” Victor said, “it won’t look good for Solstice Air.”He crossed the room like he owned it, dropped onto the sofa without being invited, and took a slow sip of tea.“In my view, Leo apologizes. We issue an internal warning. Then we move on.” He glanced at me, tone light. “There’s no need to ruin him over a misunderstanding.”I let out a short laugh.“A misunderstanding?” I said. “An internal warning?”I picked up Leo’s signed statement, still creased, still damp, and flicked it across the table.It struck Victor in the chest.“Vice President Shaw,” I said, “your people denied boarding, resold seats, and used company resources to run a private business. You signed off on it.”I met his eyes.“That’s your definition of a misunderstanding?”His face darkened instantly. He shot to his feet, pointing at me.“Vanessa Sterling, don’t push your luck. Being the chairman’s daughter doesn’t give you the right to make things up.”“I’ve been with this company for twenty years,” he