"Who sent that?"

Ethan's voice was quiet.

Rachel turned her phone facedown.

"Nobody."

His eyes remained on her.

"Nobody doesn't threaten to take your daughter."

She tightened her arms around Sophie.

The baby stirred against her chest.

"Please. I don't want trouble."

Ethan glanced at the sleeping child.

"Neither do I."

He leaned back, giving Rachel space.

For several seconds, neither spoke.

Then he said, "You don't have to tell me anything. But if someone is waiting for you at the airport, you should know before you get off this plane."

Rachel looked toward the dark window.

She had purchased the ticket at the last minute.

She had used her own savings.

She hadn't told anyone where she was going.

At least, she thought she hadn't.

"His name is Derek Walsh," she finally whispered.

Ethan's expression became unreadable.

"Derek Walsh?"

Rachel nodded.

"Do you know him?"

Ethan looked toward the security guards.

One of them stepped closer.

"Sir?"

"Find out who's meeting this flight."

The guard nodded and moved toward the front of the cabin.

Rachel's pulse quickened.

"What are you doing?"

"Making sure nobody approaches you unexpectedly."

She shook her head.

"You don't understand. Derek knows people. He can make things happen."

Ethan looked at her.

"So can I."

There was no arrogance in his voice.

Only certainty.

Rachel hated how relieved that made her feel.

She had spent so long being frightened that the idea of someone standing between her and Derek felt almost impossible.

The flight attendant returned with a blanket.

Ethan took it and gently laid it across Sophie's legs.

Rachel watched him.

"Why are you helping us?"

He looked at the baby.

"She needed someone to hold her. You needed sleep."

"That's all?"

"For now."

Rachel swallowed.

Derek had been charming when they met.

He brought flowers to her apartment.

Paid for dinner.

Remembered her birthday.

When she discovered she was pregnant, he promised they'd build a family.

Then Sophie was born.

And everything changed.

Derek began deciding where Rachel could go.

Who she could call.

What she could spend.

When she tried to leave, he threatened to take the baby.

Rachel had spent months quietly saving enough money to escape.

Now she was sitting beside a man with a reputation even more frightening than Derek's.

And somehow, she felt safer.

The captain announced their descent.

Sophie woke and stretched her little hands toward Rachel's face.

Rachel kissed her forehead.

"We're okay, baby."

But her phone vibrated again.

A photograph appeared.

It showed her mother's apartment building in Chicago.

Beneath it was a message.

"Your mother won't enjoy answering questions about where you went."

Rachel's blood ran cold.

She immediately called her mother.

No answer.

She called again.

Still nothing.

Ethan watched her face change.

"What's wrong?"

Rachel showed him the screen.

"My mother lives there."

He examined the photograph.

Then he looked toward his security guard.

"Contact our Chicago office. Have someone check on the woman at this address and call the police if there's a threat."

Rachel stared at him.

"You have an office in Chicago?"

Ethan nodded.

"It's where I live."

"Then why are you on this flight?"

He looked toward the dark window.

"I was supposed to be leaving the city for good."

The plane began descending.

Then his guard returned from the front cabin.

He bent toward Ethan.

"Sir, there's a man waiting at the arrival gate. He says he's here for Rachel Morales and her daughter."

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Rachel went completely still.

👉 Derek had arranged for someone to intercept Rachel at the airport, but Ethan had just learned something that made him question whether the threat was really about the baby.