"I know."
"With money."
"I know."
Naomi's voice went quiet.
"Then what are you going to do?"
Maya stepped into the terminal where several people had already recognized Lena from the video and were pointing toward the jet bridge.
"I'm going to let them tell me exactly what they think I'm worth before they find out who I am."
Naomi exhaled.
"I'll have legal waiting."
Maya ended the call.
Across the terminal, a television above a closed airport bar showed breaking news graphics.
There was no sound, only captions, but Maya could read enough.
Crestline Airways passenger incident goes viral after medical meal dispute.
Lena came to stand beside her.
"You okay?"
Maya looked at the screen, then at the reflection of herself beneath it.
Charcoal blazer.
Coffee stain on the cuff.
Tired eyes.
Shoulders still straight.
"No," she said. "But I'm ready."
Behind them, inside the aircraft, Clare Donovan's employee badge stopped working for the first time when she tried to unlock a crew cabinet.
She stared at the red light.
The night was moving faster now.
Maya did not go to the hotel first.
Denise Harper led her through a side corridor of the terminal, away from the growing crowd near the arrival gate.
Lena, Samuel, Margaret, and David followed long enough to give their names and contact information to corporate security.
Each of them offered the same thing without being asked twice.
Videos.
Statements.
Timestamps.
Anything needed.
When Samuel handed over his phone number, he looked at Maya.
"You don't owe them gentleness."
Maya gave him a tired smile.
"I know."
He nodded.
"But I suspect you'll give them truth, which will hurt more."
Lena stayed beside Maya a moment longer.
"Do you want me at the meeting?"
Maya looked at her.
"They may try to make this sound smaller than it was. A nurse in the room would make that harder."
"Then I'm coming."
Denise hesitated.
"Miss Williams, corporate has arranged a conference room at the airport business center first, but Mr. Whitman is requesting that we move to Crestline's Manhattan crisis office. He says the board is joining remotely."
Maya looked at the time on her phone.
It was 12:41 a.m.
"Tell Mr. Whitman I will meet him tonight," she said. "But not alone. Miss Ortiz comes with me. My counsel joins by video, and every word is recorded."
Denise nodded.
"Understood."
Naomi had already sent a car.
It was waiting outside arrivals.
A black SUV with a driver holding a tablet that displayed only one word.
Williams.
Maya paused when she saw it.
For the first time that night, something from her own world had reached her.
Not the airline's world.
Not Clare's world.
Not Victoria's world.
Hers.
Lena noticed.
"That your car?"
"My assistant doesn't wait for permission."