CHAPTER 4: A Message Meant for Landing

Halfway above the Rockies, the first mistake slid across the table.
A pocket of turbulence shook the cabin hard enough to rattle glass. Ryan reached for his folder. Brooke reached for his arm. His phone slipped from the leather armrest and landed faceup near Claire's hand.
The screen woke.
Brooke's name appeared first, saved with no last name, because men like Ryan thought absence was a kind of secrecy.
Then the message preview unfolded in one cold line.
After landing, get her signature before she calls Cecilia. Trust transfer closes tonight.
Claire did not touch the phone immediately.
She looked at Ryan. He had seen the screen too. For a fraction of a second, every elegant layer fell from his face, and the man underneath was not powerful at all. He was only afraid of being interrupted before the theft was complete.
Brooke reached toward the phone.
Claire picked it up first.