“Emily… someone’s been asking about you.”
For a moment, the sound of the airplane engines seemed to disappear.
I tightened my arms around Annie as she slept peacefully against my shoulder, completely unaware that everything around us had suddenly changed.
Across the aisle, Marcus was staring at his phone.
Only minutes earlier, he had been relaxed.
Now the color had drained from his face.
“What do you mean?” I asked quietly.
He hesitated before locking the screen.
“I don’t know the full story yet,” he admitted.
“That doesn’t exactly make me feel better.”
“I know.”
Outside the window, Chicago was coming into view as the plane began its descent.
Passengers were gathering their belongings.
Children laughed somewhere behind us.
Life continued as though nothing unusual had happened.
For me, however, every second suddenly felt uncertain.
“Was it Daniel?” I asked.
“My ex?”
Marcus looked at me carefully.
“Has he ever made you feel unsafe?”
I instinctively answered too quickly.
“No…”
The silence that followed made me rethink my own response.
Daniel had never raised his voice.
He never needed to.
He always found a way to make every disagreement seem like my fault until I questioned my own judgment.
Marcus didn’t interrupt.
He simply listened.
When the aircraft finally touched down, he spoke again.
“Emily, don’t leave the airport alone today.”
His calm voice somehow made the warning feel even more serious.
“Why?”
“The person who contacted me knew you were on this flight.”
My heartbeat quickened.
“They also knew your full name.”
I stared at him.
“How could anyone know that?”
“I intend to find out.”
As passengers stood and rushed toward the exit, Marcus remained seated.
“There’s no need to hurry,” he said. “We’ll wait until the crowd clears.”
Annie slowly opened her eyes.
Marcus smiled and gave her a small wave.
To my surprise, she immediately stopped fussing and simply watched him with curious little eyes.
“She seems to be deciding whether she trusts me,” he joked.
“She takes that responsibility seriously,” I replied.
“So she should.”
For the first time since boarding the plane, I smiled.
It didn’t last long.
My phone vibrated.
