Chapter 14 - The Necklace Receipt
The necklace glittered beside Adam’s untouched water.
Dakota had seen it before.
Not around Trinity’s neck.
On a receipt recovered from the firepit.
The description matched exactly: eighteen-carat white gold, pink diamond pendant, $46,000.
Adam had charged it as specialized aircraft sensor equipment.
Dakota photographed the necklace beside the receipt stored on her tablet.
Trinity looked horrified.
“You told me it belonged to your grandmother.”
Adam’s face reddened.
“It was easier than explaining the purchase.”
“You invented a dead woman to make stolen jewelry romantic.”
Dakota almost laughed at the cruelty of it.
Almost.
Instead, she asked Trinity when Adam gave it to her.
“After the first ultrasound.”
The date matched a large payment from a supplier named Orion Navigation Systems.
Mara, the corporate investigator, had explained that Orion repeatedly won inflated contracts approved by Adam.
The vendor then sent money to consulting entities connected to him.
The necklace was not simply a misused corporate card purchase.
It was likely bought with kickback money.
Dakota transmitted the new evidence through the aircraft’s secure crew connection.
Adam saw the confirmation icon.
“Who are you sending that to?”
“The people meeting the flight.”
His breathing became shallow.
“You said there would be an investigator.”
“There will be several people.”
“Police?”
Dakota did not answer.
The video instructions had not allowed her to know the final consequences in the cabin.
Neither did Adam.
That uncertainty terrified him more than any threat.
He grabbed the necklace.
Trinity stopped him.
“No. Leave it there.”
“It belongs to me.”
“It belongs to whoever you stole it from.”
Adam released it.
His eyes moved toward the forward galley, then the rear of the cabin.
He was calculating whether he could reach another phone, destroy a document, or contact Melissa.
Dakota saw the shift.
So did the purser.
“Sir, remain in your assigned seat.”
Adam smiled tightly.
May you like
“Of course.”
👉 While pretending to surrender, Adam quietly reached for the printed itinerary hidden beneath his leg.
