are relevant to both a criminal investigation and the transaction.”
Celeste’s confidence returned the moment she heard the word criminal.
“Good,” she said.
“Then arrest him.
He grabbed me.”
The officer looked down at his tablet.
“The flight attendant’s report states that Mr.
Vance restrained your wrist after you attempted to remove and damage his laptop.”
“She’s lying.”
“Three passengers gave the same account.”
“They were intimidated.”
“Two submitted videos.”
Celeste’s eyes flicked toward the aircraft door.
Passengers were beginning to enter the terminal.
Several slowed when they recognized her.
The businessman who had sat across the aisle stopped beside the officers.
“I’m Daniel Cho,” he said.
“Seat 2C.
I recorded the incident from the moment she poured the drink.”
He held up his phone.
Celeste pointed at him.
“You had no right to film me.”
“You were in a public cabin threatening another passenger.”
“My lawyers will deal with you.”
Daniel gave the officer his contact information and walked away.
A woman from the second row followed him.
She had recorded Celeste trying to tear away my laptop.
Then Maya, the flight attendant, stepped off the aircraft carrying the formal incident report.
Her hands no longer trembled.
“Mrs.
Sterling repeatedly demanded that I remove Mr.
Vance because of his race,” she told the officer.
“She claimed he had threatened her, but I witnessed her strike his computer and raise her hand toward his face.”
Celeste stared at her.
“You work for us.”
Maya looked at Arthur, then back at Celeste.
“I work for the passengers’ safety.”
The jet bridge went still.
It was the first time anyone connected to Sterling Aviation had openly refused Celeste in front of her husband.
Arthur rubbed both hands over his face.
“Celeste, stop talking.”
She turned on him.
“You should be defending me.”
“Every sentence you say is making this worse.”
“For whom?”
Rebecca answered.
“For you, your husband, and the company whose name you used while committing the act.”
She lifted the least damaged page from the folder.
The agreement contained a morality and conduct clause for authorized representatives.
It allowed Vanguard to adjust the purchase price if misconduct caused measurable financial damage before closing.
Celeste’s behavior had already been recorded by multiple witnesses.
If the videos became public before the board acted, lenders could retreat, partners could suspend contracts, and the airline’s value could fall within hours.
Arthur looked at me.
“Julian, we can contain this.”
It was the first time he had used my first name.
On the plane, his wife had called me a thug.
Now he spoke as though we were partners managing an inconvenience.
“Contain what?” I asked.
“The assault? The destroyed legal documents? The false report to security? Or the racial discrimination witnessed by an entire cabin?”
He lowered his voice.
“I am not responsible for what my wife said.”
“You are responsible for the authority she claimed to exercise in your company’s name.”
“Then revoke it.”
“Clause 14 has already been triggered.”
Thomas Reed placed his phone on the table.
A special board meeting had been convened remotely the moment Rebecca received my message from the plane.
All but one director had voted to activate the protection provision.
Effective immediately, Vanguard controlled Sterling Aviation’s voting shares pending completion or termination of the deal.
Arthur’s authority
