He stopped dead in front of Ethan. Pendelton took a ragged breath, adjusted his jacket with trembling hands, and bowed his head slightly.
"Mr. Vance," Pendelton stammered, his voice echoing loudly through the silent cabin. "Mr. Vance, please... forgive us."
Captain Miller, who had followed Pendelton down the aisle to assert his authority, stopped cold. "Arthur, what are you doing? That's just some guy in row 24—"
Pendelton spun around, his face pale with horror, and yelled at the top of his lungs:
"Everybody stand down! Stand down right now! That is Ethan Vance—the new majority owner of this airline!"
Chapter 5: The Tables Turn
A collective gasp echoed down the length of the cabin.
Flight Attendant Hayes, who was standing near row 15 holding the manifest, froze, her hands dropping to her sides as the color completely drained from her face.
Captain Miller looked as though he had been hit by a freight train. His jaw slackened, his posture collapsing as he looked from Pendelton to the young man sitting in seat 24B.
"M-majority owner?" Miller stammered, his aggressive demeanor vanishing into thin air, replaced by sheer panic. "Arthur... what are you talking about? Apex is a publicly traded enterprise..."
"The board approved the emergency buyout thirty-five minutes ago!" Pendelton shouted nervously, wiping sweat from his neck with a handkerchief. "Vance Capital acquired sixty-two percent of voting shares! The press release hit the wire twenty minutes ago! He controls the company, Miller!"
Ethan unbuckled his seatbelt with a deliberate click. He stood up, towering slightly over Captain Miller in the narrow aisle. The casual hoodie no longer hid the commanding authority radiating from him.
"Thirty minutes ago, Captain," Ethan said smoothly, his voice calm, cold, and echoing in the dead quiet of the plane. "I signed the papers that made Apex Airways a subsidiary of my firm. I came on this flight to see how our operations ran from the perspective of an ordinary customer."
He stepped closer to Miller, who involuntarily took a step back.
"And what I saw was a crew that views its passengers as enemies, and a Captain who acts like a tyrant in a uniform."
"Mr. Vance... sir," Miller pleaded, his voice trembling violently. "I was only trying to maintain order... safety is my primary concern..."
"Safety is your job. Intimidation is your habit," Ethan interrupted. He turned his gaze to Vice President Pendelton.
"Arthur."
"Yes, Mr. Vance?" Pendelton said instantly, standing at attention.
"Effective immediately, Captain Miller is suspended from flight duties pending a full internal review by legal and human resources. Strip him of his command of this flight right now."
Miller gasped. "You can't do that—"
"I just did," Ethan said flatly. "You wanted me off this plane, Miller. But it's you who is walking off."
Ethan turned his head toward Flight Attendant Hayes, who looked ready to faint. "And miss Hayes will be accompanying him to gate management to turn in her badge until her disciplinary hearing tomorrow morning."
"Understood, Mr. Vance. Immediately," Pendelton said. He turned to Miller and Hayes, pointing sternly toward the exit. "Hand over your logs and off the aircraft. Right now."
Captain Miller, his face pale and his pride thoroughly shattered, took off his captain's hat. Without another word, he and Hayes turned and walked down the aisle, ducking their heads in shame as passengers quietly cheered and murmured around them.
Ethan turned to face the entire cabin.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Ethan announced, his voice carrying warmth and authority. "I apologize for the delay and the unacceptable behavior you witnessed today. A replacement crew is already being assigned, and this flight will depart shortly. Today's flight—and every flight you take with us from this moment forward—will be completely on the house."
The cabin erupted into applause and cheers.
Ethan turned back to Pendelton. "Get the backup captain in here. And Arthur?"
"Yes, sir?"
"Call an emergency board meeting for tomorrow at 8:00 AM. We are tearing this company's culture down to the studs, and rebuilding it from the ground up."
Chapter 6: The Emergency Boardroom
The morning sun had barely cleared the glass monolith of Sovereign Airways Headquarters when Ethan Vance stepped through the revolving doors at precisely 7:45 AM. The atrium was eerily quiet, save for the rhythmic polish of the marble floors beneath the night crew's buffer. In five years as Vice President of Flight Operations, Ethan had crossed this lobby under every conceivable light, but today the air felt different—thick with the ozone charge that precedes a lightning strike.