Chapter 41 Lost Contact

Chapter 41 Lost Contact
Jonah set the phone down. Looked at Wren.

"They're in the air," he said. "Two and a half hours until we see her."

Wren started crying. Not the quiet tears from earlier. Full sobs that shook her whole body.

"Hey." Jonah pulled her close. "Hey, it's okay. She's safe. She's coming here. It's—"

"I know." Wren's words came out in gasps between sobs. "I know. That's why I'm crying. Because she's safe. Because in two and a half hours I get to hold my daughter. Because this might actually work."

"It is working."

"Don't." She pulled back, wiped her face. "Don't say that. Don't jinx it. They're still in the air. Anything could still—"

"Nothing's going to happen," Jonah said firmly. "Captain Reeves is a professional. The agents are trained. The plane is sound. Nothing is going to happen."

"You can't know that."

"No. But I'm choosing to believe it anyway."

They spent the next two hours trying to distract themselves. Made breakfast they didn't eat. I watched TV. Checked the clock every five minutes even though time didn't move faster just because they were staring at it.

At 11:47 AM, Miller called.

"They're thirty minutes out. The weather's good. No issues reported. Captain Reeves says it's been a smooth flight."

"We'll head to the airport now."

"Federal agents will meet you there. Secure area. No public access. Just you, the agents, and the incoming plane."
"Perfect. Thank you, Miller. For everything."

"Don't—"

"—thank you until they land. I know. But I'm thanking you anyway."

They got in the car—different car, same bulletproof windows—and drove to the airport with two federal agents in the front seat and two more following behind.
The airport was small, regional. Nothing like SeaTac. Just one terminal, a few gates, mostly small planes coming and going.

The agents led them to a private area away from the public terminal. A hangar, mostly empty except for a few maintenance vehicles.

"The plane will land on the private runway," one of the agents explained. His name was something like Rodriguez or Ramirez—Jonah couldn't remember. "They'll taxi directly here. No public interaction. No exposure. You'll have your daughter, and then we'll transport all of you to a more secure location."
"Not the safe house in Kalispell?" Wren asked.

"No. Somewhere new. Somewhere the Vales definitely don't know about."
"Okay." Wren nodded. Squeezed Jonah's hand. "Okay."

They waited.

12:09 PM. Four minutes until estimated arrival.

12:11 PM. Two minutes.

12:13 PM. Any second now.
Jonah stared at the sky, scanning for the plane. Saw nothing but blue and clouds and emptiness.

12:15 PM.

"Where are they?" Wren asked. "They should be here by now."

"Planes don't land exactly on time," Rodriguez-or-Ramirez said. "There's always some variance. A few minutes here or there."

12:17 PM.

12:19 PM.

One of the agents got a call. Answered it. Listened. His face went pale.
"What?" Jonah demanded. "What's wrong?"

The agent hung up. "The plane lost radio contact three minutes ago. They're not responding to air traffic control."
Wren made a sound like she'd been punched.

"What does that mean?" Jonah's voice was deadly calm. "Lost radio contact, how?"

"We don't know. Could be equipment failure. Could be interference. Could be—"
"Could be the Vales," Jonah finished.
The agent didn't deny it.
"Find them." Jonah's hands were shaking. "Find that plane. Now."
"Air traffic control is searching. They'll
locate—"

Wren's phone rang. Unknown number.
She answered with trembling hands. Put it on speaker.

"Hello, Ms. Blackwood." The voice was mechanically distorted. The same one from before. "I hope you're enjoying the wait. Anticipation is half the fun, don't you think?"

"Where's my daughter?" Wren's voice was barely human. "What did you do to her?"
"Nothing yet. She's perfectly safe. Flying through the air in a nice private plane. Very comfortable. Very secure." A pause. "At least, she's secure until she isn't."
"If you hurt her—"

"You'll what? Call the police? They're already here. Call the FBI? They're useless. No, Ms. Blackwood, there's only one thing you can do to save your daughter."

"What?" The word tore out of Wren's throat.

"Drop the land claim. Publicly. Today. Within the next hour. Hold a press conference. Tell everyone you were wrong. That the deed was a forgery. That you're sorry for lying. Do that, and your daughter lands safely. Don't do it, and—well. Small planes crash all the time. Tragic. But unavoidable."

The call ended.

Wren collapsed. Just fell to her knees on the concrete floor of the hangar.
Jonah caught her before she hit completely. Held her while she screamed. While she broke apart.

"Find that plane," he shouted at the agents. "Find it right fucking now!"
Rodriguez-or-Ramirez was already on the phone. "We need an emergency aerial search. Private aircraft. Lost radio contact. Possible hostile situation."
Minutes passed like years.

Then Rodriguez's phone rang. He answered. Listened. His shoulders sagged with relief.

"They found them," he said. "The plane is fine. Radio equipment failure, exactly like we thought. Captain Reeves switched to backup communication. They're five minutes out."

Jonah's knees nearly buckled. "They're okay? They're really okay?"

"They're fine. Landing in five minutes."
Wren was still on the floor, sobbing. Jonah pulled her up, held her tight.

"She's okay," he said into her hair. "Lily's okay. She's landing in five minutes. It was just equipment failure. She's okay."

"They knew," Wren gasped. "The Vales knew about the radio failure before we did. They knew and they used it to—to torture us."

She was right. The Vales had somehow known the plane would lose contact. Had used those terrifying minutes to threaten them.

Which meant they had someone inside. Someone with access to flight information. Someone who was feeding them updates in real-time.

But Jonah didn't care about that right now. Didn't care about moles or leaks or how the Vales knew things they shouldn't know.
All he cared about was the small plane appearing in the sky. Growing larger. Coming closer.

Landing.

The wheels touched down. Perfect landing. The plane taxied toward the hangar.

Stopped.

The door opened.

And there she was.

Lily.

Hair messy, eyes wide, looking small and scared and alive.

Wren ran. Jonah was right behind her.
They reached Lily at the same time, swept her up together, held her between them while she cried and they cried and nothing else in the world existed except this moment, this reunion, this proof that she was okay.

"I was so scared," Lily sobbed. "The radio stopped working and everyone looked worried and I thought—I thought—"
"Shh." Wren kissed her head. "You're safe now. You're here. You're with us."

"Don't let them take me away again," Lily begged. "Please don't make me leave. I want to stay with you. Both of you. Please."

"You're not going anywhere," Jonah said. His voice was rough with tears he wouldn't let fall. "We're staying together. All three of us. I promise."

Rachel appeared in the plane's doorway, looking exhausted but alive.

"Sorry about the scare," she called down. "Radio crapped out over the mountains. Captain Reeves says it happens sometimes with the terrain."

"It's okay." Wren didn't let go of Lily. "You're here. You're both here. That's all that matters."

They stood on the tarmac, holding Lily, while federal agents secured the area and Captain Reeves finished his post-flight check and the world slowly returned to something almost normal.

But Jonah couldn't stop thinking about the phone call. About how the Vales had known.

About what that meant for what came next.
Because if they had someone inside, someone with access to their movements, their plans, their every step—
Then nowhere was safe.

And this was far from over.