Chapter 255 Fifty Seconds Left
Aaron was floored. Usually, whenever Gabriel was around, Natalie would dodge him like the plague. But this time, she didn't even flinch.
Natalie raised an eyebrow as she held the invitation. She couldn't figure out why Gabriel was being so nice, giving her this opportunity.
But she wasn't about to pass up this rare chance.
"Book me a flight," Natalie told Aaron.
Aaron hesitated. "Brad said Mr. Kensington already took care of it. If you want to go, just get on the plane."
Natalie went quiet.
Gabriel, that annoying guy, really knew her too well.
After a bit, she grabbed the invitation and went to find Victor.
"Victor, Gabriel gave me this invite. I'm thinking of checking it out."
Victor looked surprised but then smiled calmly.
"I was planning to take you in a few years. You're young and inexperienced, so people might not take you seriously. But if you want to go, go for it."
Natalie beamed.
"Are you going too?"
Victor opened a drawer and pulled out a thick stack of invitations, all from the organizers of the business conference in R country.
"I've never been to any of them. Can't be bothered."
Natalie swallowed hard.
Victor's effortless charisma never failed to impress.
Two days later, Natalie showed up at the airport, keeping a low profile, holding a small tiger wrapped in a cashmere shawl.
Starshadow was snug in the shawl but occasionally peeked out.
If she wasn't worried about causing a scene, Natalie wouldn't have bothered with the shawl.
"Be good. Once we get to Renova, I'll let you out to play."
On the plane, the seat next to her in business class was empty.
Natalie paused, and her phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number.
[Ms. Clark, Mr. Kensington had an urgent matter and changed his flight to 7 PM. Someone will meet you when you arrive.]
She frowned and smirked.
'Well, that's just perfect. Sharing the same flight would have been a nightmare.'
Despite her efforts, Starshadow had already caught a lot of attention. She kept explaining it was an intelligent tiger.
Starshadow played along, pretending to shut down, lying stiffly in Natalie's hand, playing dead, with its tongue half out and eyes rolled back.
The flight attendant walked away with a straight face, and Natalie patted its head.
"Overacting, Starshadow. You were supposed to be a cat."
The plane took off smoothly. Natalie looked over some documents and was about to nap when she heard a loud bang!
The whole plane started shaking violently!
Natalie snapped awake, feeling the plane lurching uncontrollably!
People around her were screaming and calling for help. The crew's voices and cries blended into chaos.
No one was listening.
She hugged Starshadow tightly, her face pale. Outside, all she could see were gray clouds, lightning, and thunder, eerie and terrifying!
If she had known, she wouldn't have come!
Starshadow wriggled out, its pupils scanning the cockpit with infrared.
In seconds, the AI system kicked in.
Its voice was serious.
"Mommy, the plane's power system is irreversibly damaged. We're 5,000 feet up, at 80 degrees east longitude and 100 degrees north latitude. The braking system can't land at the airport, and there's a high chance of a crash."
Natalie's face went white.
"What do we do?"
Desperate voices surrounded her. She gripped the armrest tightly, her eyes bleak.
From all her countless experiences, she never thought she'd die like this.
All her past experiences seemed trivial.
"Mommy, put on the life jacket, wear the oxygen mask. The plane will lose control in one minute. Prepare to parachute. There's a 50% chance of survival."
"Fifty percent? Are you kidding me?"
Natalie's face was pale as she followed Starshadow's instructions, her hands shaking but never stopping.
"Fifty seconds left, forty seconds..."
Time seemed to freeze.
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