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“Have you called his lawyer? Or his office?”
“No. I didn’t think I’d need to. But it’s been so long now.”
“How long since you’ve heard from him?” Kari asked.
“Yesterday, not long after his flight took off. He was overseas on business and was flying here on his private jet.”
Brow knit fiercely, Kari’s voice became strained. “Oh, so not your average rich guy. Super rich.”
“Yeah, billionaire rich.”
“What’s his name?”
There didn’t seem to be any harm in telling it now. “Quint Forbes. I’m sure you’ve heard of him.”
“Gods. Of course, especially now.” Kari leaned over to grab the television remote.
Amara was shocked at what she said next.
“Honey,” Kari said gently, “his plane is missing. They’re looking for the wreckage, but it could have gone down anywhere between the Middle East and here.”
She turned on the TV and switched over to the news channel.
Everything around Amara went into slow motion as she stared at the screen.
At the right, two live video screens showed one feed from a regional correspondent, her eyes half-shut to keep the sand out of them, and another from a well-put-together but clearly shaken older man.
On the left, the anchor spoke in a low, grave voice. “… officials have confirmed that billionaire and philanthropist Quint Forbes’ plane has been declared missing. The flight took off from Dasoguz Airport in Turkmenistan, where Forbes was coordinating a humanitarian mission to improve sanitation. The fate of the flight is unknown at this time, but an anonymous FAA official told us that it’s possible that the flight either crossed into one of several no-fly zones in the region and was shot down, or it was lost somewhere over the ocean. No flight plan was on file at Dasoguz. A search effort is being mounted, and the U.S. government is in contact with allies in the region, trying to gather information about this situation. With us now to discuss the potential implications of the missing plane, our financial analyst Jack Inoue and Middle-Eastern correspondent Anna Morgan.”
By the end of the first full sentence, Amara’s hand had come up to her mouth in horror. When the segment ended, she was wracked with grief. It came on fast, her hands trembling as she struggled to accept what she was hearing.
Quint. Missing. Presumed dead. How could it be? Quint was the most alive person she’d ever known. He couldn’t be dead. It wasn’t possible.
Would she never see him again? Never hear his voice on the phone? Get one of his joking texts?
She realized with a stab of pain in her chest that she’d been holding out a small hope that maybe, some day in the future, there could be something between them … something more than a business deal made on one of the worst days of her life.
Quint. Dead.
No … he was missing. It wasn’t certain that he was gone.
But it wasn’t likely that he was alive, either. It was a devastating loss, and not only for her.
Kari stood and placed a hand on Amara’s shoulder, giving a consolatory squeeze. Amara turned quickly to her, wrapping her arms tight around her, crying openly. Kari stroked her back and soothed her with comforting murmurs, telling her that everything would be all right.
As her initial, emotional response began to wane a little, her brain kicked in to take up the slack. What did this mean for her and the baby?
Quint wouldn’t be coming to collect his son. Why hadn’t the lawyer contacted her, told her what had happened? Had he been on the plane with Quint, perhaps?
It seemed the likeliest conclusion to be made. Nothing else made any sense.
No one outside of Quint’s lawyer knew about their agreement.
Amara’s arms went slack around Kari, and she leaned back with a sad serenity. Fate had taken a hard turn, and there was only one direction left to travel.
Tragic though the moment was, and she knew it would take a long time for her to accept that Quint was gone, she saw clearly what needed to be done.
With a trembling hand, she reached over and pressed the call button.
