Bonus Scene
Two Month Later
Aria
My head is stuck in a dream, one with the beach and the ocean and sunsets and sunrises. I can feel the grains of sand against my body and the warm water on my feet.
I never want to go back home. I want to live in this paradise forever. I’m about to tell Elliot that, but a noise stops me. I look around the beach to see where the sound is coming from, but I can’t find it.
The sound grows louder and more frequent. My eyes pop open to the darkness, and it takes me second to register what’s happening.
It’s the middle of the night.
Elliot is right next to me, in the penthouse.
A phone is ringing.
With a groan, I roll onto my side and look at my phone on the nightstand, but it does nothing. Which means it’s Elliot’s phone.
Who is calling at this hour?
With another groan, I shift to my other side and nudge my boyfriend awake. How he is not hearing this is beyond me.
“Babe,” I say as loudly as my groggy voice allows, but he still doesn’t stir.
Since calling out for him is going to be useless, I start nudging him harder. It’s when the phone starts ringing for the third time that he finally wakes up.
“What’s going on?” he asks, shifting to face me, his face still veiled with sleep.
“Your phone is ringing.”
At my words, his eyes pop open. It’s only for a second, but even in the darkness, I can see worry and surprise swimming in them.
Nobody calls him at this hour, not unless it’s a prescheduled work call or an emergency. It’s never the latter.
Elliot quickly turns toward his bedside table and sits up as he answers the phone.
He must have seen the caller ID before answering, because he doesn’t miss a beat. “Henry.”
At the mention of Henry’s name, I sit up next to him.
Henry wouldn’t call this late.
Within a second, Elliot’s shoulders tighten, and I go on high alert. Something happened. Something bad.
“When?” There’s anger in his voice, but I can’t pinpoint why.
“That was an hour ago. Are we sure it was his? Because last time I checked, he was supposed to go to Madrid, and Spain is nowhere fucking close to Bolivia!”
Bennett.
A few days ago at family dinner, it was mentioned he was going to Spain to meet with a tech startup. It was supposed to be a quick trip, one he was supposed to go on with Ella, but plans changed at the last minute.
She stayed back; he left three days ago and was due back later today.
“Does Ella know?” Elliot’s voice almost breaks, and just hearing it brings tears to my eyes, a huge lump in my throat as I think of the worst-case scenario.
I sit as still as possible. Whatever is going on is bad, and I feel like if I even breathe, the world will crumble.
Elliot clears his throat. “We’ll head there now.” He pauses for a second. “Do my siblings know?” I don’t hear Henry’s response. “Okay. Let’s try and keep this out of the news as long as possible. We don’t say anything until we have definitive answers.”
The call ends, an eerie silence in the air that scares me. I want it to go away, even more so when Elliot lets out a sigh that rattles his whole body.
“What happened?” I ask, my voice shaking in the process. Tears rolling down my cheeks. I don’t want the answer.
Elliot shakes his head. “Get dressed,” he says, pushing himself out of the bed. “We have to get to the manor.”
* * *
Bennett Lane is missing.
As we got dressed, Elliot and I didn’t exchange a single word. When we got into the car, he sat there for a few minutes, simply looking out the front window as if in disbelief.
Then, he told me.
The plane Bennett took to Madrid, the one he’s owned for years, had a last-minute change in flight plan and went to Bolivia.
According to Henry, the plane landed for a few hours before it took off again.
It was only in the air for a few minutes before it crashed.
Right now, it’s unknown if Bennett was on the plane or not.
All we know is that the manifest lists five people on board, three of which were flight crew, and only three bodies have been found.
Henry was listed as one of the owners of the plane, so when Bolivian authorities identified the aircraft, they contacted him. The first person he told was Ella. Then, he called Elliot and went down the list of siblings. It won’t be long before the news starts to spread through the media.
It took us an hour to get to the manor after Henry’s call.
When we arrived, it seemed like every member of the Lane security team was stationed outside, but we didn’t pay them any mind. We ran straight inside, going immediately to Ella, but she locked herself in her room and won’t come out.
I don’t know how long we try to get a word out of her, but it’s long enough for Grayson and Drake to arrive. I can’t say how damn happy I am that both of them are in Chicago right now.
Eventually, we all give up trying to get Ella to come out.
“We’ll all be downstairs if you need us,” Elliot says to the door. In all the time I’ve known him, I’ve never seen him like this.
He looks so distraught, so defeated; it breaks my heart seeing him like this. I hate this. I hate this for him. I hate this for Ella. I hate this for his siblings. I hate this for everyone.
A sob breaks from the other side, and it shatters everyone.
We all head downstairs, where Henry is busying himself. I don’t think he knows what to do; the person he raised, his son, is missing.
Right now, he’s setting up a tea tray.
Just like the three Lane boys, Henry also wears a distraught face. Seeing them all like this brings tears to my eyes.
“Henry,” I voice, walking over to him. When I close the distance, my heart breaks for what feels like the millionth time tonight. “I’ll set up the tray if you want to rest for a little bit.”
The older gentleman gives me a smile, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “It’s alright, Ms. Aria. I’ve got a handle on it.”
His hand shakes as he pours some tea into a cup.
I look over at Elliot to silently ask for help, hopeful he’ll tell Henry to sit down, but when I see his face, he’s somewhere else. He’s spaced out, trying his hardest not to break.
As I try once more with Henry, the house alarm notifies us that someone has opened the front door.
We all stop and look over.
For a few seconds, there is hope—hope that it’s Bennett about to walk in here to tell us all of this was a big misunderstanding.
But that hope disappears as quickly as it was conjured when Samantha appears instead, dressed in a black dress and a leather jacket that is way too big for her.
She told me she was going to go out last night, and from the looks of it, her night hadn’t ended just yet, though I know for sure when Ethan Bettencourt walks in behind her.
When they see him, all three brothers go from distraught to angry.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Elliot is the first to speak.
“Because I was with your sister when she got Henry’s call,” Ethan answers.
“It doesn’t matter why he’s here,” Samantha says, walking to the coffee table and picking up a remote.
“Like hell it doesn’t. Why were you two together tonight?” Drake adds.
All three of them crowd around her, and from the corner of my eye, I see Ethan walking over to Henry, who doesn’t say anything as he takes a cup of tea.
“I said it doesn’t matter,” Samantha says sternly, looking at each of her brothers straight on. “Drop it. We have other things we need to take care of.” There are tears in her already puffy eyes, and her jaw shakes as she speaks, but she is able to compose herself.
That’s when she turns on the TV.
Nobody needs to ask what she puts on, because the second there’s color on the screen, we know.
The news of Bennett missing has hit.
“If you are just joining us, we have breaking news this morning. A private plane has crashed in Bolivia. According to officials, the plane was identified as belonging to billionaire Bennett Lane. At this time, we know Lane himself was listed on the manifest, but it is unknown if he was on the aircraft when it went down. We have word that Mr. Lane’s family has been notified.
Our hearts are with them during this difficult time.
If you are unaware, Bennett Lane is CEO of Lane Enterprises, a conglomerate based in Chicago.
His family is one of the most well known in the country… ”
The news reporter goes on and on about Bennett Lane and his history. You can see the sympathy in her face, that this story is hard for her to tell.
I don’t know how long we watch the news or how much time passes at all. All I know is the sun is rising, and with each passing minute, the search for Bennett continues.
Calls are being made.
Orders are being thrown out.
People are being informed.
A search is being conducted.
The security team, who is led by a Green Beret and a Marines sniper, is heading to Bolivia to help in the search.
Ella has yet to come out of her room, even with Charlie arriving a bit ago.
There is so much chaos, but there is also a calmness that feels almost deadly.
We’re all in the living room. Three of the Lane children have their phones in their hands, not taking their eyes off the TV.
One, Drake, is on his laptop, searching every nook and cranny he can think of to find his uncle.
Henry has finally sat down, but his mind isn’t with us.
Charlie is upstairs, trying to convince her sister to let her in.
I’m sitting next to Elliot, trying to bring comfort to him in any way I can.
And Ethan—well, Ethan has been told to leave more than once, but he hasn’t.
He will only leave if Samantha tells him to.
She hasn’t, so he has made the edge of the living room his home.
The news channels keep showing the same photos, the same videos, repeating the same information. With every passing minute, the unease continues to grow.
Since we’re all watching the screen, we don’t miss when the video pans to the front of the Lane Enterprises building. Samantha, who is standing by one of the windows, still has the remote in her hand.
“Turn it up,” one of the guys orders, but I’m too lost in my mind to point out who.
“There are a lot of questions this morning in regard to the disappearance of Bennett Lane. One big question on everyone’s mind, with the disappearance of Mr. Lane, is who will replace him as CEO of Lane Enterprises?”
The reporter continues to talk, but everyone in the room ignores her.
Samantha is looking at the screen, her shoulders pushed back like she can conquer the world but break at the same time. She is trying to be strong when she should be curled up in a ball, begging for her uncle to come back.
The reporter said the question of Bennett’s replacement may not be answered anytime soon, but she doesn’t know it’s already been decided.
Samantha Lane is the new CEO of Lane Enterprises.
But without Bennett at her side, I don’t think it means it a single thing.
TO BE CONTINUED…