Twelve-year-old Aaliyah Brooks had never flown before. She sat nervously in seat 28B, her hands folded in her lap. Wearing thrift-store jeans and a thin hoodie, she was traveling alone from Atlanta to Chicago to stay with her aunt after her mother’s sudden passing. Every penny had been counted carefully just to make the trip possible.
Across the aisle sat Richard Coleman, a fifty-two-year-old real estate investor in a tailored suit. He seemed tense, speaking on the phone about work deadlines and legal issues. When he hung up, he leaned back and closed his eyes.
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