The aircraft door stayed sealed. No movement. No announcements. Just the low hum of systems running and the weight of waiting pressing down on the cabin. Alyssa sat perfectly still, the thought forming slowly, uncomfortably—what if this wasn’t a mistake at all? What if she was being targeted?
Alyssa noticed the crew moving with a new kind of purpose. Clipboards appeared where there had been none before. A manifest was checked again, right there in the aisle, mid-boarding, as if something had been overlooked the first time. The casual rhythm of preparation shifted into something sharper, more deliberate.