After half an hour in the air the stewardess announced that in-flight Wi-Fi was available, but Dalia was too nervous to pick up her phone and see the news. She wanted to avoid life for a while longer. She closed her eyes trying to sleep, but even if she had only slept 4 hours in the last 60 hours, it was impossible for her to rest.
She read a book for a few hours, but she wasn't paying attention to what she was reading, she wasn't processing anything at all. She picked up the now fully charged phone and turned it on. For a while she just stared at the screen, not being able to enable the Internet connection, but then she willed herself to do it, going to the safari app and searching her name.
The first thing that popped up was a Le monde article about her disappearance. It was marked as 2:30 in the afternoon. She guessed they tried looking for her for a while before announcing to the world that she was gone. She kept clicking on different article, every single one of them saying the same. That she'd been taken from the Senlis Cathedral at noon. They had closed down all the airports.
She picked up her AirPods and synced them to her new phone before clicking on a video of her mom. It was a press conference that was released just 15 minutes prior. Isabella was visible shaken, her eyes were red, but she looked just as composed as always, the prime minister by her side. Dalia let out a few tears, but she quickly wiped them off.
"Would you like something to drink, miss Walker?" the flight attendant asked Dalia.
"Something strong, please" she answered with a smile, the other woman looked confused "Do you have gin?" the woman nodded before disappearing to the front of the plane. A few minutes later she came back with a glass of gin and tonic with a few limes inside. Dalia thanked her, before clicking again on the video.
She kept refreshing the news. Sometimes there was nothing new; sometimes there was just an update on the investigations. At 4:50, Paris time, ARNews, the biggest news outlet of Aurum, published Christopher's press release on the matter. It was standard; it recounted the 'events' prior to her disappearance. He'd said that Dalia had left for the bathroom for a couple of minutes, but after she didn't return he had called security. She laughed a little.
"If only they knew" she muttered to herself. She decided that she'd turn her phone off again. She was in the clear, there was nothing anyone could do, at least until she landed.
12 hours and 29 minutes after take off the pilot announced that they would be arriving at their destination in half an hour. She stood up and walked to the bathroom with her luggage. She changed the sundress for a pair of leggings and a big hoodie, a pair of reading glasses and white sneakers. She emerged from the bathroom and sat back down. She looked through her documents, the one that the president had given her.
The passport was truly a work of art. It has stamps from different countries, enough to seem real, but not too many as not to tip anyone off. Once she though of it, it was a real passport, there was a registry of it in England, if anyone looked closely, they would find everything was in order. Macron had assured her that her fingerprints would only be associated to that passport.
"Louanne Walker" she read the name on the passport. It was a name she never would've chosen. It was beautiful, but it was quite rare. She liked it, but it wasn't heirs. A few minutes later the plane landed.
"Welcome to Buenos Aires, miss walker. We've filled out your customs paperwork, as requested. It's on this folder, along with your connecting flight information. We hope you enjoyed the flight, we hope you flight with us in the future" Dalia was sure the woman knew something, but she was paying a lot of money for their services, as well as their silence.
YOU ARE READING
72 Hours
Romance"That was so corny" That was Dalia's response. He took the bracelet and locked it in her wrist "And we've been engaged since I was 5" "Yes, I know. My parents felt the need to wait until I was in love and off age to tell me" he retorted. "See. I hav...
