---- Chapter 9 Kelsey stood in the bustling chaos of the JFK international terminal, the carry-on bag at her feet a small, solid anchor in a sea of frantic travelers. The air hummed with announcements and the roll of a thousand suitcases. It was the sound of escape. "Kelsey?" The voice, thick with disbelief, cut through the noise. She turned. Bennett was standing there, a few feet away, his own carry-on bag in his hand. They stared at each other, two liars caught in an unlikely, impossible coincidence. "What are you doing here?" he asked, his eyes narrowing with suspicion as they flickered down to her luggage. "My friend's flight was changed to an earlier one," she lied, the untruths now rolling off her tongue with practiced ease. "I'm seeing her off." She tilted her head. "What about you? | thought your trip to the West Coast wasn't until next week." "The meeting was moved up," he retorted, his own lie just as smooth. "Last minute." He glanced around nervously. "You should probably head home. It's crazy here." He was desperate for her to leave. She knew why. Aria was here somewhere, waiting for him, ready to board their flight to ---- Lake Como for their secret pre-wedding celebration. "Actually, her flight is delayed," Kelsey said, settling onto a nearby bench. "I'll wait." She watched the panic flicker in his eyes. He couldn't risk her seeing Aria. He had to get Aria on that plane. He glanced at his watch. "Look, Kels, | have to go. My flight is boarding." He leaned down and gave her a quick, distracted kiss on the cheek. "I'll call you when | land." He turned and walked away, disappearing into the crowd heading toward the international gates. Kelsey watched him go, a ghost of a smile on her lips. She waited A crisp, female voice echoed over the loudspeaker. "Final boarding call for Air France flight 607 to Paris." Her flight. Her phone buzzed. A text from a number she didn't recognize, but she knew who it was from. Mr. Randolph Sr. The transfer is complete. The documents are legally binding. | wish you well Another buzz. It was Bennett. Boarding now. Love you. Kelsey stood up. She deleted the messages, then wiped her entire phone, erasing every contact, every photo, every digital remnant of her old life. She walked over to a trash can and ---- dropped the phone inside. It landed with a soft, final thud. She picked up her bag and walked toward the gate for her flight to Paris, her new life. She didn't look back. From his seat in the first-class cabin of a flight to Milan, Bennett glanced out the window. He saw a woman walking down the jet bridge to the adjacent plane. A woman with dark, wavy hair and a familiar, elegant posture, dressed in a simple, chic trench coat. For a heart-stopping moment, he thought it was Kelsey. He shook his head. Impossible. Kelsey was at home. She had a friend visiting. This was just a trick of the light, a symptom of his own guilty conscience. = He felt a wave of relief. He had pulled it off. He was on his way to Italy with Aria, and Kelsey was none the wiser. "Ben, honey?" Aria's voice pulled him from his thoughts. "Are you okay? You look distracted." "Just thinking about work," he lied, forcing a smile. But a strange, unsettling feeling lingered, a cold knot of dread in the pit of his stomach. He tried to push it away, to focus on the beautiful, adoring woman beside him, but he couldn't shake the image of that familiar figure walking away, disappearing into the belly of another plane.