The plane was heading straight into a storm cell . As the chief purser , I asked the captain - my husband - to change course immediately . He ignored me . He was letting the junior first officer , his protégée , fly for practice . Wanting her to gain experience , he let her take over the controls - driving the aircraft straight into the thunderhead . > In my previous life , I had barreled into the cockpit , wrested the yoke from their hands , and saved everyone on board . But afterward , the young copilot was so shaken she sobbed she'd never fly again . My husband , furious on her behalf , had fabricated evidence , bought off witnesses , and made me the industry's public enemy . I was banned for life . Then came the " accident " he staged . Fire . I burned . Nothing left but ash . Opening my eyes now , the violent turbulence felt painfully familiar . His voice came through my headset - calm , coaxing the junior officer . I buckled my seatbelt and sat back down . This time , I wanted to see how those two fools would get a few hundred souls out of the storm . " Shut up ! I am the captain !" his voice snapped through the intercom , his tone icy and abrupt . " Stop being so loud . Sophie's flying an international leg for the first time . She's nervous ; that's normal . Let her ease into it , " he said , his tone nothing but soft encouragement for the girl . I took the headset off . Outside , the cumulonimbus loomed like a black mountain across our flight path ; bolts of electricity writhed within the cloud . The fuselage had already begun to shudder . I had just issued my third warning to the cockpit . Change course now , divert around the storm . Chapter1 1.04 % The reply I received was my husband's reprimand - followed by his tender reassurances to Sophie . Last time , during this same kind of turbulence , I hadn't hesitated . I'd charged into the cockpit , shouting and cursing , and wrested control away from them . I'd poured every ounce of training and experience into stabilizing the aircraft and ripped us out of the storm's grip . I had saved hundreds of lives . And then Sophie had broken down - sobbing that she would never fly again . Charles had used that as cover to frame me . He'd claimed I'd lost control , that I'd barged into the cockpit in an emotional frenzy . My certificate was revoked , my reputation destroyed . Then came the fire . I died in the inferno he set . Now the same turbulence rattled the overhead bins and the same black wall of cloud waited outside the window . Through the headset Charles was saying , " Don't be afraid , Sophie . With your senior here , nothing will touch you . " " Disable autopilot . Try manual control . This kind of weather is rare - good experience , " he added . Michael Reed , the senior first officer next to them , couldn't stomach it . He spoke into the interphone , his tone tight with urgency . " Captain , this is an emergency ! " " You , Michael , say one more word and get out of the cockpit ! " Charles barked , his authority absolute over the line . Michael's voice was urgent , incredulous . " Sir , we've got gamma burst activity ahead - the radar's flagged it red . We have to climb and turn within three minutes , or the airframe could suffer irreversible structural damage . " " This is gambling with everyone's lives ! " Michael said . " I am the captain , " Charles repeated . " I said let her practice . " Sophie's voice answered , quivering with hurt and fear . " Mr. Reed ... Michael's so scary . I ... I don't want to fly - I'm scared . " " Don't be afraid . I'm here , " Charles soothed . Chapter1 1.04 % Sitting in my jump seat with my eyes closed , I could picture that sickening scene in the cockpit . Charles looking at Sophie like a proud mentor , all adoration for his prodigy . It had been that look , that tone , that had finished me the last time . It had been the final thing that had pushed me into the cockpit . This time I did nothing dramatic . I stayed collected . I slid a small professional voice recorder out of my bag - something I had prepared long ago - and , with the practiced hand of someone who knew where every panel and port lived , I tucked a micro - adapter into the crew communications port under the flight attendant workstation . The indicator LED flashed green . Every word in the cockpit was being captured , every inflection . I opened my private tablet , connected to the plane's Wi - Fi , and began typing notes into a memo . I felt the vibration of the airframe change . It was no longer the random buffeting of air ; it had become an awkward , clumsy , corrective oscillation - tiny overcorrections , hesitations . Sophie was at the controls . She couldn't even hold straight and level . I glanced out the window . The black cloud formation gaped like a maw , ready to swallow us whole . Chapter1