As I'm unable to get a ticket for my return trip after the Thanksgiving holiday, I specifically booked a first-class seat home.

Just as I find my seat, I see an unruly child jumping around on it.

I patiently smile and say, "Kid, this is my seat. Where is your seat?"

He makes a face at me. "It's mine now, old hag!"

I grab him by the collar of his shirt, wanting to lift him out of the seat.

At that moment, a woman's piercing voice sounds behind me. "What are you doing? Let go of my son!"

I release my grip and say as gently as possible, "Please control your child. This is my seat."

Suddenly, she raises her voice. "He's just a child! Can't you, as an adult, give way to him? You're young and dressed decently. How can you have no compassion at all?"

I'm so angered by this distorted reasoning that I laugh.

"If you're so compassionate, why didn't you spend the money to buy your child a first-class seat?"

Upon seeing that I refused to give up the seat, the unruly child's mother pointed a finger at me and berated, "Even my son knows to respect the elderly and cherish the young. But look at you, fighting with a child over a seat.

"What's someone as selfish as you doing in the first-class cabin? You're just insulting the other passengers here!"

I was just about to call a flight attendant over, but the woman pressed the call button first. She bossily barked orders at the chief steward who had just hurried over. His nametag read Lawrence Pratt.

"Mr. Pratt, I want to file a complaint! How can your airline let just anyone into the first-class cabin? This person not only stole a child's seat, but she also hit someone! I demand you throw her off this plane immediately!"

Lawrence wore a professional, neutral smile on his face, but a trace of impatience showed between his brows.

"Ladies, the plane will soon begin takeoff procedures. Please return to your respective seats and fasten your seatbelts. We can discuss any issues after takeoff when we're at cruising altitude, okay?"

I was about to nod and sit down, but the woman behind me seized the chance. She shoved her child into my seat and buckled his seatbelt.

"A discussion? There's nothing to discuss! She's an adult who laid hands on my son over a seat and scared him! This isn't over!"

I almost burst into angry laughter at this woman's shamelessness.

"When did I lay hands on him? From start to finish, I never even touched a single hair on his head! The surveillance can prove it!

"Also, this is my seat! I paid for it!"

I turned to Lawrence, suppressing my anger. "Mr. Pratt, this is my seat. Please ask her and her son to leave."

Lawrence began to speak to her. "Ma'am—"

But the woman raised her hand to signal Lawrence to be quiet, then yelled at me, "You still have the nerve to talk, huh? Did no one teach you manners? Do you even know how to spell it?

"My son is only four! Can't you show some courtesy? What's the big deal about giving up your seat?"

The surrounding gazes were all focused on me, each filled with scrutiny and blame.

I couldn't be bothered to argue with her anymore. I took out my ID card and boarding pass from my bag and showed them to Lawrence.

"Excuse me, but this is the first-class seat I paid 12,000 dollars for. My name is clearly printed on the ticket. Why should I give up a service I paid for to an unruly brat?

"I could easily file a complaint against you. Why didn't you verify boarding passes before letting someone just come in and take a seat? This is a major mistake in your duties!"

Lawrence's face instantly turned pale. Understanding the seriousness of the situation, he quickly turned to the woman with an apologetic smile and said, "Ma'am, I'm truly sorry. Perhaps you could take your child back to your own seat for now? The plane is about to take off. Safety comes first."

The woman sneered. She pulled out her phone, opened the e-ticket page, and shoved it right in Lawrence's face.

"Take a good look! Whose name is on the seat 1A? My husband bought this ticket for me, so how could it be wrong? I was giving you a way out, but you didn't take it. Now, you're just humiliating yourself!"

Lawrence looked at the page closely, and his expression became even more puzzled.

However, when I saw the e-ticket information, I was utterly stunned. Under seat number 1A, it clearly displayed a name completely unfamiliar to me—Raine Gilmore.

But I had clearly used my own account, swiped my own card, and paid a solid 12,000 dollars!

What on earth was going on?

"Excuse me, could you please recheck the airline's backend system?" I said.

I took a deep breath, forced myself to calm down, and handed my phone to a bewildered Lawrence. He took the phone and looked at Raine's ticket again with an uncertain expression.

He contacted the ground crew via the internal communication device, and a few seconds later, he looked up at me with a conflicted gaze.

"Ma'am, the system does show Ms. Gilmore's name."

Raine let out a shrill burst of laughter and looked at me triumphantly.

"Stumped, aren't you? Let me tell you, this is an internal family ticket my husband bought for me! My husband is the captain of this very plane, Klaus Peterson!

"I was just showing you some courtesy earlier by not exposing you for occupying someone else's seat. Now that you've brought this on yourself, I'll oblige."

She deliberately raised her voice, ensuring everyone in the first-class cabin could hear.

However, a bomb had been set off in my mind.

Wasn't Klaus Peterson my husband of five years? Who was this arrogant woman before me?

The moment Lawrence heard the captain's name, his attitude took a complete turn. He returned the phone to me with a polite smile.

"Ma'am, perhaps you should return to your seat in economy class. Let's not delay the scheduled takeoff, okay?"

I was still reeling in chaos, and I couldn't stay calm at all.

"I am not going to economy class. I paid for a first-class seat, and my payment record can prove that this ticket is mine."

Raine acted as if she'd heard the joke of the century. She crossed her arms and looked me up and down.

"Whoa, were you so desperate for first class that you even forged a ticket? Technology is so advanced now that Photoshop is easy, right? I mean, you're so young—why such a strong desire for vanity?

"Is there no one in your family who could pay for this? You can't even afford a first-class ticket, so you have to resort to such low-life tactics?"

The surrounding passengers immediately began whispering and pointing fingers at me.

"Goodness! She actually forged a ticket? How brazen!"

"And she even stole a child's seat? How shameful. Did she think a child was an easy target?"

"Now she's bitten off more than she can chew. That lady's husband is the captain! Let's see how she gets out of this!"

Seeing this, Raine became even more smug. She lifted her hand to adjust her hair, and a necklace around her neck swung into my view.

My pupils constricted abruptly.

I had found this necklace the day before my business trip, in the pocket of Klaus' jacket hanging in the cloakroom.

At the time, I thought it was the five-year wedding anniversary gift he was preparing for me.

It made me feel touched for a long time. I thought of finishing this business trip early and returning to surprise him.

It turned out the surprise had already been given to someone else. And I, like a fool, was kept completely in the dark.

I clenched my fists so tightly that my nails almost dug into my palms.

"Mr. Pratt, I'm asking you one last time. Are you truly unable to resolve this matter?" I asked icily.

Raine seized the opportunity to interject, saying, "Hey, why are you making things difficult for the staff? They're just trying to do their job. You got caught with a fake ticket, and now you're feeling guilty, so you want to solve things by complaining? Well, I'll be!

"Not only do you lack respect for the elderly and children, but you don't even have basic respect for service staff! Where are your manners?"

Lawrence's expression had darkened completely, and his tone became stiff. "Ma'am, I advise you to take a step back for the sake of peace. Don't make things hard for us workers."

I sneered coldly. Ignoring them, I stepped forward directly and reached out to unbuckle the unruly boy's seatbelt.

"How dare you touch my son!"

Raine let out a sharp scream, raised her hand, and slapped me hard across the face with a resounding smack.

I staggered from the blow, and my cheek burned with pain.

The entire cabin fell silent instantly.

"You actually dared to hit my son! Guards! Air marshals! There's an assailant on the plane!" Raine screamed shrilly.

Lawrence's expression shifted dramatically, and he immediately called for the air marshals via the intercom.

Two towering air marshals quickly arrived and restrained me on both sides. My arms were twisted behind my back, leaving me unable to move.

Raine put on a pained expression and pointed at me, lecturing, "Look at yourself! Is all this really worth it just for a seat? Do you have any idea that because of you, the schedules of hundreds of people on this flight are being delayed? Can your conscience handle that?

"As a family member of someone in civil aviation, what I despise most are people like you—selfish and lacking any sense of public duty!"

After speaking, she pretentiously patted her son's shoulder.

The unruly boy understood the cue. He jumped up from his seat and loudly recited, "My dad is the most handsome captain in the world! He often tells us to respect the elderly, cherish the young, and always follow public transportation rules.

"We can't let our own affairs affect everyone else!"

These words instantly ignited the anger of the surrounding passengers.

"What's going on? Hurry up and take this woman away! We have places to be!"

"Exactly! She's so self-indulgent! Who does she think she is, causing trouble here!"

"Even a child understands this principle. How can a grown adult not get it?"

"What's wrong with the airline? It's such bad luck to let someone like this on!"

The insults and accusations came from all sides.

I was pinned down firmly by the two air marshals, and I was so angry that I trembled with rage.

This airline was one I acquired five years ago. I bought it because Klaus said he loved the blue sky and wanted to be a pilot free from constraints.

For him, I used my family's connections to have him skip the lengthy seniority-building process and become a captain at a young age.

But now, all my efforts ended up benefiting an ungrateful wretch, who even had the nerve to harass me!

"This seat is rightfully mine! She's the one who's forcibly occupying it with her son and twisting the truth, and the one who's delaying the takeoff!"

I stared fixedly at Lawrence and the air marshals. "I want to see your captain. Get Klaus out here!"

"You even dare to ask for my husband?"

Enraged, Raine rushed forward and slapped me several more times. She even lifted her foot to kick my shins hard a few times.

"Didn't your mother teach you how to behave? I'll teach you today, then! Who do you think you are, thinking you deserve to see my husband? Go take a look in the mirror to see if you're worthy!"

I endured these blows head-on. My face and legs burned with pain, but I just sneered coldly and stared at her with a gaze sharp as a knife.

"Tell him to come. He knows who I am."

Raine was stunned for a moment, and then she became even more furious. She yelled at the air marshals, "What are you all still standing around for? This woman first stole the seat and hit a kid, and now she's threatening the staff and demanding to see the captain!

"She's a lunatic! Hurry up and throw her off the plane!"

Lawrence was also looking at me disgustedly. He waved his hand and said to the air marshals, "This lady is seriously disrupting public order and endangering flight safety! Remove her from the aircraft and hand her over to the ground police for handling!"

"Understood!"

The two air marshals increased their strength and began shoving me toward the aircraft door.

Raine crossed her arms, and there was a triumphant smile on her face.

Just as I was being pushed to the door, I took out my phone and quickly dialed a number.

"This is Caitlyn Greene! Notify the control tower immediately that a hacker has compromised your aviation system and that a passenger's ticket information has been maliciously altered!

"Taking off now would endanger the lives of all passengers! Send the company's top-level executive here immediately to handle this!"