She read Lily’s name in the witness section.
“You kept it?”
“She told me to.”
“Why?”
“So I’d never forget what I refused to sign.”
Maya handed it back.
“Do you still need it?”
Lily looked at the page.
She thought about the question longer than expected.
“No,” she said eventually. “But maybe someone else does.”
The working group had become a permanent employee council by then. New-hire training included a short case study based on Flight 218, carefully anonymized and stripped of the founder reveal until the final discussion.
Lily asked Training whether they wanted the physical document for the company archive.
They did.
Before giving it away, she made one photocopy.
The original went into a training display beside an explanation of witness integrity.
The copy stayed in her locker.
Some habits were harder to release than others.
Three years after the flight, Lily was working a Boston departure when she saw a familiar silver-haired woman approaching the aircraft door.
Mrs. Ashcroft moved a little more slowly now.
She still carried the same leather handbag.
A younger airport employee walked beside her but did not touch the roller case until she asked.
Lily stared.
Mrs. Ashcroft stopped at the door.
“Are you going to welcome me aboard or continue blocking the entrance?”
Lily recovered.
“Welcome aboard, ma’am. Let me help you with that.”
Mrs. Ashcroft smiled.
“Thank you, dear. I can manage.”
The exact words.
Lily laughed.
“You did that on purpose.”
“Prove it.”
Behind Mrs. Ashcroft stood another familiar passenger.
Charles Lane.
He looked older too, though his coat was just as expensive.
He recognized Lily immediately.
Then he recognized Mrs. Ashcroft.
His face went through several expressions at once.
“Well,” he said. “This is awkward.”
Mrs. Ashcroft glanced at his boarding pass.
“What seat?”
“Thirty-one D.”
“Keeping it?”
“Until death.”
Lily laughed.
Mrs. Ashcroft checked her own pass.
“Thirty-four B.”
Lane looked toward the exit row.
“Seriously?”
“Booked it myself.”
He shook his head.
“You’re enjoying this.”
“Immensely.”
They boarded.
This time, nobody was moved.
Before departure, Lily conducted the exit-row briefing.
Mrs. Ashcroft answered every question correctly.
When Lily asked whether she was willing and able to assist in an emergency, the older woman lifted one eyebrow.