Their Mistake, Her Rise - Chapter 486: Chapter 486

They were sitting so close that they were nearly close enough to embrace. Shawn leaned in toward Zoe, their heads almost touching. If he wanted to, a kiss would be effortless.
Seeing how furious Aileen was, Zoe couldn't resist playing a little prank. She pulled the blanket up and draped it over both Shawn's and her own heads. They weren't doing anything, but to anyone else, it looked like they were making out under there.
"Something feels off," Zoe whispered.
In the darkness, Shawn couldn't make out Zoe's face. Still, he responded in a low voice, "There might be dangerous individuals on this plane."
"Seriously? We can't be that unlucky to run into hijackers, can we?" Zoe joked, but Shawn quickly covered her mouth with his hand.
Zoe pulled his hand away. "What's with the panic? Did you buy that?"
"Better keep quiet," Shawn warned in a low voice.
Just then, Aileen snatched the blanket away. "Would you two have some decency, for heaven's sake?" she snapped. "At least think about how the rest of us feel before doing that."
"I've already covered us with a blanket. If that's not respectful enough, how about this?" Zoe smiled and provocatively kissed Shawn on the lips.
Instantly, Aileen flared up.
A flight attendant stepped in to mediate, finally ending the confrontation between Zoe and Aileen.
Halfway through the flight, Zoe sensed something was off—the economy cabin was eerily quiet. She turned to Shawn, only to find him already watching her. "Did you notice something?" she whispered.
"Shh," Shawn raised a finger to his lips in warning.
Just then, two armed men stormed into the first-class cabin. Andrew, one of the two, pressed the barrel of his gun against Zoe's temple and backed, "Don't move!"
Aileen was so terrified by the hijacking that she almost screamed. But the moment she saw Andrew press a weapon to Zoe's head, an idea popped into her mind.
"Don't shoot. I'll give you everything valuable I have," Aileen stammered, feigning compliance. She stripped off her bag and jewelry in haste before handing them all over to Andrew.
The other passengers fell silent and fearfully followed suit, handing over their valuables without protest. There was no shortage of valuables—after all, not just anyone could afford to fly first class.
The hijackers were delighted with their haul of valuables. But soon, they noticed that Zoe and Shawn remained still.
Seizing her chance, Aileen jabbed a finger at Zoe and blurted out, "She's loaded. Kidnap her."
Zoe lifted her head and fixed Aileen with a cold, piercing stare.
Aileen continued urgently, "She's filthy rich, I swear!"
"Hand over all your valuables!" Andrew shouted.
Zoe took out her phone and handed it to him.
Andrew's face twisted in rage. "You fucking with me?"
Zoe said, "Everything I'm wearing is just cheap knockoffs—altogether, maybe a few hundred bucks tops. Do I look rich to you?"
Andrew scrutinized her closely and realized there was really nothing special about her—not even any recognizable brand labels.
Zoe casually pointed at Aileen's clothes and shoes. "But she's the real rich one here. See those shoes? Custom couture. You could sell them for tens of thousands. And that dress? It's also couture. If I'm not mistaken, it's worth millions."
Aileen's face instantly paled. "Zoe, how could you do this to me?"
"Ms. Carleton, didn't you set me up first?" Zoe's gaze turned icy. She'd gone easy on Aileen so many times already. If she didn't think taking out this airhead would be beneath her, she would've acted ages ago.
"You bitch, go to hell," Aileen snapped. If she had to suffer, she'd make sure Zoe wouldn't get away unscathed.
"Strip her of that dress and shoes," Andrew said to the other hijacker.
Aileen froze. As the hijacker approached, she shouted, "Stay back!"
In a panic, she turned desperately to Shawn for help. "Shawn, aren't you the legendary warrior of Clusia? How can you just stand there?"
Shawn remained seated, unmoving.
"33 million, and I'll help you," Zoe said coolly. That was already a friend discount—if she wasn't already planning to take down those hijackers, the price would've been way steeper.
"Okay, fine! Just help me!" Aileen shrieked, panic rising as she watched the hijacker close in.
Zoe smiled, "Thirty-three million—not a penny less. And just so you know, I've got the whole thing recorded." With that, she unbuckled her seatbelt.
Andrew snarled, "Sit down. Behave yourself if you want to live."
Zoe seemed to comply, sitting perfectly still.
Just then, a few more hijackers showed up. One of them asked, "Boss, how is it going?"
Andrew, the leader, chuckled, "Caught a rich one. She offered 33 million to have us all taken out."
The other hijackers burst into mocking laughter.
A hijacker sneered, "What the hell? Who does she think she is?"
"How dare this bitch act tough in front of us? Want me to send her straight to hell right now?" another chimed in.
"Hey, she's the client. This woman is the contractor." Andrew pointed at Zoe.
The hijackers took one look at Zoe—just a frail-looking girl—and burst into even louder, mocking laughter.
"I'm dying of laughter. Like this little girl could take on anyone."
"Think we're just a bunch of dumbass thugs? A damn little girl even dares to mock us for being useless?"
Suddenly, one of the hijackers fired, killing a passenger.
Aileen screamed in terror. She never thought they'd kill someone.
The other passengers looked like they might burst into tears any second, paralyzed by fear.
One of the passengers cried out desperately, "Leave us out of this. We've already surrendered. If you have to kill someone, make it that girl. She's the one who provoked you."
"Yeah, it's got nothing to do with us. Please, spare us," another chimed in.
The passengers begged for mercy, desperate to vanish into thin air. But in the confined space of the plane high above the ground, there was simply no escape—unless they had a death wish.
One of the hijackers headed straight for the cockpit to seize the pilot.
Just then, Aileen screamed at Zoe desperately, "I'll give you 66 million. Kill those guys."
"Deal." Zoe nodded, figuring only an idiot would turn down that kind of money. Actually, ever since she saw those hijackers gun down innocent people, she'd already decided—none of them were leaving alive.
Seeing Zoe stand up, Andrew wasn't in a hurry to shoot. He figured she was just putting on a show and didn't take her seriously at all. He sneered, "Don't get cocky, young lady. Know your place, and maybe I'll let you live."
Zoe let out a cold laugh. "Break both your arms, and maybe I'll let you live."
At her words, the hijackers erupted in scornful laughter.
"You guys hear that? She says she's gonna kill us all."
"Oh, I want to see how she is gonna kill us."
"Hell yeah, I'm gonna watch that too. She sure loves to run her mouth."