Disclaimer: The author's imagination and passion are the only sources of inspiration for this novel, which is a work of dedication. Parallels between these pages and the past or present may be apparent to some readers, but they are completely coincidental. You are free to interpret this art anyway you see fit, and it is meant for your enjoyment.

A stark reminder of the reality Elizien Mallari attempted to uphold was the change from the opulence of the mansion to the industrial grit of the San Jose logistics center. Except for the hum of the avionics and the unsaid tension that had only grown since their morning encounter, the cockpit was quiet as the Cessna's tires screamed against the Palawan runway.

Zayrius had returned to "Captain Mode" with his jaw set, eyes darting to the horizon, and hands deftly navigating the throttle. The way his eyes lingered on her in the glass reflection revealed a different narrative than the sour pilot he was again.

Elizien realized something wasn't right as they drove in the direction of the private hangar. These provincial centers were often slumbering outposts. But today, guys in barongs stood like statues in the hot heat, and black SUVs lined the pavement.

Elizien muttered, "Zayrius," as her heart fell to her stomach. "Is that...?"

Zayrius's hands clenched around the controls until his knuckles were white. "My father."

The doors of the hangar creaked open. Tan Holdings Group patriarch Don Victorino Tan stood in the middle of the concrete floor. He was a man who annexed a room rather than merely entering it. His silver-topped cane was leaning against the floor, and he looked immaculate in a white linen suit despite the humidity.

When the engines finally died, the silence was deafening.

Elizien was assisted down the steps by Zayrius. This time, instead of hiding his hand, he maintained it securely around her waist in a subtle protest against the man who was waiting for them.

"You're late, Zayrius," Victorino said in a voice as sharp and smooth as a razor that reverberated across the hangar. "And I see you've brought the little auditor from Ayala. I trust she found the 'discrepancies' I left for her to find?"

Elizien started to perspire coldly. For me, he deserted them? There was more to the shell game with the Cebu shipping line than meets the eye. It had been a test, a trap.

Zayrius snarled, "She's more than an auditor, Dad," and moved forward to protect Elizien with his body. The five-year age difference between them appeared to disappear; Zayrius appeared to have been engaged in this struggle for his entire life in front of his father.

"Is she?" Victorino asked with a smile that stopped short of his eyes. "She's a Mallari. A middle-class girl from QC with a CPA license and a 4.0 GPA. Very impressive on paper, but paper burns, Zayrius. Especially in the heat of this family."

"Don Victorino," Elizien said as he emerged from Zayrius's shadow. Her voice was the same one she used to scold CEOs during tax season, even if her legs were trembling. "The audit is complete. The report has been sent to the board. If you intended for me to find those transfers, then you know I didn't just find them—I documented the legal liability they create for your shipping subsidiary."

There was utter silence in the hangar. Not even the ground crew moved. Nobody spoke to Victorino Tan in such a manner.

The old man's eyes flickered with a brief, terrifying spark of amusement. "She has teeth. I'll give her that." He turned his gaze to his son. "But teeth don't fly planes, Zayrius. Your leave of absence is over. The board expects you in Manila by Monday. The 'pilot' fantasy ends today."

Zayrius muttered, "I'm not going back to the office, Dad. Not yet," his voice lowering to the low, menacing noise Elizien had heard during the storm.

"Then the girl loses her job," was Victorino's straightforward statement. "I own the firm, Zayrius. One phone call and Ms. Mallari is blacklisted from every Big Four firm in the country. She'll be lucky to audit a sari-sari store in Tondo."

Elizien sensed the tilt of the world. This was the "Tower" that Aling Rosa had alerted her to. The unexpected collision upon takeoff. Anticipating his return to save her, she glanced at Zayrius.

Rather, Zayrius chuckled. The sound was gloomy and devoid of comedy.

Zayrius remarked, "You forgot one thing, Dad," and took a tiny, encrypted key fob out of his pocket. "I don't just fly the planes. I own the flight paths. I spent the last five years quietly buying up the regional landing rights in Palawan and Batanes under a shell company you haven't audited yet. If Elizien loses her job, I shut down the logistics chain for your entire Southern operation. You'll be losing a hundred million pesos a day."

Victorino's face turned a mottled shade of red. The "Dragon" had finally met his match in his own blood.

The father growled, "You would burn the empire for an accountant?"

Zayrius looked across at Elizien. He stretched out and grasped her hand in the midst of the hangar, surrounded by guards and the stench of jet fuel. He avoided his father's gaze. He avoided glancing at the SUVs. All he could see was her.

Zayrius muttered, "I'd burn the sky if it meant I could keep her in it."

He faced Victorino once again. "Get in your car, Dad. We have an audit to finish. And when we're done, I'm flying her back to Manila—not as an employee, but as my partner."

The audit was a tense fog. A group of attorneys was left to watch Elizien when Victorino withdrew to his SUV. She didn't care, though. They were astounded at the savagery of her work. Throughout it all, Zayrius remained at her side, leaning against the desk, his sullen expression serving as a wall between her and the outside world.

Elizien shut down her laptop as the sun started to drop over the hills of Palawan, illuminating the sky with fire and gold streaks.

Her words were, "It's done."

For the first time in the day, Zayrius' eyes softened in intensity as he gazed at her. "Let's go home, Elizien."

She questioned, "Which home? The one where you're a pilot, or the one where you're a billionaire?"

Leaning down, Zayrius pressed his lips on her ear. "The one where I'm yours."

The hangar was deserted as they made their way back to the Cessna. There were no more black SUVs. The "Dragon" had prevailed in his first conflict.

Elizien took out the little, faded business card that Aling Rosa had given her from her luggage as Zayrius started the pre-flight inspections. She had not before spotted the phrases written in faint pencil on the back:

"You can only reach the highest altitude when you no longer fear falling."

She glanced at Zayrius, the grumpy, secret billionaire who was now engaged in a two-language argument with a radio tower. She considered the "carmageddon" of Makati, her work, and her well-planned life.

She then turned to face the broad sky in front of them.

She yelled, "Captain?"

With a smirk eventually appearing on his lips, Zayrius looked back. "Yes, Accountant?"

"Take me up," she prompted. "And don't bother looking for a landing strip just yet."

With the roar of the engines drowning out the outside world, Zayrius throttled up. Elizien knew the tarot reading was correct as the plane shot down the runway and ascended into the bright twilight. Her joyful pockets were no longer empty.

They rose to a depth of 40,000 feet.