Chapter 2: The Phone in the Worn Jacket
The silence in that ballroom was the loudest thing I had ever heard.
Diane was the first to speak.
"There must be some mistake," she said, her voice tighter than before.
"This man is a nobody."
The wedding planner didn't even look at her.
"Mr.
Bennett," she said again, turning only to my father.
"They said it's urgent.
The full board is on the line."
Dad gave a small, tired nod.
"Tell them I'll call back in five minutes."
She stepped away immediately.
I watched Diane's face cycle through confusion, then something closer to fear.
Vanessa grabbed my arm again — not in anger this time.
Her grip felt different.
Uncertain.
"What is she talking about?" Vanessa whispered.
"What board?"
I said nothing.
Because I was watching my father.
He reached into the inside pocket of that worn jacket — the jacket they had mocked — and pulled out a phone that I had never seen before.
Not his usual phone.
This one was different.
Slim.
No case.
A name was already lit up on the screen.
I caught it for just one second before he turned away.
May you like
The name on that screen was one I recognized.
It was the name of the company that owned the building we were standing in.
