Not wasting the moment, I press my body against Alan’s and slide a hand into the inside pocket of his suit, fingers closing around his phone.I keep one arm wrapped around his chest to steady him while my other hand pulls the device free.
“Calm down, baby.Please, calm down,” I plead, feeling the tremor in his breath.His eyes are still locked on Peter, jaw hard, teeth bared, but slowly the rage thins into ragged gasps.They’re still hurling curses, daring the guards to let them go again.
I back away and tuck Alan’s phone into my bag.He’s still shouting at Peter and doesn’t notice me moving through the crowd toward where I last saw Jessy.In a blink, I find him at the far edge of the garden.
“Yours,” I whisper, handing him the phone.
“Good job,” he murmurs.
I push back through the guests and return to where Alan is now held by the bodyguards.The fight has burned out.Both men pant, hair mussed, suits disheveled.A hush ripples across the room until one voice slices through.
“What the hell happened here?!”Amy storms forward, parting the people like a queen.
Whispers rise around her.She looks worse than either of them—neckline lower, hair tangled, skirt hitched awkwardly at the waist.What the hell happened to you, woman?
“Nothing.Just a fool trying to ruin your party,” Peter says quickly, fussing with his sleeves and straightening his vest.
“And someone trying to seduce his future sister-in-law like a maniac!”Alan spits blood on the ground.
Amy turns, eyes flicking right and left like she’s parsing testimony, then raises her voice until it pierces.“Stop it, both of you!”She glares straight at me, face hardening.Her finger points at me, then at Alan, like she can’t decide who disgusts her more.“You two—get out of here right now!”
Silence falls like a lid.Guests stare.My chest tightens.Amy’s scream makes the whole place shrink, bouncing off the broken champagne tower and scattered glass.Then she yells again, panic spilling over.“And stop recording!Delete all the videos!Guards, take their phones!”
The men holding Alan suddenly rush off to snatch phones from guests filming, barking orders.Fear and confusion ripple through the crowd as the glittering party collapses into chaos.
27
Big Inspiration
Fenella
“Whooop!Whooop!”
Matthew shouts with joy, raising a fist in the air like he’s pulling a train horn.We burst out laughing at his ridiculous reaction.Of course we get it.We’re just as thrilled about the results.
The data from Amy’s, Peter’s, and Alan’s phones has been successfully duplicated.Now we’re all at my place, celebrating while we wait for the FBI programmer to extract the data from their storage phones.We sit in a loose circle on the couch in front of the fireplace, each with a glass of whiskey in hand.
“That was insane!”Jessy says, taking a sip.
“Yeah, I know.”I take one too.
“Oh, you should’ve heard it from my side.It sounded like a radio drama,” Matthew laughs and drains his glass.
“Mission accomplished,” Laird chuckles, his glass raised.
I let out a long breath, still replaying the chaos from earlier.It’s the first time I’ve ever seen Amy lose it.The sweet, spoiled princess image she’s always had?Gone in a second.
“I never thought Amy would show her monstrous side in front of her own guests.I mean, screaming like a madwoman,” I laugh.
“She panicked,” Jessy says, giggling.“You rattled her, dear.She thought you were gonna steal Peter, and when she saw you getting chased by two guys at once, she totally lost it.”He cracks up again.
“Luckily the duplication finished right on time.You returned their phones, right?”Laird asks, crossing one leg over the other and sinking deeper into the couch.
“I dropped them like they were hotcakes.”Jessy chuckles.“Amy’s phone back on her table.Alan’s and Peter’s under the buffet.”
“That’s genius.You went off plan, but it helped us all,” Matthew says, shrugging one shoulder.
“I try to be useful.Saw the chance, took it.”Jessy shrugs, pretending to be humble, but his tone drips with pride.We laugh again as he plays the humble card.
