oe

front of the Grand Hyatt, its engine a

the valets and arriving guests. I was a spectacle: a wild-eyed woman in

security guard started,

f raw fury that he physically recoil

A large, ornate sign confirmed my fears: Ray

more guards, their arms crossed, their express

rate. Then I saw it. A small, discreet sign near

ng

bby vanished, replaced by concrete walls and the hum of ventilation systems. It was

d the door: Bro

echnician sat inside, slouched in a chair,

thick glass vase holding a wilting flower-and mo

ught the vase down on the back of hi

d onto the consol

to his seat, my eyes scanning the complex array of buttons and sliders. I'd helped wit

d Ballroom. I could hear the murmur

he traditional, triumphant

filled my headphones. It was the offic

e switch. My entire future, my entire i

ddering breath and

hoed through the ballroom, f

phone, my lips almost t

ice coming out clear and cold, amplified to fill ever

e gasp from the crowd, the

father, would be turning pale from th

know I possessed, "that you are attending a fraud. A shameful transaction arrange

der, turning into a wa

hiding her face behind a veil, is not me. She is

t to erupt, the main doors

as J

rless, her phone held high,

through the din. "The Raymond family framed my best frien

er face, caked in makeup, was a mask of fury. "What is

se, everyone, remain calm!" she shrieked, her voice shrill with panic. "Thi

li

ate my life, but she

into something cold and hard like