Chapter 2: Something You Need to See
The manager's answer was quiet, but the whole table heard it.
"They were seated at six-fifteen, ma'am."
Two and a half hours.
They had eaten, laughed, and finished their drinks for two and a half hours before anyone sent me a single message.
My legs felt unsteady, but I kept my voice calm.
"So when exactly did someone text me to arrive at eight-thirty?"
The manager glanced at Valerie.
He didn't need to answer.
Valerie stood up fast, her chair scraping loud against the floor.
"This is ridiculous.
We simply lost track of time."
"You lost track of two and a half hours?" I asked.
Daniel stepped between us.
"Mom, enough.
You're making a scene."
"Am I?" I looked at him steadily.
"Or am I just the last person in this room to understand what tonight actually was?"
Nobody spoke.
Not one of the twelve people at that table said a word in my defense.
Then a woman near the end of the table — Daniel's cousin Patricia — quietly pushed back her chair.
Her face had gone pale.
She reached into her bag, pulled out her phone, and placed it face-up on the table without a word.
Valerie's eyes locked onto that phone instantly.
"Patricia," Valerie said, her voice dropping to something cold and careful.
"Don't."
Patricia looked at me instead.
"Evelyn," she said softly.
"There's something you need to see."
---
What was on Patricia's phone — and how long had Valerie been hiding it?
The full truth is more painful than anyone at that table expected.
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