Where did you get that recording?"
The entire room turned.
Daniel smiled politely.
"She sent it to someone by mistake."
My mother narrowed her eyes.
"That doesn't sound like my daughter."
For the first time, doubt spread across the crowd.
Daniel noticed.
And quickly spoke again.
"I understand it's hard to accept."
But my mother wasn't finished.
She looked at Nora.
"Did you hear this recording before tonight?"
Nora hesitated.
Just a little too long.
"Yes," she said.
That hesitation was enough.
People noticed.
Daniel noticed too.
And suddenly his calm expression cracked.
Just for a second.
Amara leaned closer to me.
"They're slipping."
Maybe.
But something still felt wrong.
Because Daniel wasn't the kind of man who lost control easily.
Which meant.
He probably had another plan.
And I was about to find out what it was