I let him keep his flattering story, and I let it make him careless, and I built my case inside the blind spot his own arrogance had created, and on the night it mattered I stepped out of that blind spot whole, and it was already far too late for him to adjust.

The underestimated have exactly one advantage over those who look down on them, and it is a decisive one: they are not being watched.

I made the most of not being watched.

It is the quietest weapon there is, and against the arrogant, it never fails.

Chapter 4 — The Call

When it was over, a frightened member of the catering staff hurried over and helped me free, and my knees nearly gave out on the marble floor, but I made myself stand, straight and steady, in front of all of them.

Preston lifted his champagne glass to the crowd.