I smiled—a cold, hollow thing.

“Then you’re going to have an absolutely marvelous time trying to prove that to the federal prosecutor.”

And just as the words left my mouth, a sound began to bleed from the ballroom behind us.

It started as a single, sharp vibration.

Then another.

And then, a tidal wave of noise.

Chapter 3: Symphony of the Damned

At that exact, orchestrated moment, cell phones began to buzz and chime inside the grand ballroom.