The car ride felt interminable.
The gala had been a disaster.
First, the silent auction had underperformed. Then his mother had cornered him about Lana's absence, her voice dripping with that particular brand of disappointment that only a Specter matriarch could manufacture.
*"Where is she, Thomas? The Whitmores are here. They were expecting to discuss the endowment. You assured me she would be present."*
He had assured her. Because Lana had assured him.
And then she'd simply... evaporated. One moment she was there, nodding along to his father's tedious speech about legacy and stewardship. The next, she was gone. No goodbye. No excuse. Just a vacant space where she'd been standing, like smoke dissolving into air.
He'd spent the next three hours making excuses. *She's not feeling wel
