Chapter 2
The corridor was much darker than the hall. I stood in the shadow of a marble column, opened my clutch, and took out my phone.
The screen lit up. I opened the official confirmation email the Vale family had sent to the Blackwood family's legal department the night before.
The attachment clearly listed the authorized person for every part of tonight's process, including the seating arrangement, the person permitted to wear the brooch, and the final signing representative.
At the bottom of the email, there was one more note: any temporary change must be confirmed in writing by Evelyn Vale herself.
I stepped out of the shadow and blocked Adrian and Serena on their way back to the head table.
"Look at the official list." I held the phone screen in front of them.
"Evelyn." Serena lifted her head, her voice still soft and full of composure. "You're not used to dealing with the press, and you don't know the older board members. We're only trying to make sure everything goes smoothly."
I ignored her. I pushed the phone screen directly in front of Adrian.
Adrian stopped. His gaze fell on the lit screen.
One second.
Then he reached out and snatched the phone from my hand. He did not give it back. Instead, he turned and placed it face-down on the cocktail table beside him.
"My father has worked on this merger for six months straight." He looked at me, his eyes hard. "Tonight's agreement concerns the future of both families. We cannot afford any mistakes caused by you making trouble."
Adrian turned away and picked up my spare place card from the cocktail table. He raised one hand and stopped a server.
"Seat Miss Vale with the other guests."
"Yes, sir."
The server took the place card and turned toward the farthest corner of the banquet hall.
Just then, the door at the end of the corridor opened.
That was the entrance to the signing room.
The legal coordinator stood in the doorway, holding a tray. In the center of the tray lay the gold pen that would be used tonight. Beside it was an empty space for a name card that had not yet been placed.
When he saw the three of us standing in the middle of the corridor, he stopped.
His gaze moved from Adrian to Serena, then dropped back to the clipboard in his hand.
"Mr. Blackwood," he said carefully, "for the name card beside the signing pen... should I prepare Evelyn Vale, or Serena Hale?"