Chapter 5 - The 113 Missed Calls
I did not linger on stage to study the complex spectrum of shock, horror, and admiration painted across the faces in the audience. Dr. Evans gently placed a supportive hand at my elbow, guiding me gracefully toward a private, secure side exit behind the dais.
As we walked into the quiet backstage corridor, he offered a warm, empathetic look and asked only two questions.
"Diane, are you completely safe tonight?"
"Yes, Dr. Evans. I am entirely safe."
"Do you have trusted people with you right now?"
"More than enough," I replied, thinking of Sarah, Marcus, and my loyal trauma nurses waiting just outside the doors.
He nodded approvingly with a grim smile. That was the exact right question to ask. Not what happened? Not are you sure you want to do this? Just simple, profound safety.
Outside the private loading bay, my car was waiting with the engine idling. As I slid smoothly into the back seat, my cell phone suddenly began vibrating furiously against my palm, lighting up with a relentless flood of incoming text messages, missed call alerts, and urgent notifications from coworkers, hospital administrators, medical colleagues, and distant acquaintances I hadn’t spoken to since my undergraduate nursing days.
A digital clip of my speech had already broken out of the ballroom, spreading like wildfire across social media platforms and local news feeds.
Two hours later, American Airlines flight 1482 touched down smoothly on the tarmac in Cabo San Lucas under a blistering Mexican sun.
As the jet taxied toward the private terminal, Richard eagerly unbuckled his seatbelt, pulled his phone out of his custom leather pocket, and swiftly toggled off airplane mode.
Within thirty seconds, his screen lit up like a Christmas tree.
Call after call, notification after notification, urgent text alerts from his firm's senior partners, bewildered messages from mutual acquaintances, and frantic warnings from relatives began flooding his device.
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The glowing screen flashed a stark, impossible tally: 113 Missed Calls.
And the romantic weekend getaway he had meticulously engineered in secret hadn't even officially begun yet.
