I smiled politely, but my attention was diverted. My cell phone, resting in my purse off-camera, began to vibrate violently. It buzzed against the fabric like an angry hornet.
I reached in and pulled it out. The caller ID was a number I hadn’t seen in three months.
It wasn’t a call of congratulations. It was a frantic, desperate call from Caleb.
Chapter 4: The Pathetic Begging
I stood up from the interview chair, thanking the producers, and walked toward the quiet confines of the green room. My phone was on its fourth consecutive incoming call from Caleb. He was relentless.
I pushed the heavy soundproof door shut, sealing myself in the quiet room. I swiped the green button and brought the phone to my ear. I didn’t say a word. I just listened.
“Lena! Lena! Oh my god, Lena, please!”
Caleb’s voice exploded through the speaker. It was unrecognizable. The smooth, arrogant baritone of the wealthy elite was completely gone, shattered into a million pathetic, jagged pieces. He was sobbing. He was hyperventilating so hard I could hear the wet rasp of his breath.
“Lena, please talk to me! Tell me this is a joke! Tell me you didn’t just do that!” he begged, his voice cracking with sheer, unadulterated panic.
In the background, I could hear the chaotic sounds of a collapsing empire. Margaret was shrieking at the top of her lungs, a shrill, hysterical wail about calling their lawyers, about suing the network for defamation, about the bank making a mistake.
“Your mother is screaming so loud I can hear her through the phone,” I replied, my voice completely flat, devoid of a single ounce of pity.
“Ignore her! She’s crazy!” Caleb wept, instantly throwing the woman he had sacrificed his family for under the bus to save his own skin. “Lena, you have to listen to me! It was her! She manipulated me! She threatened to cut off my inheritance, she threatened to ruin me if I didn’t leave you at the hospital! I was scared, Lena! I made a mistake!”
“A mistake?” I echoed, feeling a cold wave of disgust wash over me. “Forgetting to buy milk is a mistake, Caleb. Walking out of a hospital room, looking at your premature twins in a glass box, and deciding they are an inconvenience isn’t a mistake. It’s a revelation of who you truly are.”
