The silence after that single word felt heavier than it should have. Like I was the one being interrogated instead or it being the other way around. I took a breath, keeping my voice steady.
"Is this Alessandro Vieri?"
The line went dead silent. Not the kind of silence where someone's thinking, but the artificial kind. Then, without warning, a series of clicks echoed through the speaker. Sharp, mechanical sounds like the call was being bounced around.
Click. Static. Click. A different kind of ambient noise—maybe traffic, maybe wind. Click. The sound of an office. Click. Music playing faintly in the background. Click. Complete silence again.
It kept going. And going. At a speed that indicated the call was switching hundreds of times per minute we were all hearing different background noises.
"What's happening?" Camille whispered, leaning closer to the phone on the coffee table.
"Is it broken?" Sienna asked, her brow furrowing.
