Silence filled the venue hall as every pair of eyes fixed on Lola. Around the chairman's table sat the Youngs—as tradition dictated—alongside the chairman himself, with Travis as his quiet plus one. No one knew it, but Travis wasn't officially invited to this event. Celestine, meanwhile, had joined them by virtue of her status, with an extra chair added to accommodate her.
Even so, there remained one seat reserved for the most important guest of the night: Mrs. Bennet.
The seating arrangements may have shifted slightly after the chairman decided to sit elsewhere, but the count remained the same. Every place card was still in order.
"What is she doing sitting in Mrs. Bennet's seat?" one of the guests whispered. "Oh, boy… this is going to end badly."
"How humiliating when the guest of honor arrives."
