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“Hi, Anita,” she greeted coolly. “Yes, I wanted to come and wish my sister luck before the ceremony starts.”
“That’s so nice of you,” Anita replied sweetly, her tone immediately irritating Frieda. “I really hope that tonight goes well for her. I know the three of you have been struggling with some problems lately, but I think it’s so great you didn’t give up. It just proves how strong you all really are.”
“We are Strausses,” Frieda acknowledged. “We’re born that way. Nothing will knock us down.”
“Hmmm,” Anita hummed, still smiling sweetly at Frieda. “Well, how lovely for you. I’m sure you’re going to need it.”
In her pocket, Frieda pushed the record button on her phone.
“Why’s that, Anita?” she asked.
Anita gave her a pitying look, and then nodded toward where Regan and Jimmy were standing.
“I didn’t mean to be nosy, but I was there atSarabel’swhen you went through your breakup with that man over there. It sounded pretty harsh,” she went on with a frown that almost looked more like a smile. Anita then reached out and patted Frieda’s shoulder.
“But like you said, you’re strong. I’m sure you’ll find a way to bounce back from the heartbreak of it all.”
Frieda grinned icily, wanting revenge now more than ever.
“I’m sure I will,” she replied, mimicking Anita’s tone. “But I’m not here for him, I’m here for my sister. She’s worked so hard to bring success to our hotel. I have no doubt that her speech will garner a lot of positive attention from both the state and local representatives.”
Anita’s eyes glittered challengingly back at Frieda, and a strange, almost creepy smile spread across her face.
“We shall see, won’t we?” she asked, her perfect brow arching. “Well, I must be off to give a few remarks to everyone before we get started. It was great talking to you, Frieda. Best of luck to your sister tonight.”
“I’ll tell her you said so,” Frieda replied, doing her best to sound sincere. They nodded to one another, then Anita walked away as Frieda turned around. Frieda paused and turned again, stopping in time to see Anita approach Jimmy and Regan. From the back, she could see a small mic box attached to the lower part of her gown, with a wire connecting up to a mic in her ear.
Suddenly, Frieda remembered the pamphlet she was handed earlier, and pulled it quickly out of her purse. In the list of events, Anita had been named as the emcee, which meant that the mic was connected to the room’s speakers. Frieda looked back up, just catching the tail of the trio walking off behind a secondary curtain. Realizing the opportunity they’d just been granted, Frieda pulled out her phone, and quickly texted Regan.
She’s hooked to a mic. Turn the little dial on the box on the back of her dress.
The moment the text message was sent, she turned around and hurried toward the sound room. Davis, Tucker, Pierce, and Erik all looked at her curiously but stood down when she shook her head at them. All she had to do was turn Anita’s mic on and their conversation would be broadcasted throughout the entire room.
“Frank,” she exclaimed, nearly having a heart attack when she flung open the door and found him inside.
Frank jumped as he looked at her wildly.
“Goodness, Frieda, are you alright?” he asked, reaching out a hand to her.
“I need to turn Anita’s mic on,” she said, trying to catch her breath. “Sound check.”
Frank gave her a confused look.
“She had her sound check thirty minutes ago, and it went fine. We don’t start for another fifteen minutes.”
Knowing she might only have seconds left for her idea to even possibly work, Frieda decided to hit Frank with the truth.
“Frank, I know what’s going on,” she stated, her voice low but firm. “I know what your wife has been up to and what she’s maybe forced you to do. But we can stop her right now. Let me turn the mic on. What she’s talking about now can prove what she’s done, and put an end to it all.”
Frieda was not normally an emotional person, but the look of sorrow that shattered Frank’s expression nearly broke her heart. He had the look of a man mortally wounded, and had no idea how to accept his fate.
“I loved her,” he whispered, tears forming in his eyes. “But I don’t want to do this anymore. I’m not a bad person.”
“I know you’re not,” Frieda replied quickly, taking a step toward him. “We all know that, Frank. Please. Let me do this.”
Frank looked back up at her, slowly shaking his head. Then, with a sigh, he brought his hand down to one of the many black switches and flipped it up. Frieda let out an audible sigh of relief as a muffled sound suddenly came through the speakers of the room, and then quickly checked her phone. A single text message with the worddonehad been sent from Regan.
“It’s just cold feet,” Anita’s voice whispered loudly through the speakers. Through the glass, Frieda watched as the crowd of people outside of it suddenly grew quiet and turned toward the speakers.
