"Has the police been called? What did they say?"

"Did the kidnapper call? How much money do they want?"

…

The chattering discussion attracted the attention of the surrounding guests, to the point that Bernard, who was still in the midst of delivering his speech on stage, was ignored. Bernard deliberately tapped the mic with his fingers and cleared his throat twice, but he was unable to draw the attention of the crowd back to him.

Kevan looked down, his hands clenched into fists on the table.