In the evening, assuming that Claire had already gotten home after work, Charlie bid Vera goodbye and asked Don Albert to give him a ride home to Thompson First.

When he arrived at the gates, he noticed that only Claire's BMW was parked there and not Jacob's Cullinan.

Guessing that his wife was home alone, Charlie fixed himself to look like he was travel-weary before heading to the door.

He was about to enter when he heard a voice that wasn't family but familiar nonetheless.

"If you can reach Charlie, why don't you ask him when he will be done with work?" The voice was asking. "Tell him to hurry back—if he can make it in time, we can all go together, or it'd be just us."

It was Loreen Thomas, Claire's best friend.

While Charlie was puzzled and not sure where Loreen was taking Claire, Claire then replied, "Charlie is far northwest, and he's actually working, so there's no reaching him. I can't just tell him to fly back over something so frivolous."

With that, Charlie opened the d