The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance

The call was answered almost immediately, a man's voice coming through on the other end.

"Hello, who's speaking?"

His voice was clear and steady-young, even pleasant-nothing about it hinted at madness or instability. If anything, he sounded perfectly normal.

Yet for some reason, Sellers felt a flicker of familiarity, as if he'd heard this voice before, though he couldn't quite place it.

He cleared his throat. “Mr. Gardner? This is Sellers, current head of the Burton family."

A low chuckle came from the other side. "I've heard of the famous Mr. Burton. To what do I owe the honor of your call today?"

Sellers wasted no time on pleasantries. “Mr. Gardner, I assume you've heard about Karl being broadcasted to the entire internet. Our investigation shows Karl is currently in Aetheria, and the live feed is being run from a server there as well. I'm calling to ask for your help. Could you temporarily shut down communications in Aetheria and take the stream offline?"

The man replied in a leisurely tone, "I'm afraid I can't do that."

"It would only need to be for a minute," Sellers pressed. "I understand your country would take on some losses for this, but the Burton family would be more than willing to compensate—”

abruptly

I arranged it myself. If I were to shut it down right after launching it, wouldn't that

froze. For a moment, he wondered if

did

is my doing. Why else do you think he's in Aetheria?" Sellers still couldn't quite process it. Most people, even if they were behind

het

swirling with a thousand questions. Just moments

been mistaken. The Gardners were infamous for being unpredictable, and now

keep

"If Karl has

can sit down and talk things through. There's no

discuss. I simply don't like him. He messed with the wrong. people. This is just a little warning. If there's

reply, the call ended

stared at his phone, jaw clenched