Chapter 2 - The Silence Before the Avalanche
By 8:00 AM, I was sitting at my corner desk on the forty-second floor of my financial firm in the Loop. Spreadsheets and risk assessment models covered my dual monitors. I was deep into a valuation report for a merger when my personal phone, sitting silent on the desk, began to light up continuously.
The notifications flooded the screen in relentless bursts.
Missed Call: Mom (3) Missed Call: Chloe (5) Missed Call: Marcus (2)
Then came the text notifications—or rather, the lack of them. Because their cellular service had been suspended, they couldn't send standard text messages. Instead, the notifications were coming from third-party Wi-Fi messaging apps and emails sent from Mom’s home internet.
Chloe via Email: Sarah! What is wrong with your card?! The event manager just called me saying the deposit bounced and the account was flagged for fraud! Call me right now! We are going to lose the ballroom!
Ten minutes later, another message popped up.
Mom via Wi-Fi App: Sarah, my phone says "No Service." Chloe and Marcus’s phones are off too! Is there a tower outage in Chicago? Call the carrier immediately! Also, I tried to run my card at the gas station this morning and it was declined! Fix this now, I am stranded at the station!
I didn't reply. I minimized the notifications, took a sip of my coffee, and returned to my financial modeling.
By mid-afternoon, the realization had clearly begun to set in. They thought I was throwing a temporary tantrum; they had no idea that the pipeline was permanently severed. Around 2:00 PM, my office desk phone rang. It was an internal line from the main lobby downstairs.
"Sarah," our front desk receptionist spoke softly. "There’s a woman down here named Eleanor claiming to be your mother. She’s demanding to come up, and she’s making quite a scene with building security about an emergency."
A sharp spark of anger flared in my chest, but I kept my tone completely professional. "Please tell building security that I am in middle of high-level meetings and cannot receive visitors. If she refuses to leave the premises, please have security escort her off the property."
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"Understood, Sarah."
Through the glass window of my office, I looked down toward the city below. They were starting to realize that when someone cuts you off, you no longer have access to their wealth.
