He swiped the screen and pressed the phone to his ear.

“This is Bennett,” he said, his voice trembling.

There was a pause as he listened to the voice on the other end.

His face drained of what little color it had left.

“What do you mean, a temporary freeze?” Bennett asked.

He glared at Julian.

“We have a contract,” Bennett shouted into the phone.

“The physical documents are in my hand right now,” he said.

The person on the other end spoke quickly, their voice a faint buzz.

Bennett’s hand began to shake.

“No, wait,” he said.

“Don’t hang up,” he pleaded.

The line went dead.

He slowly lowered the phone.

“What did they say?” I asked.

“They received a notification from a New York law firm,” Bennett said, his voice barely a whisper.

“Julian’s firm,” I said.

Bennett looked at the notebooks, his grip loosening.

For a second, I thought he was going to let them drop out of sheer defeat.

Then, his eyes turned dark again.

He looked at Marta.

He took a step toward her.