Chapter 94 Successful Infiltration
Bella stepped out of the bathroom, feeling fresh and rejuvenated. Edward's expression of uneasiness quickly changed into delight as he looked at her. Bella put on a knee-length flowery dress with spaghetti straps. She slipped her hand in Edward's and together, they headed to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. The restaurant was huge and the style was baroque, making it extremely luxurious with beige and gold wallpaper on the walls and dazzling diamond chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.
After Bella was done ordering, she lowered her voice and said to Edward, "I've got to admit something, Edward, I find something strange about this hotel."
"Really? Why do you think so?" Edward's heart was racing, worrying that Bella had found out about his little secret.
Bella looked to the right and left, and only after confirming that no one was looking their way did she lean towards Edward and hooked his finger, indicating him to come closer, "If you look close enough at everyone around us, you'll notice that- hey! Do not look straight at them, this is too obvious- you will find that they look unnatural. The people staying in this hotel are by definition tourists, but they don't look relaxed or appear to be enjoying themselves at all. Instead, they look like puppeteers being manipulated by an invisible into playing tourists."
"Darling, you've been watching too many detective shows. They don't look anything out of the ordinary, so put away those strange thoughts and enjoy your delicious breakfast!" Edward shrugged his shoulders and smiled.
'She's very perceptive, Edward. You're a lucky man!' a little voice in his head spoke. He glanced around and found that those people he had arranged to come and act as guests were indeed as Bella had said, grim and unsmiling. He mentally concluded that those people were excellent bodyguards, but horrible actors.
*****
Meanwhile, Lanny had successfully managed to sneak into the room reserved for staff and changed into a hotel attendant's uniform to look around for Edward and Bella. The uniform had a strong human stench, just enough to cover her bodily scent. She had gotten it from a hotel attendant, what was her name again? Jessica? It didn't matter because Lanny didn't care. She had put on heavy makeup to conceal her familiar features because she knew that Edward's men were on the lookout. Lanny was confident enough that she would not be recognized as long as she avoided coming face to face with Edward.
She searched every single floor of the hotel and eventually found Edward and Bella's room on the 25th floor by virtue of their scent. Unfortunately, they weren't in their room. A little disappointed, Lanny racked her brain as to where they could have gone. She glanced at the time and saw that it was nine o'clock in the morning. She concluded that if they weren't in their room, then they were most likely having breakfast in the restaurant downstairs.
She returned downstairs and headed straight to the dining room, which was connected to the lobby by a long hallway. On the way, she encountered a middle-aged man in a black suit with a red scarf around his neck. The entirety of his head was of an odd length. He looked almost comical. Lanny immediately took a strong dislike to him.
"Hey, stop right there! Which foreman do you work for? It's breakfast time and you're walking around with your hands empty? Doesn't anyone manage you? Also, your makeup is too thick, it's not up to code! Show me your work badge right this instant!" he called out to Lanny in a no-nonsense manner.
"My apologies, sir. I forgot to bring my work badge. My name is Jennifer. You can look for my name on the staff list," Lanny said curtly. She couldn't afford to dally. Time was of the essence. As soon as she uttered those words, she walked straight past him.
"Hey, there! Stop! Could you be any more rude? I'll teach you the lesson you deserve!" the man said furiously.
Laney ignored his threat and walked straight to the door of the restaurant, where she instantly caught the scent of the couple she hated with all her guts. She peeked inside and saw Bella and Edward sitting leisurely and enjoying their meal near the aisle. She had learned from the waitress last night that Edward was the owner of the hotel, which made her overwhelmed with jealousy. She was the one who should have been the owner's wife, but she had foolishly relinquished this good fortune and gave it to Bella. She was furious at herself for making such a reckless decision.
But now was not the time to have regrets. What was done was done. Right now, she needed to think about how to lure Edward away so that she could approach Bella and talk to her alone. After a good few minutes, she suddenly had a lightbulb moment. She left the restaurant, walked to the front desk of the hotel, asked the receptionist for a pen and paper, and quickly scribbled a short note, "If you want the DNA test report, come see me in room 903."
Lanny grabbed a little boy who was passing by, squatted down and said to him, "Hello, little one, can you please do me a favor? Can you help me give this note to a man in the restaurant? I'll give you a hundred dollars as payment, but remember, don't say anything to him."
The little boy firmly nodded and clutching the note in his hand, walked into the restaurant and found Edward according to the description Lanny had given him. After shoving the note into Edward's hand, the little boy rushed back to Lanny to ask for his money.
"What is it?" Bella asked with a surprised face.
Edward shook his head, confused. He opened the crumpled note and his face changed instantly. He didn't expect that Lanny would be the one to come to him on her own initiative as opposed to having his men find her first.
"Is something wrong? Bella asked uneasily.
"Don't worry, it's nothing much. Just a friend who happened to be here and asking me to meet," he replied. He hastily folded up the note and stuffed it in his pocket. He was thinking quickly about Lanny's intentions.
"Should I come with you?"
"Nah, it's not convenient to bring you along this time because he has some rather personal matters to discuss with me. You sit tight and I'll be back soon. Okay? Wait for me here and don't leave," Edward stood up and walked out of the restaurant. He brought Jack with him and instructed the bodyguards to keep an eye on Bella.
Bella watched as her husband spoke to a man in front of the restaurant before disappearing out of sight. For some reason, her mind was filled with suspicion and unease; surely something was going on that she wasn't privy to. The strange people in the restaurant, the little boy and the mysterious note; all of this made Bella very nervous. She squeezed her fork tightly in her hand and poked hard at the poached eggs on her plate. Realizing that she had lost her appetite, she sighed heavily. She just wanted Edward to come back to her. Only his presence could reassure her.
After a while, a waitress came up to Bella and asked if she wanted to order a drink. Bella was about to politely decline when she suddenly realized that the voice sounded very, very familiar. She looked up and saw that the waitress in front of her was none other than her own sister, Lanny.
"Huh? Lanny?? What are you doing here?" Bella was immediately alerted.
"Relax, my dear sister, I've come all the way here just to deliver a message. Edward is in danger," Lanny half-crouched down and said as naturally as she could, her voice low to ensure that only she and Bella could hear. She had been quick to notice the big number of bodyguards dressed as guests in this restaurant, and couldn't have been more careful and better prepared than she actually was.