Capítulo 28: A Step-sister Steps Forward
The Viva Hotel Elite had seven floors, as befitting of a 7 star hotel. The first floor was purely for staff, pantry and reception. The majority of Floor 2 was for events and parties. It included bars, extravagant dining areas, musical bands, private rooms and stages with LED backgrounds and chandeliers imported from Sweden.
That's where their hot target, Mr Cheng, was going to be. But he would be in the midst of a huge crowd in Floor 2.
Floors 3 through 6 were residential, almost all the rooms designed like a presidential suite of a normal hotel. Which meant the actual presidential suite of this hotel was beyond the luxury of imagination. And that was where Mitchell had pinned down where Mr Cheng would be resting before the cake cutting and dancing.
"How is Mr Keeser so sure of the man's location?" Miwen had asked during their planning. Her voice was sweet, enticing and had that soft lingering of Chinese to it. Because of these traits, she was chosen to be the active spy in this mission.
"I have met that boomer once," Mitchell said casually, "During Parent-Teacher Day, and god, the way he came to school. It was like the King had come in. I remember myself and all my friends being amazed that day. So if anything, Mr Cheng has a hand for extravagance and staying in anything lesser than the Presidential Suite would be inconvenient for a man like him. And the good thing about hotels? They have only one Presidential Suite."
Miwen now took the elevator to the second floor, her diamond encrusted purse held tightly. A few other elegantly dressed ladies entered too and they murmured while the elevator moved. One of them with blonde hair even gave Miwen a cold, apprehending look. And that was it, the silent war of two women.
Miwen held eye contact with the lady and stared at her with her alluring cat-like eyes. The other lady was clearly intimidated but she tried to cover herself, tried to hide her intimidation by talking a bit louder, to show Miwen that she was more popular than her.
Miwen rolled her eyes. She barely knew this woman, and yet they were having a silent fight in this elevator. She walked out as soon as the elevator stopped and proceeded to complete her part of the mission, making Goren Cheng fall to her knees. And for that, she took her position at the bar.
"Excuse me?" A thick female voice entered her ears. Miwen turned around to meet the elevator fight lady staring right at her. "Can I sit here?"
Miwen gave her a tight lipped smile. "I'm waiting for someone, actually."
The other lady tried to look surprised. It was all fake, and they both knew it. "But you came in here alone."
Miwen kept her smile on. "Sit, if you must." She turned around and studied the bottles racked on the shelf. She heard the shuffle beside her as that lady took the seat. Miwen knew she should be scared that her cover might blow off anytime soon, but not so fast, she decided.
"Who are you waiting for?"
"What do you have to ask me?"
They both asked different questions at the same time at each other, leaving them both duly surprised. The other lady laughed, "We're both so eager, aren't we?"
Miwen laughed like how a lady should, before pulling on that tight lipped smile again. If she sits here for long, then Miwen would never have a chance with Goren. She needed to exterminate this pest.
The other lady extended a hand. "I'm Minerva, Mr Cheng's niece."
Now, Miwen had to look a bit surprised. Minerva was blonde, which was not a characteristic of the Cheng family and her features too, were very western. Minerva saw the confusion on her face. "Step. Niece," she clarified reluctantly. "And you're right, I do have a question to ask you. Who are you?"
Miwen shook her head as if she didn't understand. But she knew. Minerva had caught on to her. This was Mr Cheng's most private party, and yet, here was a stranger who Minerva had never seen in any of the previous private parties. There was a chance that Miwen was new money and that was what Minerva was trying to figure out. Was she new to the Cheng circle or… was she an impostor?
This was bad. Miwen's eyes flitted for a second and she saw Goren enter the hall. Her heart started to beat faster with urgency.
"What do you mean?"
"How are you related to Mr Cheng?"
"I'm his cousin's daughter," Miwen said, exactly how Mitchell had taught her.
"Which cousin?"
Miwen frowned. "Are you doubting me for being an impostor?" she finally asked. "My brother is going to be around soon and should I tell him that a step-relation to the Cheng family is harassing me without context?" Miwen leaned forward threateningly, making sure to add some venom to the word 'step.'
Minerva gritted her teeth. "You didn't answer my question."
Miwen rolled her eyes. "Liao Shan." Her Chinese accent helped her case incredibly.
"Which estate?" Minerva smirked.
"Excuse me, miss, are you ordering?" The bartender asked. Miwen closed her eyes in relief as Minerva turned to the side. "No, I'm here to talk to this kind lady."
"I'm sorry miss, but I would like you to vacate as soon as possible if you aren't having any drinks, host's orders. There are a lot of gentlemen and lady folk waiting for a seat here."
Minerva scowled. "What kind of shitty rule is that?" She clicked her tongue. "Fine, give me that drink." She pointed to a random bottle on the shelf and the bartender took it out instantly. Before Minerva could have a chance to interrogate Miwen again, the bartender handed out the glass carefully, his fingers just touching the stem of the glass.
Minerva curled her fingers around the main bowl part of the wine glass and lifted it to her lips, when the glass broke from her strong grip and the dark red liquid exploded all over her dress. She screamed in fright. Several heads turned and she took out a napkin to cover her face as she grabbed her purse and ran away to the nearest restroom.
Miwen watched her go in awe. She turned around to look at the bartender. Once the attention had been diverted from Minerva's scream, the bartender lifted his cap so that Miwen could see his face.
"You're welcome," Mitchell winked before blending into the shadows and returning the bartender uniform to the actual bartender and disappearing out of sight. Miwen clutched her heart in relief. She looked up to see Goren coming towards the bar and smiled on the inside.
(Mitchell sighed in relief as he slipped into the shadows. He had bribed the original bartender with a hefty amount to let him take the counter for a while. Before handing out the glass to Minerva, Mitchell had slightly tapped the wine glass on the counter, creating thin invisible cracks on the mouth of the fragile glass. Mitchell handed out the glass by holding its stem. When Minerva had held the glass by its bowl part, she had pressed onto the cracks, causing the glass to finally break and let the drink fall all over her dress.)
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