Chương 11: Lovely sister-in-law (1)

That same afternoon, May received a package from her grandfather. In the box, she found a new phone with her old number, a credit card, and a message written in the Prime Minister's elegant calligraphy. If he had written it by himself, it must have been an emergency.

"In three days you will attend the gala," she read. "Find yourself a suitable dress and be presentable."

She read a second time, just to be sure she had understood rightly. And she had.

Her grandfather wanted her to be by his side at the ball after the announcements of the election results. Her uncle would have a speech after his victory, and her grandfather wanted to show the support of the whole family, Mayrose included.

She had checked on the mirror that same morning, and nothing revealed the incident she had been into. She couldn't use her health as an excuse, and she was in the middle of a deal with her grandfather.

It was easier to go and blend in with the walls.

She didn't have things to collect in Chris Lindt's house, so she could leave any moment. And even if she had things, she didn't have a bag where to put them. All she would bring with her were the phone and the card. However, the thought of leaving without any trace bothered her.

She hadn't seen Chris Lindt yet, that day. And, after shamelessly touching his face as she had done, she didn't look forward to seeing him either. She feared he would read it on her expression, that he would understand that she had harassed a sleeping man.

And, more than anything, she feared how he would use it for his gain. After all, he was a politician just like her grandfather. She knew well enough how easy it was for them to take advantage of any situation.

She wanted to leave him something to contact her - even though she had no clue where that desire came from. Her phone number, maybe? No, that was too bold.

In the end, after thorough consideration, she wrote the name of one of her fake social media accounts. She had a couple she used for various purposes, while she didn't have one with her name and face. Her friends knew it, not that she had that many of those - friends.

She knocked on the door of the study, but she received no answer. She decided to leave the paper on the desk and left through the main door, ending up in what was Chris Lindt's residential area.

It was a group of a dozen villas at most, protected at the entrance by the most recent security system. Chris Lindt's villa was the most distance from the gate, so it provided more privacy and safety. It was surrounded by hedges the gardener would keep in order, and it had a huge garden both in the front and in the back.

May left his property and walked for a few minutes to the exit. She observed the gate, looking for a button to open it but finding none.

She had barely time to notice a camera when the smaller gate opened with a silent click. So, it worked on face recognition... And not just face, judging from the easiness with which the small gate opened. The tech would recognise that she was on foot and open the gates accordingly. Maybe, with a bike, it would open only one wing of the bigger gate...

She shook her head, snapping out of her thoughts. She had to go; it wasn't the right moment to wonder about tech.

However, had the gate recognised her? Did Chris Lindt put her name on the list of guests?

She reached the dorm of her university using the subway and asked the receptionist for her key. Thankfully, she had left it there before the mission with the Insurgents - or she would have needed to file a report for losing the key. She could collect her wallet and head out again, moving on with her priorities: buying a dress, and then reporting back to Old Larry. In that order.

She visited the Mall in the centre, knowing well enough all the shops where she was allowed to buy a dress for her grandfather's events. She couldn't go with just any dress, and she couldn't use the same twice. As a result, she had started selling the dresses after using them once, and the money she got from it would end up in her black expenses. Even though she knew well enough that the money the Prime Minister sent her came from her father's legacy, she liked to think she was using Leonard Thorne's money to finance a movement against him.

It made her feel better.

The shop she chose for that day was the most exclusive in the Mall. She hadn't gone there before, choosing one of the other two because the shop assistants were nicer but, today, she was in the mood for high expenses. Even though she didn't like the place.

She was ignored by the personnel, just as expected, so she took a look at the dresses. She was examining a cream-coloured, plain dress when she heard familiar voices at the entrance. She didn't need to turn to guess who that was: her lovely soon-to-be sister-in-law: her brother's fiancee. The woman and her friends were likely looking for a dress for the same occasion as May.

Since May had always preferred to avoid conflicts, she didn't move from her corner, still focused on the dresses. However, she had let go of the cream-coloured one and was seeing a red gown she would have never worn at one of her grandfather's balls. It was too eye-catching, while all she wanted was to disappear from everyone's radar.

"Look at who is here!" she heard, then. As if all her prayers meant nothing, she was seen by the group of young women.

It wasn't even Haileen Hartfield who had talked but one of her friends.

"Isn't this your sister-in-law, Haileen?"

May sighed, moving her head just enough to see the group.

"Hello, Haileen," she said. Was it going to be a long battle?