Alice's fingers curled into a fist, ''For once, I thought she would not be a disappointment…''
''Is it?" Helian Chen narrowed his eyes at her, ''She agreed to the marriage just like that and you jumped into rushing it. Did I not ask you to consider it all this while?"
''What's happening here?" Mr. Lu and Mrs. Lu approached the Chen Family.
''If there was some problem with the bride then you should have told us beforehand,'' Mrs. Lu said in a voice loud enough for everyone to catch, ''Why would you put us through such humiliation for your wilful daughter?"
''Apologies, Mrs. Lu,'' Alice spoke up.
Helian Chen grabbed her hand but she looked at the man, making his grip loosen.
The moment he freed her hand, she turned to look at Mrs. Lu with a smile on her face, ''It's not that our daughter is wilful or she has problems. She agreed to this marriage herself but going on, she must have caught wind of your son's reputation as a womanizer so she… ran away. My sincere apologies,'' Alice smiled brighter as she watched Mrs. Lu's face losing color.
Helian Chen's eyes sparkled shortly while he glanced at the woman.
''Come, Ah Sheng. There is no point for us to stay here,'' Mrs. Lu harrumphed as she walked to her son and dragged him out of the wedding hall, followed by Mr. Lu and the distant members of the Lu Family who left soon after.
There were still other guests inside the place but Alice could not bother about their presence, ''Did you send people after her?"
Helian Chen nodded, ''I have locked the place down. She won't be able to leave.''
''What about the cameras? Did they not record her movements?"
''Daisy doesn't leave any leads,'' Helian Chen mumbled.
''Dad, what makes you think she hasn't left already?" Diana questioned worriedly.
Helian Chen fell into contemplation. Daisy was his daughter and undoubtedly, she thought like him in certain ways. If he knew her well, then his guess that she was still inside this wedding venue would be right. The most dangerous place is the safest place in times of escape, after all.
'Ding'
Alice looked at her phone.
'Madam Chen, it seems like you are taking your own sweet time to consider our deal but unfortunately I cannot be patient anymore. I need the money that I have demanded wired in my account right now or else, along with you, every guest present there would be meeting your granddaughter in person.'
Along with the text, there was an attachment.
As Alice opened it, a gasp escaped her mouth. She looked at the picture of the child being held in Daisy's arms in disbelief.
''What?" Helian Chen snatched the phone from her hand when she remained frozen in her position.
…
''Did you check into that room?"
''I did. There were just a few guests staying there. I could not find Elder Miss.''
The first man spoke through his handheld transceiver, ''The 11th floor is clean. Elder Miss is not located.''
Both the men were from the elite security team of the Chen Family. As they walked towards the elevator, they scanned through the hall keenly.
When the two men stepped inside the elevator, they saw a woman standing there already, ''Who are you?" They questioned her, taking in the sight of the unfamiliar face.
The woman trembled, seemingly scared by their threatening voices, ''I-I am Miss Chen's makeup artist…''
Both the men observed the makeup bags in her hand and pressed the switch for the floor right above.
When the door opened, they waited for the woman to leave first before they stepped out, ''Do you think we will be able to find Elder Miss on this floor?"
''You know our elder miss. If she wants to leave, who can catch her? She must have gone away already,'' the other man sweated as he spoke.
''But we will be losing our jobs if we don't get a lead…'' he halted in his tracks suddenly.
"What happened?"
''Why did the makeup artist head in the same direction as us? Elder Missy's room was arranged close to the wedding hall, not on this floor.''
The other man paused as he contemplated over it. He seemed to have realized the same thing as well, ''Regardless of where Elder Miss' room is, the wedding had already started and Elder Miss has disappeared now. Nobody needs makeup at this time. Why would she come here to this floor… unless…''
As they looked at each other, they could see the same realization in each other's eyes and their faces sank.
…
Ryle walked out of the bathroom as he dried his hair with a towel in his hand, his other hand fiddled with the phone in his hand for a moment before he dialled a number.
The call was connected on the last ring.
''Maxie, do you have the heart to be this ruthless to me? You don't answer my calls on time now?" Ryle sighed.
''What is it?" A cool voice came from the other side.
Unbothered by the distant voice, Ryle continued, ''I'm out here chasing a mouse in Beijing. Do you wanna join in the fun?"
''Busy.''
''You are a doctor, not a god. Can you stop burying yourself in that godforsaken hospital all the time…'' Ryle's words were interrupted by a series of urgent knocks on the door.
His brow raised slightly, ''I will call you later,'' he disconnected the call and threw the phone to the bed before walking towards the door.
The moment he turned the doorknob and opened the door, a soft body pressed against his and pushed him back.
'Click'
The door closed with a reverberating sound.
In the dim lights of the room, Ryle could see the indistinct features of the woman who had thrown herself into his arms. The unfamiliar face, however looked up at him with wide dark eyes.
Ryle's eyes narrowed.
''It's you…'' The words left Daisy's mouth before she could think straight.
New book~<The Princess's Secret Bodyguard>
Ryle's brows tugged together as he looked at the woman who had thrown herself in his arms, ''Do you know me?"
Daisy immediately stepped back from him when the realization dawned on her. Out of instinct, she raised her hand to check her hair. She was no longer cross-dressing like Dexter. And at that particular moment, she was not even Daisy.
Right after her makeup artist left, Daisy disguised herself as that woman with the help of the materials she had arranged beforehand. Although she had not made any major changes to her disguises, she had implemented subtle tricks to alter her appearance skillfully and she was confident that someone who did not know her well would not recognize her.
Daisy knew the only opportunity she had in order to escape would be during the crowd and chaos of her wedding day. Hence, she started planning about it long ago.
All the servants around her belonged to the Chen Family so they were going to stay in the family and the only unfamiliar person approaching her during this time would be the makeup artist. Hence Daisy targeted that woman and tailored her disguise according to her the moment she got information about her.
As Daisy started retreating, Ryle grabbed her elbow, halting her in her place, ''Cat got your tongue? Woman, you have the audacity to barge inside my room and throw yourself into my arms and now you are unable to answer a simple question."
"I…'' Daisy remained standing rooted to her spot, a little confused by the turn of events.
She had encountered the bodyguards in the elevator and she even escaped them successfully but she knew it would not be long before they realized who she was and chased after her.
So, the moment she heard the sound of approaching footsteps, she knocked and barged into the first room she saw, never once thinking she would be encountering the devil she had run away from.
''Do you know me?" Ryle questioned again, his gaze tracing over the mysterious woman in front of him.
There was something about her, something very different. She had buried herself in tons of makeup and she was wearing a seemingly ordinary outfit but she smelled of luxurious fragrances. The way her eyes looked up at him in recognition did not go unnoticed by him and most importantly, that gaze was awfully familiar. Yet, Ryle did not remember encountering this woman ever before in his life.
'Knock Knock Knock'
Daisy stiffened when there were resounding knocks on the door. She looked at Ryle, ''Tell them that you haven't seen anyone.''
Ryle raised a brow, amused, ''I am impressed by the confidence you have to assume that I would do as you say—''
His words trailed off when a cold metal touched his torso. Even through the bathrobe, Ryle could feel the coolness invading his skin.
Ryle was caught off guard. A muscle in his lower jaw ticked, "Woman…! Are you threatening me?"
"So what if I am?" Daisy looked at him indifferently.
''You haven't seen anyone. That's what you are supposed to say,'' Daisy thrust the gun slightly into his body as she nudged him closer to the door, ''Go,'' she pointed her chin in that direction unflinchingly.
"Even if I do lie, do you think they can't check the CCTV?" Ryle mocked.
''It's none of your concern,'' Daisy pressed the gun harder, narrowing her eyes.
Ryle suppressed his anger and walked to the door.
As the door opened, Daisy hid herself behind it, her hand still pointing the pistol at Ryle.
More than half of Ryle's body was visible to the people standing outside but from their angle, they could not see the gun nor could they see Daisy hiding behind the door.
"Sir, have you seen a young lady around here?" One of the two men who were in the elevator with Daisy questioned.
"Oh, she had long hair and she was dressed in plain clothes. She had a huge makeup box in her hand,'' the other man elaborated.
When Ryle remained silent, Daisy felt her heart skipping a few beats.
She pressed the pistol harder onto his torso.
''No, I have not seen anyone around here,'' Ryle's cool voice sounded, breaking the tension in the air.
Just as Ryle moved to close the door, one of the men pressed his feet in between.
''It can't be. She walked out of the elevator right in front of us and the only sound of the door opening came from your room. How is it possible that you haven't seen her?"
''What do I get out of lying to you people?" Ryle looked at the foot that prohibited the door from closing, before gazing at the gun that was pressed against his body in the dark. He felt a headache suddenly, ''Do I look like I am that idle?"
Both the men looked at each other. At first sight, they knew that Ryle was no ordinary man. However, as the elite members of the security of the Chen Family, they had no choice but to confront him.
''We are apologetic for our rude gesture, sir,'' They were well trained, not just with their combat skills but also with their communication skills so they naturally had a glib tongue, ''We don't want to bother you but this matter concerns the Elder Missy of our family. Once we carefully inspect your room, we will leave without disturbing you any further,'' As the man spoke, he started pushing the door back.
Daisy held her breath, pressing her body tightly against the wall.
Ryle's gaze darkened and his hand twisted Daisy's wrist, grabbing the gun from her grip the moment she was not on guard.
...
A/N: This book is actually a sequel to my book <Crashing into his Old Flame> but you don't have to read one to understand the other. And I know I have new readers here as well as readers from COF. So, to the old readers, thank you for supporting me so far, and to the new ones, thank you for giving my book a try. Hope you all like it <3
New book~<The Princess's Secret Bodyguard>