CHAPTER 103: THE BAIT

Braelyn’s POV

DON’T BELIEVE EVERYTHING THEY TOLD YOU ABOUT THE FIRE

Those words were anonymous. I stared at them for a moment, my mind filled with memories so deep that I had forgotten them. Ones I didn’t want to remember.

"There was a fire, it brought you to us too early but took her away too soon. That fire also destroyed almost everything I had of her..." That was how Dad told me about how she died. It was what I knew

On that perfect spring afternoon at the cemetery, with leaves drifting with the wind and the warm breeze caught up in our hair.

I don’t remember if I cried that day after learning the truth. The memory was distant, and the rest was a jumbled mess. When I got older I understood better.

There was an accident that happened the day I was born. The fire started without warning, consuming my parents’ home and most of the things that could be remembered by her.

The fire had forced mum into an early labour which she didn’t survive because of her age. She was a woman in her late 40’s then. I was the child she always wanted, the one she got after countless medical tries but she never got to hold me

That was the truth, I was too young to know, but what did this picture mean by what I knew about the fire being wrong? Everything I knew about that incident was told to me by Dad, and everyone I knew who knew Mum was already dead, Dad, Gregor or even Ronan’s mother.

My eyes slowly tore from the picture which I still held in my trembling hands. My heart beat slowed, eyes frantically started to search for the waiter who dropped the picture.

She was pushing a trolley but there was no sign of her. A part of me knew this was probably a bait by someone to pull me out but I just couldn’t ignore it.

I rushed towards a gentleman who stood by the side. "Please, did you see where the waiter pushing the trolley went?" I asked. The man was a bit puzzled by my sudden question but quickly got over the shock.

He shook his head slowly. "I was on call and didn’t see her.." he said. My heart beat dropped to my stomach.

Despair filled my face with dread and I clutched the photograph. My second thought was to contact someone to get the security footage of the building because I wanted to find that servant and ask how she got the picture.

The problem was that I wasn’t with my phone

"Excuse me, is there a problem?" A soft voice chimed me. My attention immediately drew to a lady who was holding her mask in her hand. A soft frown on her face.

The man quickly jumped in to explain. "It’s nothing honey... let’s head back inside." He eagerly reached out for her. That’s when I saw the matching wedding rings. She was his wife. She looked sceptical but accepted her husband’s hand

I could not let her leave just like that so I immediately blocked her part. My frantic eyes were filled with desperation. "Please, did you see a waiter pushing a trolley?" She was startled by my sudden move. Deep frown lines formed on her forehead.

She glanced around her, lips parted, until a spark formed in her eyes. "You mean brunette hair which is packed in a messy bun." She mentioned. I nodded my head vigorously.

"Oh.." she muttered. "I think I saw her heading towards the elevator. My bet is that she is heading to the kitchen." She explained, my eyes gleamed, why didn’t I think of that?

"Thank you..." The words slipped out as I ran in the direction where he pointed, the elevator. The halls weren’t crowded as most of the guests were in the auction hall. This was a large event centre...

My eyes darted around hoping to catch a glimpse of her before the elevator. That’s when I noticed it

The same trolley was left next to a door before the elevator. The waiter hadn’t left the floor yet. My fist clenched for a moment, and I deliberated on whether I should proceed, when this might be a trap, because everything seemed planned.

The picture was deliberately left for me to see, but if I didn’t proceed, I would never get answers. I drew in a deep breath, the only thing I had left to lose was my life....there were security cameras

I stared at the ceiling to spot one perfectly angled towards the door and made sure it caught my face. My behaviour was suspicious enough to draw the attention of the surveillance team, hopefully, someone was watching from the control room

I then took the first step towards the room. I pushed the trolley out of the way because it was blocking the way to the door, then reached out for the door, which was left slightly ajar.

My hand held the handle; I could feel my fingers tremble slightly as they curled over the handle. After a long pause, I gathered enough courage to push the door.

My eyes met the camera lens once more before finally proceeding. The door creaked half open until it was stopped by something on the floor.

Slowly, my gaze stopped, and my face was drained of all colour. It was a body, a woman sprawled on the floor unconscious, I could not tell if she was dead or alive because her eyes were closed

I stumbled backwards, my eyes darting around the room. Alarm bells rang all at once. What was I thinking earlier? This was definitely dangerous

I immediately turned on my heels to get help, maybe from the security. I stepped out of the room, and after running a few steps, I turned at a corner and almost bumped into someone.

.

"Ma’am are you alright..." The man noticed the look on my face and the way I immediately came to a screeching halt. My pulse was off the charts already, palms sweating profusely.

He was dressed in a coded suit with a name tag on his pocket. David Jefferson. I immediately noticed the earpiece in his ears...." Are you with the security team?" I asked..

His expression turned serious immediately. "Yes, I am. Is there something you need?" His tone was professional

I stepped back, then glanced in the direction of the room before pointing that way. "There...is a body knocked out cold..." I could barely say, my voice trembled like my body ..

His demeanour immediately got serious. He pulled out a gun he had on himself, then asked softly. "Can you point out the direction?" I nodded then turned my back on him to look at the hallway I just ran out of

My finger immediately pointed at the door. "That room," I said. He hummed approvingly

"Thank you for your cooperation. I will handle the rest." He said. A rush of relief rushed over me before I could turn to give him further information about my suspicion..

A sharp pain struck my head ....I stumbled, losing my bearings, and everything went black as my eyes turned dizzy...the last thing I noticed was the subtle smirk on his lips.