Claire's mother stared at Claire for a while. Then, she started laughing. She laughed for a while. Nick plastered a false smile, as though his nerves were not dancing around like baby snakes. Claire stared at her mother, with confusion. She wondered what could be funny in what she had just said. Her mother calmed herself down and then decided to speak again."I know you always like to play tricks on me. This one, this one has to be the funniest so far. There is no way you could have dated Nick."Her mother said this with a strong kind of conviction. Claire shook her head sadly. She had not even sounded like it was a thought she had considered. "I do not understand. Why do you have so much certainty that I have never really dated him?" She asked, wanting more clarity. Her mother smiled calmly, she did not seem like someone who could be made to agree with Claire on this matter."Because my baby has never been to the big city. And i promised to invite him over one of these holidays when
"What do you mean by 'where is the rest of it'. Whatever you found in the bio is everything there is. There is nothing else." Maria tried to defend herself. She knew Aurora suspected her of something, but she did not think she would go as far as doing a background check on her to confirm her suspicion."I know you. I have observed you these past few days and I know you are much deeper than Maria, a drop out and salesgirl. Before anyone finds out there is a vacancy in Ace Residence, it takes a pretty long time. You just appeared immediately your predecessor before you left. You did not even leave a contact in the staff information logs. Nothing to connect your life before to what it is now." Aurora explained all of this and Maria began to see sense in all of it."Are you this observant or did this observance just start because of me?" "I have always been this observant. Trying to find the mysteries in people and trying to figure them out. It is always fun and sometimes it is not.""L
"What do you need me for?" Bruce asked. Claire smiled. That was just the question she needed to hear. Her mother would not believe anything she said. No matter how much she yelled, screamed or tore at her hair. Her mother has been single for so long, she finally found a warm body to wake up next to that was not her daughter. Claire wanted to ruin that and she understood why her mother chose to stick with the delusions. BuNick… Nick was the worst person to find that satisfaction with. He was a con artist. He earned a living by dating women like her, only richer. If she would not listen to any of Claire's warnings, Claire decided it would be better to make her mother see evidence with her own eyes."I need to borrow your tech guys. I need them to check out my mother's new boy toy. I need printed proof about his actions. Everything. It is going to be a slide show of all his atrocities. We just need to figure out how to get the both of them to watch." She said with a satisfied smirk on he
"Oh, of course. You can pay at the counter and we will arrange the cinema for your viewing pleasure. How many people will you be arriving with?" The manager asked.She took out imaginary lints from her top and crossed a shawl over her shoulder."I will be back with three others. Make it a memorable experience, this is our first time in Beijing." "Oh wow, I knew you had to be a tourist. You look new, different." The manager's eyes roamed Claire's body like it was a prize."I will take that as a compliment. Thank you. So…" She opened her arms in question."Oh, yes. You will follow Kiki back to the reception and pay there. Card or cash?" He asked with a smile. Claire returned his smile."A black card, dear. I do not do limits." Claire said and exited with a grand flair. She had to make just the right impression to get the elite treatment she wanted her mother to receive."Okay, that is settled then. Kiki will see you off. Thank you for working with us." The manager stood up to shake
Maria noticed Aurora's reaction at the mention of Hugh Steele's name. "Do you by any chance know who I mentioned?" She asked for clarification. Aurora kept a blank look almost immediately and shook her head."No no. I was just surprised. Why is he blackmailing you?" She asked Maria. Maria gasped and signalled for her to keep her voice down. The walls had ears, she could not risk anything going wrong right now."He needs something. He thinks I am the best person that can get it for him. He is out for something and he is vengeful. I do not know what you want to do with that information but there, I just said it." Maria shrugged and returned her focus to the books. Aurora stroked her jaw with her index finger. She appeared lost in thought."What does he have?" She asked. She needed to know what Steele had over her and strong the material was for the blackmail to hold. She wanted to help Maria get out of her mess."I can't uhm… I can not… it is really not in my place to say what it is. I
Claire did not know what made her more angry. The fact that Nick had come to the suite that they paid no dime for with extra clothes or that her mother was calling going to the cinema with this stranger who just started fucking days ago a family date. She was raging. She set her lips in a thin line. That was the best she could give. Her mother put on her jacket when Nick finally appeared from the room. He was done changing and he was wearing a linen shirt that looked like it might have been a few sizes bigger than his original size. Her mother smiled at him immediately she laid eyes on him. It made her cringe. Had the love been so blinding that she could not see the shirt was ill fitting, that the shirt was rumpled, that the wide pants he had worn to match the shirt had a hole that made a small circular displav of his thigh. Her mother always chastised her for things like this. Her mother would not have even let her follow her anywhere if there was the slightest stain on her clothes.
Aurora and Maria began to try out all the different keys in the bunch Aurora had found. They finally found the right key. The box made a clicking sound while it opened up. Maria stared a bunch of fading papers that had been folded in two so it could fit the box."All of this feels like it came straight out of a crime movie" Maria whispered. Aurora gave her a smile as she dug her hand into the box to get the paper out. "Trust me, this is as real as it gets." Maria responded.They tried to clear the oak table but dust rose up like a stormy cloud. They placed the papers stop everything else and began to read through. The papers were lawsuits against Bruce Ace. A young girl named Angelina had died on these grounds. Her parents had sent her here to work because they were poor, could barely go by a day with three square meals. They were living in deplorable conditions. This Angelina, according to the reports here, had come into this place as a maid. She was described as cheerful, light-he
Claire did not want to know how these things happened. She did not want to know as long as it was sexual and it involved her mother. She stepped into the car and waited for her mother to get in. She stood anxiously at the pavement, looking like a lost puppy. Claire popped out her head from the car to see what was happening."I can not come in with you. Nick wants us to take a different ride. We will meet you there." She said sheepishly. Claire sucked her teeth and stepped down from the car."Could you possibly wait a minute, sir? I have to settle something with my mother. She is like this sometimes. Parents, am I right?" She was trying to get a laugh out of him but that was a poor attempt. He did not crack a smile."I will be back here in a minute or two. Please, hold on." She pleaded and ran to her mother whose grip on Nick could break a wooden rod in two. "You have to let go of Nick. We can all try to fit into that car and get to the cinema just in time. It could not be so hard." S