Free Web NovelChapter 108: Chapter 108: If Not, Break Down the Door
The two of them locked the door from the outside as well, then linked arms and headed gleefully to the main hall.
Just as they found a spot, they saw Zeke Walton.
Simone Vaughn hurried over to stop him. "Zeke, where did my sister-in-law go? I can’t find her anywhere. Have you seen her?"
Zeke Walton was taken aback. "Wasn’t she in the lounge with you? How could you lose her?"
"She took a call and left right after you did. I waited and waited, but when she didn’t come back, I came out to look for her. But I’ve looked all over and can’t find her. I thought maybe she’d gone to find you."
The banquet hall wasn’t that big; if she wasn’t inside, she had to be outside. Zeke Walton assumed she had just stepped out to take a call.
"I’ll go look outside. You stay put and don’t go running off."
Watching Zeke Walton’s hastily departing figure, Simone Vaughn spat in disgust.
’Useless men! Are they all blind? What’s so damn great about her? It’s bad enough she’s got my brother wrapped around her finger, but now she’s stolen my fiancé’s soul too! Just look at him, frantic the moment he hears she’s missing! That bitch. If I don’t make her utterly humiliate herself tonight and get my satisfaction, I swear I won’t be done with her!’
Inside the restroom, Cecelia Archer had just entered when she heard a loud THUD from the door. By the time she reacted and rushed to grab the handle, it was too late. The door had been locked from the outside.
She heard every word of Annabelle Young and Simone Vaughn’s conversation. Only then did she realize—the apology, the offer of friendship—it was all fake. Those two women were out to get her!
’How could I be so stupid? I actually fell for such a simple trick!’
Looking down at her own flimsy dress, then over at the tall, young waiter beside her, Cecelia Archer felt a pang of awkwardness.
"Do you have a spare key? Can you open the door?"
How would a waiter have a spare key? Realizing the two women outside had intentionally trapped her, he looked awkward as well.
"I don’t even have my phone on me. We’re not allowed to use them during work hours, so I can’t even make a call. What do we do? If someone opens the door and finds us in here—a man and a woman, all alone—we’ll never be able to clear our names."
Cecelia Archer glanced at him. ’He’s a grown man, and he’s already panicking before we’ve even tried to think of a solution.’
"Don’t panic. What’s the use in getting flustered? Is there a toolbox or something in here? If worse comes to worst, we’ll take the door apart. There’s no way we’re not getting out of here."
Take the door apart? The waiter thought her idea was a bit outrageous, but it was better than just sitting around waiting for the inevitable.
But after looking all around, there was, of course, no toolbox to be found.
Aside from two packs of tissues and a bottle of hand soap, they couldn’t find a single thing they could use for leverage.
"Then let’s just kick the door down," Cecelia proposed. "Whatever happens, we can’t just sit here and do nothing. Don’t worry. Once we get out, I’ll do my best to explain everything so you don’t lose your job."
Thankfully, the waiter was young and strong. He took two steps back.
"Alright, I’ll do the kicking. You stand to the side so you don’t get hurt."
With that, he put all his strength into it and kicked the door with a loud THUMP.
The doorframe rattled, but the door itself didn’t budge an inch.
He was about to kick it a second time when a man’s deep voice suddenly came from outside.
"Stop kicking. I’ll open the door for you."
’There’s a third person in here?!’
’This is great!’
Cecelia Archer and the waiter pricked up their ears. After a series of faint rustling sounds, they heard a key turning in the lock. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
A moment later, the door swung open.
To Cecelia Archer’s surprise, the person standing outside was none other than Shane Grant, whom she hadn’t seen in days.
"Mr. Grant?"
Shane Grant was impeccably dressed in a suit, looking as suave and dapper as when she had first met him.
However, a fine sheen of sweat covered his forehead, and both his face and lips were incredibly pale.
After opening the door, he seemed to have exhausted all his strength and immediately leaned against the wall for support.
"It’s okay now. Come on out."
Cecelia Archer instinctively glanced at his leg. Sure enough, his injured leg was trembling slightly. With the damp, rainy weather, his old injury must have been acting up again.
"Is your leg bothering you again? Are you all right?"
Cecelia Archer rushed to support him.
"Let me help you to the sofa so you can rest. Where were you just now? How did I not see you?"
Shane Grant felt completely drained. After she helped him to the sofa, he closed his eyes, and it was a long moment before his Adam’s apple bobbed as he tried to speak.
"There’s another lounge in the back. I didn’t want to be seen, so I came straight in here when I arrived. Who knew I’d run into you."
Thinking about how she had just fallen into their trap, Cecelia Archer felt a little embarrassed.
"So... you heard everything we were just saying?"
Shane Grant didn’t answer. Another wave of pain washed over him, and he shut his eyes again, grimacing.
His fists were clenched, his whole body trembled, and the beads of sweat on his forehead multiplied.
Cecelia Archer quickly grabbed a few tissues and dabbed at his sweat. "Don’t talk if it hurts. Give me your leg. Waiter, could you find a basin and get some hot water?"
The waiter, who had also been in a daze, had completely forgotten about the inner lounge.
"I’m not sure if there is one, but I’ll do my best to find one."
As he ran off, Cecelia Archer lifted Shane Grant’s injured leg, propped it on her own lap, and pulled off his sock. She rubbed her hands together to warm them, located the correct pressure point, and began to massage it with firm pressure.
Shane Grant was in too much pain to speak, allowing Cecelia to do as she willed.
Cecelia Archer kneaded with all her might. The waiter returned in a fluster, holding several plastic bags.
"There wasn’t a basin. Will plastic bags do? I can double-bag it."
"Yes, as long as it works for now, that’s fine. Thank you for your trouble."
The waiter came back with a bag full of hot water, carrying it with both hands. Cecelia Archer submerged Shane Grant’s foot in it and continued to massage it in the warm water.
Between the massage and the hot water soaking the pressure point, Shane Grant finally started to regain some of his strength after a few minutes.
"That’s much better. Thank you, you don’t have to keep massaging."
Cecelia Archer had been massaging his leg nonstop for several minutes and was starting to break out in a sweat herself, but she didn’t stop.
"Let’s go for a little while longer. I’m fine. You just lie still."
"I’m sorry, Mr. Grant. I said I’d help you with therapy for your leg, but... By the way, how has Annie been lately?"
Just as they were speaking, a sudden commotion erupted from outside the door.
Immediately after, the doorknob jiggled. The door shook a few times but wouldn’t open, followed by Damien Vaughn’s furious voice.
"Who the hell locked this door? Open it!"
"I’m sorry, President Vaughn! A waiter must have locked it by mistake. I’ll go find a key right now!"
A few minutes earlier, Zeke Walton had searched the entire banquet hall, inside and out, but found no sign of Cecelia Archer. Just as he was about to call her, Damien Vaughn’s car pulled up.
When he heard that Cecelia had vanished shortly after arriving, his expression darkened as he strode inside.
Simone Vaughn insisted that Cecelia had gone out to take a call and she didn’t know where. Damien Vaughn stared icily at her lips.
"You’d better be telling the truth. Because if I pull up the security footage and find out you’re not, you’re going to regret it."
The moment she heard him mention security footage, Simone Vaughn panicked and exchanged a look with Annabelle Young.
"Maybe I was mistaken," she stammered. "Could she still be inside? I had just come out to meet Annabelle, so I didn’t get a clear look. Why don’t we go check the lounge again?"
Damien Vaughn shot her and Annabelle Young an irritated glance. With a large entourage trailing behind him, he marched to the door of the lounge.
