"You are scaring me. I can't see anything," Lisa said, her voice trembling.
Adrienne pointed to her nose in the mirror.
"It's starting to show," she said.
"What is?" Lisa asked, moving closer to her.
"My nose. It's growing bigger, as if it's trying to match my belly," Adrienne said, touching her swollen abdomen.
Lisa let out a sigh of relief.
"You scared me there. I thought you saw a ghost in the mirror," Lisa said, chuckling.
"I feel so proud of myself right now," Adrienne said, a smile lighting up her face. She knew it was temporary, but she loved her body for carrying her baby.
"Lisa, do you think I'll have a girl or a boy?" Adrienne asked, looking at her expectantly.
"You'll have what nature wants you to have, and please sit still for your makeup. We're running out of time," Lisa said, picking up a brush.
"Alright," Adrienne said and closed her eyes, letting Lisa work her magic.
After the makeup, Lisa drove Adrienne to the hotel; the one Richard had bought for her as a surprise.
As she entered, some people whispered behind her back, some gave her dirty looks while a few nodded their heads respectfully.
"Can I help you, ma'am?" the receptionist at the counter asked Adrienne with a fake smile.
"I want to see the general manager. Now," she said, not bothering to return the smile.
"Is there a problem, ma'am? If you could just tell me the details, I'll..."
"I don't have time for this. Please just call the general manager."
"Can you tell me the details..."
"Don't make me fire you!" Adrienne snapped, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms over her chest.
The receptionist's smile vanished.
"Just because you're famous, a celebrity, you think you can walk in here, make a ridiculous demand and threaten to fire me if I don't obey? You're not even worth celebrating," the receptionist spat at Adrienne.
Adrienne was stunned. She couldn't help but wonder 'who does she think she is?'
"Do you know who owns this hotel?" Adrienne asked the receptionist, raising her eyebrows.
"Let me guess. You?" the receptionist laughed sarcastically.
Just then, a woman came to the receptionist's counter, putting her handbag and coffee on the counter and introducing herself as Linda.
"Hi, ma'am, how can I help you?" The receptionist switched to a polite tone again and Adrienne scoffed.
"What a hypocrite," Adrienne said.
"Excuse me?" Linda said, looking at her.
"I wasn't talking to you. I was talking about the bitch right there," Adrienne pointed to the receptionist.
"I see what they said about you on national TV was true after all," Linda said, turning to the receptionist. "Please tell my husband I'm here."
"So you've never cursed at someone who annoyed you before? Am I not human?" Adrienne glared at Linda.
"First of all, I'm at least ten years older than you, so watch your tone. And secondly, what's wrong with me judging? Seeing is believing, right? I know..." As Linda kept talking, the receptionist deliberately pushed the coffee from the counter and it spilled on Adrienne's shoe, staining her leg and her shoe.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, ma'am. But it's not like it matters, right? You already ruined it by putting your filthy feet in it," the receptionist said, pretending to apologize.
Adrienne scoffed again. She couldn't believe these women were trying to provoke her.
A man then approached them and he and Linda hugged. The receptionist bowed at his presence. He was Linda's husband.
"How are you?" he asked his wife affectionately.
"I was fine until this woman opened her mouth," Linda said and rolled her eyes at Adrienne.
The man then noticed Adrienne standing next to them with a sour expression on her face and his eyes widened.
"Oh, no," he muttered under his breath.
"Good morning, ma'am. I'm Mr. Brown, the general manager of the hotel," he said, bowing slightly and extending his hand. Linda frowned in annoyance.
"Why are you bowing to her?" She pulled her husband up straight.
"She owns this hotel! Behave yourself," he warned his wife and turned to Adrienne again, offering his hand, again. The receptionist's jaw dropped.
"You own this hotel?" The receptionist whispered. She knew one thing now; she was doomed.
"It looks like you need to have a staff evaluation and see who needs to be fired," Adrienne said, snubbing his hand.
"Take me to the surveillance room, now," Adrienne ordered and Mr. Brown quickly led the way.
They reached the surveillance room, and the few security officers on duty saluted when they saw Adrienne.
"Show me the footage from the day my car blew up in the lobby," Adrienne ordered.
"Ma'am, actually, the cameras weren't working that day. We were doing some maintenance and repairs," Mr. Brown said, nervously.
"I don't care. Get me the video," Adrienne said, sharply.
"I'm really sorry, ma'am. We don't have the footage," Mr. Brown said, shaking his head.
"Fine then. Where's the HR's office? You're fired. And so is that dimwit of a receptionist," Adrienne said, turning to leave.
"Ma'am, please don't do this," Mr. Brown begged, but she walked away with her head held high.
She could still hear him pleading behind her, as she reached the door.
"I'll show you the footage," Mr. Brown said suddenly, and Adrienne stopped, a smug smirk on her face.
She had almost fallen for the general manager's lie when he said there was no footage for that day, but she decided to test him by threatening to fire him, just to see if he was hiding something. And it worked.
"Why did you lie to me? Are you working with Lincoln?" Adrienne asked, facing the manager.
"I'm working with the former owner of this hotel. Mr. Richard Davis. He told me to never show you the video. I'm sorry, ma'am," Mr. Brown said.
"Did he say why?" Adrienne asked, curiously.
"He said something like 'he had his own plans'. I don't know what he meant by that," he said.
Adrienne sighed.
"He promised to let me have my way," she said, clenching her fists.
"Copy the footage to a drive for me," she said and sat on a chair, rubbing her forehead as she felt a headache coming on.
Once she got the drive, she went back downstairs and Mr. Brown followed her.
She stopped when she was near the reception counter and looked at the receptionist from before. Adrienne could see the fear in her eyes and she just smiled at her sarcastically.
"Have a nice day," Adrienne said, waving at the receptionist who bowed, breathing a sigh of relief and forcing a smile.
"Thank you, ma'am," the receptionist said over and over as she bowed until Adrienne was out of sight.
Lisa was already waiting for Adrienne outside with the car door open.
"Goodbye, ma'am. Thanks for coming," Mr. Brown said.
Adrienne ignored him as she got into the car.
"Fire her," Adrienne said.
"Ma'am?" The man stammered.
"You have thirty minutes," Adrienne said and Lisa closed the door.
The man was still stunned as he watched Adrienne's car drive away.
"Damn it!" he swore again.
***
As soon as she got home, Adrienne ran to her laptop to watch the footage.
She saw Linc steal her keys from the valet, get into her car, pop the hood, and do something to the engine. She couldn't tell what he was doing because his back was to the camera.
Whatever he did, it must have triggered the explosion. Then, he returned the keys and left the hotel.
He didn't see the cameras? Adrienne wondered.
She had one thing clear now; she had enough evidence to get Linc arrested. Even if it was only for a few days, it would buy her some time to find more proof.
She checked her phone, but there was still no sign of Richard.
Why is he ignoring me? What is he planning?
She was getting anxious now, and she wished he would call her.
Lisa brought her a glass of water.
"Don't worry. He'll call you," Lisa said.
Adrienne sighed.
"Did you keep the people following Richard? Or did you call them off after I told you to, yesterday?" Adrienne asked, secretly hoping Lisa would say they were still on his tail.
They were, but Lisa hesitated to tell Adrienne the truth. She didn't know how Adrienne would react to it.
"No, I called them off after you told me to," Lisa lied.
"Oh," Adrienne said softly, feeling a pang of regret.
"But they did see him at that club though," Lisa said, trying to cheer her up.
"Okay. Thanks," Adrienne said.
If he didn't call her by tonight, she would have to go to his places and the club.
"Let's go to the station after I shower and change. That rude girl spilled coffee on my leg and it smells awful," Adrienne said, annoyed.
She showered and put on something casual, and a bit strange because it was all black; black hair, mask, cap, glasses, shirt, pants, shoes and handbag.
As she drove out of her mansion, Adrienne saw a woman arguing with her security guards at the gate.
She looked closer and realized it was Annabelle.