Chapter 7: Chapter 7

517 words

<html><head></head><body><p>A sudden horn blared outside.</p> <p>"There's a fire downstairs. All guests must evacuate immediately."</p> <p>The smell of thick smoke quickly filled the air.</p> <p>Liam Anderson had been about to tear off my thong. His face darkened instantly at the announcement.</p> <p>He even cursed under his breath.</p> <p>"Why did there have to be a fire now?"</p> <p>His words stunned me.</p> <p>Wasn't this interruption a good thing?</p> <p>Why did Liam seem so disappointed?</p> <p>The priority now was to get out quickly.</p> <p>Liam got off the bed with obvious reluctance.</p> <p>We left the room together.</p> <p>Chaos had already erupted outside. Everyone was rushing toward the exits.</p> <p>Fire trucks had arrived by the time we reached the lobby. They quickly brought the fire under control.</p> <p>Thankfully, the other rooms suffered minimal damage.</p> <p>The hotel needed temporary repairs and couldn't accommodate guests. They offered full refunds.</p> <p>Noah Lopez was still dissatisfied. But with this incident, our plans were ruined. He told us to meet him at another hotel that evening.</p> <p>I breathed a sigh of relief. At least nothing would happen today.</p> <p>Noah went to handle the refund. As I prepared to leave, Liam said he had school matters to attend to. He told me to go home first.</p> <p>I didn't think much of it. I planned to hail a taxi on the street.</p> <p>But as I reached the curb, I remembered something.</p> <p>My bag was still in the hotel room. The voice recorder was inside.</p> <p>What if Noah found it?</p> <p>I hurried back to the hotel. Entering the lobby, I saw Noah and Liam standing together.</p> <p>Guests were lining up to check out. The two men weren't in line. They stood off to the side, talking.</p> <p>Didn't Liam say he had to go back to school? Why was he still with Noah?</p> <p>Hiding to the side, I watched them. I wanted to see what Liam was doing.</p> <p>I worried he might impulsively attack Noah. I needed to be ready to stop him.</p> <p>"If all else fails, come to my rented place tonight. I guarantee no interruptions," Noah said.</p> <p>Liam nodded beside him. "Damn it. Two failures already. Nothing can go wrong tonight."</p> <p>"Don't worry. It will work tonight. The KTV video was too blurry. This time I'll get a high-definition recording."</p> <p>"But I'm curious, Liam. Why are you so determined to ruin your aunt's reputation? It would destroy her life."</p> <p>Liam's face twisted with sudden rage. His fists clenched tightly.</p> <p>"I'm already going easy on her. If not for her, my father wouldn't have died. I wouldn't be living this dependent life."</p> <p>Noah sighed and patted Liam's shoulder. "My condolences. I'll help you."</p> <p>Their words made me tremble uncontrollably.</p> <p>Clutching my pounding heart, I took a detour. I headed upstairs through another route.</p> <p>I reached the room door, still breathing heavily.</p> <p>Only now did I understand. Everything was part of Liam's elaborate scheme.</p> <p>Even asking me to pretend to be his girlfriend was just an excuse. He wanted to do something to me at the KTV.</p> <p>The fire inspection interrupted them there. The blurred video made them plan a second attempt.</p> </body></html>