Chapter 34
Chapter 34
A security guard moved to block Emily’s path, his demeanor professional but firm. “May I see your invitation, miss?”
Emily’s expression clouded with confusion. She didn’t understand why the Bennett family gathering required invitations, and why no one had given her one.
She assumed Lucas had neglected this detail yet again-his thoughtlessness was nothing new. “I’m with the Bennett family,” she explained evenly. “I was simply delayed. You may go verify with them inside.”
The guard gave her a skeptical look and sneered, “The Bennetts arrived thirty minutes ago. You can’t seriously expect me to believe you’re with them.
“You know the Bennetts rented this place and invited all of Cloudridge’s elite, so you’re trying to sneak in and scavenge whatever scraps you can. Am I right?”
Emily immediately recognized his hostility. She retreated a step, keeping her voice even. “If you doubt me, ask the Bennetts inside. My name is Emily Harper.
“It won’t take long. Any one of them will confirm who I am.” She was certain the Bennetts would confirm her story if asked.
The guard deliberately ignored her words, curling his lip. “Look at yourself. You really expect us to believe someone dressed like you knows the Bennetts? Think we’re fools?”
His partner joined in, voice dripping with contempt. “Gold diggers like you swarm here daily. Think today’s your lucky chance to trap some millionaire with all the high rollers in one place? How shameless.”
Their loud remarks drew stares and murmurs from passing pedestrians.
Emily studied both men, confused. She had no memory of these guards, yet their hostility felt personal. “What have I done to deserve this treatment? Why are you picking on me?”
The first guard shrugged, pretending innocence. “No one is picking on you. We just don’t like gold diggers.”
He moved closer, his voice dripping with false sympathy. “You’re beautiful. There might be alternative arrangements for getting inside.”
His partner caught on quickly, his eyes sliding over her with a smirk. “Everyone needs our permission to enter. Make us happy, and maybe we’ll let you through.” As he spoke, he reached for her face.
Emily went white as a sheet, her whole body turning ice-cold. The guards’ smirking faces melted together, twisting into that horrible black mask from St. Gabriel’s-the one that still haunted her dreams, waking her in terror time after time.
Emily stood trembling, her pallor ghostly white. ‘Stay back,’ she begged in her mind.
The guard reached out and ran his fingers down her cheek. It made Emily feel dirtier than touching something dead.
“Don’t touch me!” The scream tore from her throat as she lashed out blindly. Her nails scored crimson lines down his face.
Emily frantically rubbed her cheek where the guard had touched her, as if trying to wipe away something filthy. Her skin turned red from the scrubbing, but the disgust remained.
The guard howled, afraid to probe his stinging wounds. The throbbing heat told him it was swelling.
“How dare you!” he shouted, raising his hand to strike her back.
1/2
Just then, a figure burst from the hotel entrance, arms outstretched like a shield. “Enough!”
The man fixed the guard with a withering glare. “Are you blind? This is Emily, raised as part of the Bennett family for eighteen years. She’s always been a VIP guest here. Apologize now unless you want to be looking for a new job tomorrow.”