Sentenced to Marriage

Chapter 11

The first stage Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

It was the worst hangover I’d ever had, and it wasn’t even about the toxic level of alcohol I’d consumed the night before. Sure, ten thousand dollars sounded great. It would have been my first real step to gathering the amount of money I needed, but at the same time, I felt as if I was getting myself involved in a bank robbery!

I trusted my abilities, but i felt much safer when I used them from my computer at home or in our workshop. I had never had to sneak anywhere and plug into some other, off-line system to take control of it. I couldn’t believe that I had agreed to something like this!

I felt like we were engaging in a top-secret operation that required perfect planning, high precision, and an incredible amount of luck. Our mission had been divided into two stages. The first stage had to take place two days before the engagement party, and it was meant to get access to the hotel’s computers connected to the ballroom, while the second stage was about the actual engagement party event. Liam organized the whole logistical side of the operation, but I was the one responsible for its most crucial elements…

It was early Wednesday morning, and with Friday’s engagement party coming in two days, it was our time to act.

“I cannot believe that I’m actually doing this,” I grunted, putting on the hotel’s uniform. “It’s all good, Cora. You have your backdoor pass. All you need to do is go to the first floor, where the ballroom’s sound engineer’s room is, walk inside, pretend to clean it and work your magic on their computer.” Liam shrugged as if it was the easiest thing to do. I gave him a wry smile. “Don’t say it like that. You’re not the one doing it.”

“I know that it’ll be perfect. Trust me. You have nothing to worry about.” His beaming grin and his carefree words were exactly the reason why I was getting more and more restless.

Nevertheless, I’d agreed, and I wasn’t going to back out. I put on the navy blue fitted skirt and jacket, which made me look like a fancy stewardess and tied my blond hair into a slick ponytail.

“How do I look?” I asked teasingly, turning around in front of Liam. “Crazy hot…” he murmured. I laughed, mocking his remark. “Yeah… I already feel like a sexy little thief.” “I’m serious. The color matches your deep blue eyes… You look like most men’s sexual fantasy, ” he said, slightly blushing.

I had to admit that his words placed a blush on my face as well. It wasn’t because I had any problems with acknowledging the fact that some guys found me attractive, but I think I just missed that tickling feeling in my stomach. Perhaps my healing time was over, and I needed to find myself a decent guy to fall in love with… which was hard, considering the men around me were either computer freaks or gay. Furthermore, the freshly heartbroken and slightly emotionally unstable Liam was a hundred percent out of the question. I exhaled my newly discovered source of frustration, clearing my head before I got in the car that was supposed to take me to the Blue Crystal Hotel.

Paris Stapp

The car parked in front of the backdoor, which was reserved as the hotel’s staff entrance. Fortunately, Liam got me a legit pass, giving me the identity of a temporary replacement employee. I was replacing an actual member of the hotel staff, who was paid enough to fake illness. That way, I wouldn’t have to pretend to know anyone, and I could easily excuse myself by saying that I was there for only one day.

I passed security without any problems. The good fact was that this hotel was enormous and with people working in shifts, it was impossible to memorize all the faces. It was convenient since no one stopped me on my way to the first floor, asking if I was new there. Even so, my heart hammered wildly, and I had to clench my fists to stop my hands from trembling.

I memorized the hotel plan, which let me find the sound engineering room without any problems. I heaved a long sigh of relief, realizing there was no one inside. Well, I guess there was no one eager to work there at 7 AM. Fortunately, the faking illness employee had given me her keys. That saved me from

adding breaking a door lock to my list of crimes. A minute later, I was already turning on the main computer, the one connected to the ballroom’s huge, cinematic screen.

Whoever worked there was an idiot, because how else could I name someone who had a list of passwords stuck to the corner of the screen frame? I chuckled, thinking that I should probably find this moron and buy him a coffee. He saved me at least ten minutes of work Certainly, it would have been a whole lot easier if their equipment hadn’t been intentionally disconnected from the internet, but my little, almost harmless software was about to change that fact…

I downloaded a tiny bug from the flash drive I’d brought. The program had a timer, counting down like a little bomb. At the right time, it would turn the computer online and open the system’s back door for me to enter and take control of it. But the best ability of that software was its self-deleting mechanism set on a timer, which would make the main proof of hacking disappear right after the presentation. If I hadn’t written the program myself, I would have said that it was a work of genius. I knew that “humble” had never been my second name, but why should I be ashamed, or lie about my skills when I was seriously good at what I was doing?

“I finished my job, turned off the computer, and walked out of the room, leaving it exactly as it was before I entered. I took a deep breath in and out, feeling more comfortable now that the not-so-legal part of Liam’s revenge was over. I was walking through the corridor on the first floor when I got the text from Liam.

“We had to move the car. Go to the ground floor and walk to the main hotel entrance. We’ll be waiting right outside,” the message said. Any traces of comfort disappeared in less than a second. I didn’t like the changes, and I certainly didn’t like the idea of walking into the main hall dressed like a hotel employee. Why did I get the feeling that something bad was about to happen?

I tried to keep my breathing steady, but even my steps became awkward as I entered the most crowded part of the hotel. I could tell myself to act naturally, but what exactly did that mean!! I wish that those

people passing me by could simply ignore me, but somehow I keep attracting their attention. Now I started to realize that Liam’s comment concerning how good that uniform looked on me might have been less exaggerated than I thought. I literally heard some man whistle as I walked by…

The first stage

My eyes were locked on the big revolving door in front of me. I needed to walk only a few more meters to get out of there. I could no longer hear any other sounds aside from my pounding heart and erratic breath. I could see my goal just a couple of steps away. The door spun in front of me, and I was just about to step between its glass barriers when a tall, towering man stepped out and completely blocked my way in.

“Excuse me,” I mumbled, raising my head to meet his gaze.

As my eyes met his, I saw his lips curve into a smug grin. “Good morning, Ms. Bell.”

His deep, sensual voice made something inside my stomach flutter. I swallowed hard before painting a faint smile on my face and replying, “G-good morning, Mr. Lan.”