Chapter 80: So, My Suspicious Is Correct
Zoey didn’t have time to linger in her parents’ house. She needed to return to the office. She had a meeting to attend.
Stepping outside the house, she found her car already waiting right before the main entrance.
She slipped inside without a word when the driver opened the door for her, trying to forget her conversation with Zachary, but it felt difficult.
"Ma’am," the driver pulled her back from her thoughts. "We are heading to..."
"Imperial Hotel," she interrupted before being drawn back into her thoughts.
The car moved at a moderate speed, and it didn’t take long before they arrived at the Imperial Hotel.
As the vehicle slowed to a stop at the main entrance, Zoey’s gaze fell on familiar faces right inside the hotel lobby.
At first glance, there was nothing particularly unusual about them, but something felt... familiar.
Her eyes narrowed as she watched a woman and a man walk in a hurry through the lobby. Though she couldn’t clearly see the woman’s face, she was certain she’d seen her before.
’Why does she look familiar...? Where have I seen her?’ she wondered, trying to dig her memories.
However, before she could get a better look, the pair disappeared from her view.
’Guest... or employee?’
Zoey wondered as she stepped out of the car and rushed into the lobby. But they were no longer there.
As she made her way toward the special elevator, she pulled out her cell phone and made a call.
"I need the CCTV footage from the lobby around this time. Hurry!"
...
A few moments earlier, inside the hotel, Sienna paused midstep. Her fingers tightened slightly around the agenda in her hand as a strange feeling crept over her.
She turned her head slightly, her gaze drifting toward the entrance, as if searching for something she couldn’t quite see.
Her eyebrows furrowed slightly.
"...Why do I feel like someone is watching me?" Sienna muttered, her voice barely louder than a whisper, yet loud enough for Riley to hear.
"What...? Someone watching you?" he asked, frowning as he glanced at her, then followed her gaze.
Sienna kept her gaze fixed on the glass wall for a few seconds longer, as if expecting someone to be staring back at her. But no one was. Just the usual flow of guests and staff moving in and out of the building, completely normal and harmless.
Still, the strange, unsettling feeling lingered in her heart. She shook it off lightly, as if brushing away an unwelcome thought.
"Nothing," she answered casually, then headed toward the staff elevator. "Let’s go... We need to return to the office."
"Okay..." Riley nodded, though his curious look lingered for a moment before he followed her.
They walked side by side in a comfortable silence, the earlier conversation still hanging faintly in the air.
Sienna tried to focus on work, on the routine, on anything that could distract her from her worry thoughts.
But just as they stepped into the elevator—
Riley’s phone rang.
The sudden, eerie ringtone echoed in the small space, sharp and dramatic, like something straight out of a horror movie. Sienna flinched slightly, her shoulders tensing.
"Riley!" she snapped, glaring at him. "Can you use vibration while in the office? Or at least change your ringtone to something less... terrifying?"
Riley didn’t look the slightest bit guilty. In fact, he looked amused.
"You’re already this old, Sienna," he said casually as he pulled out his phone, "why are you still afraid of horror music?"
She was speechless.
"I’m not old. And I’m not scared," she shot back immediately. "I just value peace in my heart and mind and would like it to keep functioning properly, away from any unnecessary stress."
"Sure... Sure..." he replied, clearly unconvinced, before answering the call.
Sienna rolled her eyes as she leaned against the wall of the elevator.
Initially, she ignored his conversation to be polite.
But then, she caught a few words.
And her attention shifted instantly. Her heart tightened slightly as she realized what the call was about, the anonymous text.
Her gaze slowly lifted toward Riley, watching him carefully. His expression didn’t change much. He spoke in short sentences, his tone neutral, almost too calm. That only made her more anxious.
She tried to read his expression, searching for any hint, any reaction that could tell her something. But there was nothing.
Finally, after a few more seconds, Riley ended the call.
The moment he lowered his phone, Sienna asked, "Riley, did you get the result back?"
"Yes," he answered, his eyes already focused on his phone again, fingers moving quickly as he opened something.
"So, my suspicion is correct—"
Riley didn’t answer immediately.
For a brief moment, the elevator felt too quiet.
Then, his expression changed.
His eyes darkened slightly as he stared at his cell phone screen, as if confirming something he had already expected.
Riley looked up at her, "Yes," he said, his voice colder now. "I just got the email and the report. It was hers. I mean, her other number."
Sienna’s fingers curled tightly at her sides.
A familiar wave of frustration rose within her, sharp and exhausting at once. ’Of course, it was her...Angie Feliz!’
The name alone was enough to make her mood drop.
’Why...?’ Sienna thought, her jaw tightening slightly. ’Why does she keep targeting me? Did I owe her something?’
Her mind didn’t take long to find an answer.
’Did she attack me because of Benjamin?’
The thought alone made her feel even more irritated.
’Is she seriously jealous because Benjamin likes me?’ Sienna almost scoffed at her own thoughts. ’That man isn’t even someone I want to deal with.’
From the very beginning, she had kept her distance from Benjamin. She never gave him any signal that she liked him. She remembers the last time they met... she refused his offer to become his woman without hesitation.
And yet somehow, she was dragged into this mess.
"Unbelievable..." she muttered softly.
"Sienna, don’t worry," Riley said suddenly, his tone turning serious. "I’ll make sure she will never—"
"Stop, Riley..." Sienna cut him off gently but firmly.
Riley frowned, slightly surprised.