by Elle, Leen
"Miss me?"
Sophie jumped when Robert wrapped his arm around her shoulder. It took all the composure she had not to scream.
She was too shocked for words.
"I didn't know how long you were going to make me wait." He whispered smugly "I had enough time to disable the security cameras."
"Without viruses?" She struggled to catch her breath again.
"I have my ways."
"Do share." She nudged him, her eyebrow raised.
"I can't share all my secrets." He grinned, and she could clearly see his blue eyes crinkle in amusement. The moonlight highlighted all of his features, making him look strangely handsome. "We're going to have to stop dressing you up." He whispered, suddenly serious as he stared at her.
"Why?"
"It's going to be hard to think of you as a boy when you look this pretty." He lifted up her chin so that he could see her face.
"Don't play with me." Sophie said, brushing away his hand despite how it made her heart flutter.
"I wouldn't dream of it, darling." His smile had vanished. "You're a thousand times too good for me."
Sophie blinked away her surprise. She'd expected an insult, not a compliment.
"If you hadn't noticed, I'm a bad guy." He tried to smile again, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Now, how about that vase?"
"Yeah, the vase." Sophie had to pinch herself to focus again. "Will it be in here?"
"Who knows? Cleo didn't give us many details. I'll go scout the floor, see what we're looking at. You stay here and try not do anything stupid."
"At what point will Diana show up?" Sophie asked as he walked away.
He paused for a moment to reply. "Hopefully, before we get caught by the guards."
"Perfect." She whispered, turning back to the lounge.
The first part of the mission was done, but now came the harder part.
Now came the hunt.
* * *
Sophie could only search the lounge for so long before realizing she was getting nowhere. She didn't have a watch with her, but she guessed Robert had been gone for twenty-minutes. For them, twenty-minutes might as well have been forever.
He'd told her to stay put, but she'd never been good at listening to his orders. The moment she knew she wouldn't find the vase in the lounge, she moved her search to other rooms.
The hostess hadn't been lying when she'd said that the second floor had guests rooms. In fact, every room Sophie tried after the lounge was a guest room. The entire hallway was filled with them, giving Sophie the feeling that her search was endless.
She was secretly searching for Robert too, not putting it passed him to have run off without her. He'd betrayed her before, and she'd be a liar if she said she had complete trust in him.
She'd made it halfway down the hallway before the sound of voices reached her. The moonlight that had been her only source of light was now replaced by the glow of a flashlight.
"Why don't we just turn on the main light?" Someone whispered loudly. They were obviously not used to sneaking around.
"Apell's a stickler for saving power. She says the security system up here is all the protection she needs against thieves. No guests equals no lights."
"For a rich person, she sure knows how to be a penny-pincher."
"Tell me about it." The voices were getting ever-closer, and Sophie froze on the spot. She could hear them opening and closing doors around the corner from where she was standing. If she made any noise at all they would catch her.
"Why are we doing this again?" One of the voices asked, exasperatedly.
"I let someone come up here earlier. I thought it was okay, but I told Ralph and he freaked out on me."
Sophie took a step backward, and found herself being wrapped in someone's arms. She was lifted away from where she was standing, and slipped into a nearby room. Sophie had no idea how he'd done it, but Robert managed to pull her into the room and shut the door without the slightest noise.
They were in another guest room, which was just the same as all the others she'd searched. He'd tugged her to the other side of the bed, where they both ducked down.
"Where did you leave your heels?" He whispered, motioning to her bare feet.
"In the lounge. They're hidden under a chair, so they won't find them." Sophie whispered back.
"Were you just going to let them find you?" He hissed.
"I was thinking of a plan." She answered, glancing away from him. "What do we do if they walk in?" Her voice was laced with worry.
"Improvise." He lifted a finger to her lips to silence her. The voices had just reached their door.
Sophie's eyes locked with Robert's. She could almost hear his heart beating as loudly as hers.
It seemed like they both knew what would happen next.
In one swift movement, Robert lifted Sophie and placed her on the guest bed, bracing himself above her. Just as the door to the room opened, they both leaned into each other, crushing their lips together.
He placed his hand on her thigh, and she tangled her hands in his hair. Sophie had known his plan the moment their eyes had met, and kissed him as passionately as she could manage.
The two hostesses standing at the door gasped when their flashlight hit them.
"Oh." One of them whispered, sounding shocked and embarrassed. They slammed the door closed, and hesitated outside for a long moment.
Sophie and Robert stayed melded together until they were sure the hostesses had left them alone. Apparently, bringing them downstairs wasn't that important after all.
Robert broke away first, his breathing sharp and ragged.
"Good improvising." Sophie offered, falling back against the pillow.
"Well, I've never had a chance to use that method before."
They both laughed awkwardly, turning away from one another.
Sophie leaned up, fixing her crooked wig. Robert loosened his bow-tie, and stood up from the bed.
"So, I think I know where the vase is." He offered, not meeting her eyes.
"Perfect. I'm ready to finish this." Sophie replied, jumping too eagerly off of the bed.
As Sophie and Robert reentered the hallway, they both made sure to keep a good distance away from the other.
* * *
Out of all the rooms on the entire floor, only one remained locked. Sophie had been too rushed to think about it before, but it did seem strange that some like Diana would leave her rooms unguarded.
She wasn't the kind of person who slipped up, which meant only one thing: she didn't care who broke into the guest bedrooms. They weren't worth the effort of locking.
"We just wasted half our time." Sophie commented after Robert informed her of the location of the hidden room.
"Let's stay positive. The nights still young, and I've got a few more tricks to pull out."
Sophie wanted to be optimistic, but it was hard when facing the facts. She'd followed his plan perfectly up until now. They'd gotten into the party, played it off like they belonged here, and then escaped to the second floor. However, Diana had yet to show up.
No matter how she looked at it, the plan had too many holes. It just didn't make sense that Diana would show up for them because of some stupid challenge Robert sent her. Someone who had as much influence and power as her was too busy for a small game like this.
Finding the vase didn't matter either. Whether they found it or not wasn't their objective. The reason they'd come to this mansion wasn't to steal, but to get caught, and they were failing miserably at that.
Robert led her easily to the hidden door, almost as if he'd known where it was all along. Sophie considered being suspicious of him, but then figured it wouldn't get her anywhere.
The lock to the door came in the form of a keypad and fingerprint scanner. Without the correct password and fingerprint code, they wouldn't be able to enter the room at all.
"What's the plan now? Put in the wrong password and wait for the guards to come find us?" Sophie couldn't hide her irritation.
She wanted to know what he was plotting.
"Do you remember when I said I couldn't break Diana's system? Well, on the way here I manufactured us a little miracle." Robert's lips were curled into a smile as he approached the keypad. He pulled out a small microchip from the pocket of his tux, which Sophie could barely see from the darkness. If it hadn't been for the moonlight outside of the windows of the hallway, she would've been blind.
"You said breaking in was impossible." Sophie reminded him, crossing her arms as she watched.
"At the time, I thought it was. Ms. Apell is much smarter than me. She's got the mind of a hacker, but I've got the mind of a thief. You should never underestimate the cunning of a thief."
Sophie narrowed her eyes as she watched him slip something into the keypad. She hadn't even seen where he put the chip. The screen on the keypad lit up a bright green, as numbers started flashing against the background. The keypad began to beep loudly, but Robert quickly muffled the noise.
It only took a minute for the little chip to wreak havoc on whatever system Diana had in place. The only sign that something had changed was the silence now coming from the keypad.
Robert flashed her a confident smirk, as he pushed open the door to the room. Sophie thought about insulting his arrogance, but right now she decided he deserved it.
She followed him into the room, and as soon as the door closed behind them a light clicked on. Sophie suspected there were motion-sensors in place to turn on the lights.
The room was situated like an office, with long bookshelves surrounding the walls. There were no windows in the room, which made it feel almost suffocating.
"So, we're here." Sophie mused, her voice a whisper. The atmosphere in the room was tense, like they could be caught at any moment. "Do you see the vase?"
Robert was already prowling around the bookshelves, his eyes sparkling with interest. "There's more than one vase in here." He motioned to a shelf that was encased in glass. Inside were various pieces of pottery. Sophie wasn't an expert on ancient artifacts, but she suspected these pieces were priceless.
Instead of feeling relieved at finding the vase, she only felt disappointment. They'd found the target, but lost their mission. Diana Apell wasn't going to show after all.
"What now? Do we leave her a note?" Sophie frowned as she stared into the glass.
"If you have anything to say her, why don't you ask her right now?" Robert's posture had stiffened as he turned around.
Sophie noticed something move in the reflection of the glass, and she turned around slowly, afraid of what she might find.
A woman dressed in a yellow silk evening gown stood by the door. Her black eyes were narrowed at them emotionlessly as she stood frozen in the partial darkness. Her dark skin blent in with the background behind her, making her look like a ghost.
Sophie unconsciously stepped back, her heart racing in her chest. Diana hadn't made the slightest noise when she'd approached them.
The woman staring at them took a step forward, slipping into the room and shutting the door behind her. The lock clicked, reminding them all that they were trapped inside until she let them leave. The way she moved was like a cat, both threatening and graceful.
Diana Apell was unlike any woman Sophie had ever seen. She was regal, but not haughty, and much more dangerous than Sophie had ever expected.
Robert didn't seem the least bit affected by her appearance. He walked casually to her desk, and sat down in the hard oak chair. He propped his feet on the desk, flashing their visitor an easy-going smile.
"Maybe our host would like to ask the first question?"
Diana wasn't moved by his act. She focused her eyes on Sophie when she answered.
"How did you break my system?" Her voice was sharp, and heavily accented.
"I thought that would be your first question." Robert grinned proudly. "Actually, I should thank you for your help. I used some of your old programming to hack the system."
"What?" Diana lifted her hand, which held the microchip, and examined it with narrowed eyebrows.
"Impressed? I didn't think I was clever enough to come up with the plan myself."
For all of her seriousness, Diana did look impressed. Now it was her turn to smile at him.
"I should've expected something like this from you, Robert. I've heard many things about your work." She took a step forward into the room.
"I hope they were good things." He added, sounding mock-concerned. "I know Cleo enjoys complaining about me."
"You've done well for yourself so far. Beat out most of your competition."
"I still have a long way to go before I'm at your level." He replied.
Diana turned to look at Sophie. "You must know that I've figured out your reasons for coming. It was a nice diversion, but I'm not blind."
"You still showed up, so we must've done something right." Robert glanced at Sophie out of the corner of his eyes. It was a silent order to let him do the talking.
"I find it very irritating that you had to break into my house to catch my attention."
"The cat doesn't like being played with by the mouse? How disappointing."
"I won't tell you anything about your parents." Diana's eyes were locked on Robert. "I can smell Cleo's influence all over this mission."
"Then, you've sentenced her to death." Robert's voice had grown serious. "Cleo thinks she knows something about the paintings. She won't let her go until they're found."
"You must've heard me wrong." Diana smiled serenely. "I won't tell you anything, Robert. You happen to be Cleo's puppet, and are no doubt in this for your own gain. I owe her parent's my life, but I owe Cleo nothing." Her harsh smile turned momentarily sad. "You look just like them, Sophie. A mix really. Your father's hair, and your mother's eyes."
Sophie ignored Robert's glare as she began to reply. "I've only seen them in a picture once, but thank you for the compliment." She paused, thinking of how to continue. "Will you really tell me about them?"
"I'll tell you everything. Including the things I kept from Slavsky." The distrust that Diana had shown Robert vanished when she turned to Sophie.
"Thank you so much. I'd really appreciate the help." Sophie's heart lifted in her chest. Finally, she was getting somewhere.
"I just want one thing in return. I want to know why you're working for Cleo. The last I knew, you're grandparents had you hidden from her."
"Her grandmother wanted me to find her." Robert answered instead, his eyes cold. He didn't like not being in charge.
"He's telling the truth. My grandmother left me a note, promising he would come for me." Sophie added.
Diana looked pensively at the floor. "Then, they must've thought they had no other choice."
"They would have rather her been in Cleo's hands than with Max." Robert was staring at Diana intently.
"Your mother never wanted this lifestyle for you." Diana began, frowning.
"I don't mean to be rude, but it's a little late for that. If this life was good enough for her, I thought it would be good enough for me."
"Your parent's were too good for this lifestyle. They came in as innocent children, and Cleo corrupted them."
"I don't have a choice anymore. I have to find those paintings." Her eyes watched Diana with determination.
"Then, I have no choice but to help you." Diana turned her eyes back on Robert. "I'm honestly surprised you've decided to work with him."
Sophie glanced between the two of them, wondering why Diana's voice had just turned disgusted.
"Well, I'm devilishly handsome. Isn't that enough?" Robert joked.
"Now is not the time to be smiling, Tristan."
At Diana's comment, Robert froze. His smile evaporated, and his eyes widened in fear.
"It must've been a long time since you heard that name. You're a fool if you thought I didn't have the resources to figure out who you were."
"Cleo..." He began.
"Cleo was supposed to erase everything? I'm the kind o
f person she would ask to do that. I know a thing or two about how this business works, and I've got you all figured out."
Sophie noticed that Robert had clenched his fists tightly.
"I will not allow you to use this girl as a pawn." Diana whispered. "She's not going to be apart of your game."
"You don't have the right to tell her." Robert pulled his legs off of her desk, his face pale. "She doesn't need to know."
"She has every right to know, and to be angry." Diana smirked at him. "Sophie, if you want the truth, you're going to get the entire truth. Not just the parts he wants you to hear."