Chapter 340
Just as Bella was daydreaming about becoming the future Mrs. Clinton, James strolled up to Felix and whispered, "Boss, it's showtime. Gotta hit the stage for your speech."
Felix gave a nod, turned to Bella, and said, "I'm up next. Find a spot to chill for a bit."
"Sure thing," Bella beamed. "Go knock 'em dead. I'll be fine."
Once Felix left, James spun around, looking all business, ready to follow. But Bella called out, "James, we need to talk."
James sighed, "What now?"
Seeing the annoyance in James's eyes, Bella bit her lip and said coldly, "Someone just asked me about my relationship with Felix. Guess what he said."
James, clearly over it, replied, "Miss Redstone, if you got something to say, spit it out. I'm swamped."
Bella sneered, "Felix just told everyone I'm his girlfriend. Soon enough, I'll be the president's wife. Keep disrespecting me, and you'll be the first to go."
She'd tried to cozy up to Felix before, hoping James would spill his schedule, but he shut her down hard.
Now that Felix had claimed her as his girlfriend, she was itching to put James in his place.
James smirked, unfazed. "Save it for when you're actually the president's wife."
"You!"
Bella was fuming, ready to lash out, but James just walked off, not giving her the time of day.
She took a deep breath, glaring at his back, vowing to make him grovel one day.
After Felix wrapped up his speech, he told James and headed straight to the lounge.
The Clinton Group had blown up in recent years, and Felix had turned into a real ice king, cold to everyone.
Bella couldn't find Felix, so she zeroed in on James. "Where's Felix?"
James, already tired of her, thought Felix didn't really care for Bella. Most of the time, Felix just zoned out staring at her face.
He could tell Felix was just using Bella's face to remember Gianna.
James replied, "Miss Redstone, if Felix is your boyfriend, call him yourself. Don't bug me."
Bella sneered, "Think if I tell Felix what you just said, you'll still have a job tomorrow?"
James nodded. "Yeah, I believe it. But first, you gotta find him."
Seeing James's mocking grin, Bella was seething, wishing she could slap him right there.
"Just you wait!"
With that, Bella stormed off.
James watched her go, smirking, then went back to mingling with the guests.
Outside the hotel, a red Maserati pulled a slick drift and parked right at the entrance.
The driver's door swung open, and out stepped a woman in a red dress, her long hair flowing.
Her features were delicate, and she wore big sunglasses that hid most of her face. But her red lips and sharp chin were enough to turn heads.
She shut the car door and strutted into the hotel.
The doorman stopped her. "Miss, need to see your invite."
Constance Drake raised an eyebrow and, without a word, called Samuel.
Constance grumbled, "Samuel, I'm stuck at the door. They want an invite. Why didn't you give me one?"
Samuel paused, then frowned. "What invite? Hang on, I'll call the manager."
Soon, the doorman got a call from the manager, who told him to let Constance in.
After hanging up, the doorman apologized, "Sorry about that, Miss Drake. Let me take you inside."
Constance nodded. "Alright."
Five minutes later, Constance strolled into the banquet hall, and her jaw nearly hit the floor. The place was packed with people toasting and mingling.
She fumed, thinking, 'This is clearly a business shindig, but Samuel told me it is my celebration party. When I see him, he's gonna regret this!'
Constance took off her sunglasses and scanned the crowd.
Before she could spot Samuel, a woman approached her. "Miss Redstone, hello, I'm Sierra Wells, the wife of the president of the Wallace Group."
Constance's eyes widened in surprise, and she replied coolly, "You've got the wrong person. My last name is Drake."
Sierra, who had been admiring how stunning Bella looked up close, was taken aback.
After a few awkward seconds, she forced a smile. "Miss Redstone, don't joke with me. You just came in with Mr. Clinton, and now you say your last name is Drake."
Constance frowned. "What Mr. Clinton? I don't know him."
Feeling snubbed, Sierra's patience wore thin. "If Miss Redstone looks down on the Wallace Group, just say so. We don't need the Clinton Group for cooperation!"
Her husband had been keen on partnering with the Clinton Group, so Sierra came to make connections. She didn't expect Bella to be so difficult.
Sierra thought, 'When I get back, I'll definitely tell my husband to drop any plans with the Clinton Group!'
Watching Sierra leave, Constance was baffled, thinking, 'I don't know any Mr. Clinton. Is this some trick Samuel cooked up to mess with me?'
While she was still puzzled, her phone rang in her bag.
Seeing it was Samuel, Constance's anger flared. She answered, "Samuel, what the hell? Are you kidding me? I flew over ten hours straight to get here, only to crash a business gathering? I'm not letting this slide!"
There was a pause before Samuel's confused voice came through, "What business gathering? We've been waiting for you on the top floor for ages. Why haven't you shown up?"
Suddenly, Samuel realized something was off and quickly added, "You didn't go to the fifth floor, did you? I think Brandon mentioned a company booked the whole hotel for a celebration today. But we always have our gatherings on the private top floor. How'd you end up in the wrong place?"
Constance snapped, "I'm coming up right now!"
Hanging up, she turned and headed for the door.
If she hadn't been so sleep-deprived from the long flight, she wouldn't have made such a rookie mistake.
Just as she reached the door, all the lights went out.
A scream echoed through the hall. Constance tried to open the door but found it locked.
Soon, the lights flickered back on.
A man was on stage, holding a woman hostage with a knife to her throat, looking crazed.
The man shouted, "Where's Felix? Get him out here, or I'll kill this woman right now!"
As he spoke, the knife nicked the woman's neck, drawing blood.
The woman screamed in terror, her face pale as a ghost, almost fainting from fear. "Help."
"Shut up! Say another word, and you're dead!"
The woman clammed up, but her face stayed ghostly white.
The man scanned the crowd from the stage, searching for Felix but not finding him, growing more agitated.
"Felix, you've got three minutes. If you don't show, this woman dies! Her blood will be on your hands!"
Everyone in the room was terrified, some trying to bolt, but the man sneered, "I've planted bombs around the hotel. Anyone tries to run, we all go boom!"
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