Lara paused in front of the private room where Beatrice had entered earlier.
The door was now tightly shut, a sign that whoever Beatrice was waiting had arrived.
For a brief mont, she stood there quietly, her gaze fixed on the polished wooden surface as muffled silence stretched from the other side. She tried to listen, but the restaurant’s soundproofing was exceptionally well done. Not even the faintest voice escaped through the walls.
Her brows knitted slightly.
There were no waiters lingering nearby either, leaving her with no one to casually question without drawing suspicion.
In the end, Lara turned away and continued down the hallway.
She stepped into the restaurant’s western garden, and the atmosphere changed instantly.
The evening air carried the faint scent of roses and freshly cut grass. Thousands of tiny golden lights hung from the trees and bushes, glowing like trapped fireflies beneath the dark evening sky. Soft music drifted through the open space while several couples sat beneath elegant canopies, imrsed in quiet conversations over candlelit dinners.
The entire place looked straight out of a romantic film.
But Lara barely noticed any of it.
She walked toward the shadows near the stone pathway before pulling out her cellphone.
With practiced ease, she logged into her Nyx account.
The screen flickered as lines of encrypted code moved rapidly across the display. Within minutes, she had breached the restaurant’s surveillance system and gained access to the private room caras.
Soon, the CCTV feed appeared.
And there was Beatrice.
The woman was smiling brightly, her expression relaxed and unusually gentle — a side of her that even Moira rarely saw.
But the man sitting across from her remained hidden.
His back faced the cara completely.
And unfortunately, there was only one surveillance cara inside the room.
Lara narrowed her eyes slightly as she observed the scene.
From the way Beatrice leaned forward occasionally, from the softness in her expression, and from the unmistakable sparkle in her eyes... It was obvious she was enjoying herself.
And she loved if not idolized, the man in front of her.
"Who is that man...?" Lara murmured under her breath.
A strange feeling stirred inside her chest.
Curiosity.
Suspicion.
But after another few seconds, Lara suddenly realized what she was doing.
She was spying.
The thought made her lips press into a thin line.
Without hesitation, she exited the feed and logged out of her Nyx account.
The dark screen reflected her face for a brief mont before she slipped the phone back into her bag.
Then she headed toward the parking area.
Earlier that day, Ares had agreed to lend her one of the many cars parked inside the mansion garage. To soone like him, lending out a car was probably as insignificant as lending a pen.
Lara picked out the inconspicuous Audi.
But just as she was about to take the keys, Ares suddenly rembered sothing.
"Do you know how to drive?" he asked.
Lara looked at him as though the question itself was ridiculous.
"Of course I do," she replied casually. "I got my license last month."
A flicker of doubt crossed Ares’ face.
Last month?
He studied her quietly for a second.
Just when had she learned how to drive?
Then again... Lara had undergone military training during her cadet years. Perhaps she had learned there.
Still—
For so reason, Ares could not shake the feeling that there were far too many things about Larissa Reyes that did not make sense.
...
Lara waited a few more minutes in the garden before finally deciding to leave.
From the looks of it, Beatrice and her mysterious companion had no intention of ending their dinner anyti soon.
She still had several things she needed to handle that night.
With one last glance toward the restaurant, she turned around and headed for the exit.
But at that exact mont—
The door of the private room opened.
Two figures stepped out.
Lara had already reached the glass doors by then, the soft lights from the garden casting a faint glow against her silhouette as she walked away.
Anton’s footsteps suddenly halted.
His eyes narrowed sharply.
For a second, he thought he was mistaken.
But the familiar figure, the elegant posture, and that unmistakable calm aura—
There was no way he could mistake her.
Almost instinctively, Anton shifted closer to the wall, angling himself for a better look before the woman disappeared completely behind the doors.
And the mont he confird her face, surprise flashed across his expression.
"Beatrice..." he said slowly, his gaze still fixed on the entrance. "Was that Larissa Reyes?"
He lifted a hand and pointed toward the woman who had just vanished beyond the glass doors.
Beatrice frowned slightly.
"Where?" she asked, imdiately turning her head toward the entrance.
But by then, Lara was already gone.
"Even if it was her, she didn’t see us." Beatrice’s eyes brightened as a thought ca to her. "Perhaps, her presence here is a blessing in disguise. It is a pity, I haven’t seen who was she with earlier."
"Where?" Beatrice asked, imdiately turning toward the entrance.
But by then, Lara had already disappeared beyond the glass doors.
Only the soft movent of the door remained beneath the golden lights of the restaurant lobby.
Anton kept staring at the entrance for several seconds, his brows furrowed deeply.
"I’m certain it was her," he muttered.
Beatrice’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Then suddenly—
A thought crossed her mind.
And almost instantly, the irritation on her face faded, replaced by a subtle gleam of excitent.
"Even if it was her, she didn’t see us," Beatrice said softly, her lips curling upward. "Perhaps her presence here tonight is actually a blessing in disguise."
Anton glanced at her suspiciously.
But Beatrice was no longer paying attention to him.
Her mind was already racing.
If Larissa Reyes had really been here tonight, then that ant there was a chance to use this situation to her advantage.
The only unfortunate part...
Beatrice’s gaze drifted briefly toward the private room they had just left.
"...is that I didn’t get to see who she was with earlier."
A trace of curiosity flickered in her eyes.
No—
Not just curiosity.
Interest.
Because soone like Larissa Reyes would never appear in a place like this without reason.
And suddenly, Beatrice had the distinct feeling that the woman was hiding far more secrets than anyone realized.
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