Filed To Story: Finding the Secret Daddy for My Baby Novel
“No, not for now. I’m trying to set her up so that she’ll expose herself,” said Shirley.
“We’ll go with your plan, then.” Zacharias patted Shirley’s head, feeling for her. It must suck to be betrayed by a friend.
Shirley was upset. She lay in Zacharias’ embrace and rested her head on his shoulder. Zacharias held her, kissing her hair. “It’s alright. I’ll be with you forever.”
That soothed Shirley’s heart, and she looked at him with determination. “Really? Forever?”
“Forever,” said Zacharias honestly.
Shirley’s heart was filled with warmth. She smiled and brightened up like a blooming flower again. Captivated, Zacharias held the back of Shirley’s head and kissed her.
Shirley had her arms wrapped around Zacharias’ neck, kissing him back as well. Whenever she was with him, she could forget all the bad times.
Meanwhile, Imogen was in her room, unable to sleep. She kept thinking about the whole case. If she couldn’t confirm that Shirley didn’t suspect her at all, she couldn’t rest easy. What did the kidnappers tell her? Nonetheless, she had confidence they wouldn’t betray her.
The next morning, after Shirley woke up, Imogen asked her out to have coffee at the hotel’s coffee shop. Shirley agreed to it like she usually would. Concerned, Imogen asked, “You said you bumped your head. Are you better now?”
Shirley smiled. “Yeah. My head didn’t hurt this morning, and I feel better now.”
“Do you remember everything the kidnappers said?”
“Yeah,” said Shirley, nonchalant.
“What did they tell you?” Imogen asked, nervous. She thought she acted natural enough, but Shirley saw through her facade. It was all things that Imogen let slip.
“They said they couldn’t split the money because there was another kidnapper who didn’t come. I think they had an accomplice. Not all of them died, it seems.” Shirley guessed with a frown.
“Do you know about the missing accomplice, then? Their gender, perhaps?” asked Imogen, staring at Shirley nervously.
Shirley pursed her lips. “I’m not sure, but I did hear something. They left a laptop at the coffee shop. I’m sure I can find their accomplice’s name there, so I’m going over today.”
Imogen held Shirley’s hand tightly. “I’m coming with you, Shirley. I can’t let you risk your life alone.”
“Sure. Meet me back here in fifteen minutes,” said Shirley.
Imogen said, “Just make it the two of us. If too many of us head over, we’ll be alerting the enemy.”
“Sure. Just the two of us.” Shirley nodded.
Imogen saw Shirley off. She was getting nervous as she bit her lip and clenched her fists. I can’t believe those idiots left a laptop around. What’s more, Shirley heard them. I have to find that laptop before she does and delete all of its files. Then, I’ll destroy it. I cannot let anyone see my chat history with those guys, or my life will be ruined.
Shirley came back to the suite. Zacharias was on the veranda, making her, he quickly hung up and approached Shirley. “Where did you go?”
“I went to set Imogen up, of course. I’m going to expose her today. Tell kidnapped. Hide it in the room behind the wine cellar.”
“Are you going with Imogen?” Zacharias understood what the trap was.
“Yeah. I lied to her and said the kidnappers left a laptop in the coffee shop. If we go now, I’m sure Imogen’s going to search for the laptop and delete all the files in it.”
Zacharias nodded. Once Imogen left, he would ask his men to search her room for any evidence. Shirley changed into a set of new clothes and came back out. Zacharias suddenly took out a pistol and handed it to her. “Take this, just in case.”
Shirley thought it was unnecessary, but she took it anyway. After seeing through Imogen’s true colors, she knew she couldn’t be careless. That woman was a dangerous individual now. After Shirley hid the pistol, Zacharias held her hand.
“Be careful. I’ll be there to assist you.”
“Don’t come. Tell Roy to come instead.” Shirley stopped him. I can’t let him run around.
“Fine, Roy will go with you guys.” Zacharias nodded. He lied a little. He would still go anyway.
Fifteen minutes later, Shirley returned to the hotel’s lobby. Imogen eased up a little. She was worried Shirley might bring someone along, but she was alone, and it made things easier.
“Let’s go. I got a car. We’re sneaking out,” said Shirley.
Imogen smiled. “Let’s go.”
Shirley was driving. Imogen was talking about the days back in the base, and she lamented, “Aside from the impossible training, life was nice back in the base.”
“Yeah. I miss those days too, lamented Shirley. It’ll be nothing but memories from now on. After today, we’ll be strangers. Imogen will pay for her crimes.
“That’s the shop. It’s still cordoned off. We should go through the backdoor so that no one sees us, Imogen suggested.
Shirley nodded. She said, “I heard that the laptop’s hidden in some wine cellar. We’ll split up and find it.”
“Park the car there, Shirley. I’ll check things out first,” said Imogen.
Shirley pretended not to realize what Imogen was trying to do, and she nodded. “Sure. You go on ahead. I’ll park the car. Someone’s going to tow it away if I park here.”
Imogen got out of the car while Shirley went to park. Quickly, Imogen entered the premises and rummaged through the wine cellar. Eventually, she found a laptop bag under the cellar and unzipped it. There was a laptop inside, and she heaved a sigh of relief. She looked outside the window, noticing that Shirley was coming over. She swiftly stepped onto the counter and hid the laptop in a hidden compartment above. When she leaped back down, Shirley had just entered the store.
“I’ve searched everywhere, Shirley, but there’s no laptop in sight. You must’ve gotten it wrong.”
Shirley frowned. “That can’t be right. I did hear them saying they left a laptop here. We should keep looking.” Shirley started looking around, and Imogen played along.
About fifteen minutes later, Shirley said, “Well, perhaps I’ve been mistaken.”
“You bumped your head, after all. Maybe you heard it wrong,” said Imogen.
Shirley agreed, saying, “You’re right. That could be the case. I’m sorry for wasting your time.”
Imogen patted Shirley’s shoulder. “It’s fine. Let’s go back to the hotel.”
Shirley nodded and left with Imogen. Halfway on their way back, Imogen said, “Shirley, I want to get some presents for my friends before we head back. Go on without me.”
Shirley knew what Imogen was going to do, so she said, “I’ll be on my way, then. I might even have to stop by a police station and have my testimony taken.”
Imogen got out of the car and saw it off. Once Shirley was out of sight, she went into a gift shop and perfunctorily picked some presents. Five minutes later, she came out of the shop and got a cab to the store earlier. As soon as she arrived, Imogen got a chair, stood on it, and took the laptop bag down.
She left the shop, but just as she was about to get away, four cars surrounded her, and several plain- clothes officers came out of them. They’d been staking the place out. “Freeze. Hands where I can see them.”