Their Queen's Back - Chapter 80: Chapter 80

As someone approached, Michael held his breath, nerves taut. Right behind him, Charlotte clenched the plate in her hands, her eyes flashing with murderous intent. She felt the knife concealed beneath the plate, her gaze growing dangerously dark.
Looks like some unnecessary trouble is coming our way.
Just as the man was about to brush past Charlotte, his hand about to touch the person Michael was supporting, a voice suddenly cut through the tension.
"Hey, is this yours?"
As the man turned away, Charlotte and Michael both let out a quiet sigh of relief. Michael wasted no time, quickly leading their companion in the opposite direction. Meanwhile, Charlotte calmly poured red wine over the bloodstains on the floor, masking the evidence with practiced ease.
When the man saw it was Lauren, a mix of surprise and nervousness flashed across his face. "Oh, sorry! This card? No, no, it's not mine. Definitely not mine."
Ms. Hughes, I'm with ACME Corporation. My name is...
Expressionless, Skye's gaze lingered on Charlotte's retreating figure.
After exchanging a few brief words with the man, Lauren sent him on his way.
Skye glanced at the approaching manager and remarked coldly, "Wine stains everywhere."
The manager instantly panicked upon recognizing Skye. Spotting the spilled wine on the floor, he bowed deeply, voice trembling, and apologized, "Oh, I'm so sorry, Ms. Hughes! So sorry—this is entirely our fault." Turning to his staff, he snapped, "Someone, clean this up right now!"
Skye simply replied, "Yes."
"Ms. Sky, we're so sorry! We'll fix this right away—right this second!"
Without even glancing at the person who had just spoken, Charlotte and Michael shoved their target down the stairs, staging it as a drunken accident before making their swift exit.
Just as Charlotte and Michael were about to slip away, a sudden scream pierced the air. Then someone cried out, "Someone pushed them down the stairs on purpose!"
In an instant, the bodyguards sprang into action to check the surveillance cameras, only to find the system had already been disabled. Just then, Charlotte was stopped by a pushy woman who insisted she go back to her room with her to clean a stain off her bag.
Charlotte urged, "Go ahead without me."
"Go ahead without me," Charlotte said to Michael.
Michael shook his head. "Charlotte, we go together."
Charlotte had no time to argue with him. The woman behind her kept urging impatiently, "There are clothes ready in the room across. Change into them and hurry up—don't hold me up!" she snapped.
Michael nodded reluctantly. "Charlotte, I'll wait in the car."
Right.
After finishing with the woman, Charlotte stepped out only to hear some waitstaff grumbling, "Whenever something goes wrong, why do they always start by investigating us low-level staff? There are so many people here, but they never dare suspect the important ones—they just take it out on us."
Exactly! Such a pain—all this 'cooperation' nonsense. Like we'd have anything to do with it? We're just here trying to make a living. This is so damn annoying.
"If it weren't for the good pay, I couldn't stand working in this place with all its damn rules every single day."
Hearing this, Charlotte had a sinking feeling; it was already too late to go back and change—several people had already noticed her and were calling her upstairs.
"I'll be right there!" Charlotte called back.
Charlotte turned on her heel and headed the other way, only to run straight into a group of bodyguards checking everyone's ID badges. Without missing a beat, she slipped past them and darted into the elevator, punching the button for the upper floor.
Reaching the top floor, she found it even more crowded—packed with people, making escape even harder.
"Hey, you there! Come here." Hearing the voice behind her, Charlotte froze. Before she could bolt, a door beside her swung open and a hand yanked her inside.
In the pitch-black room, Charlotte whipped out her dagger and lunged at the figure. To her shock, the person countered with lightning reflexes, and the two immediately engaged in a fierce, silent struggle.
After just a few moves, Charlotte was outmatched. A flicker of defiance flashed in her eyes as she caught a cool, elegant fragrance—strangely familiar and soothing. This confirmed her suspicion: her opponent was undoubtedly a woman.
"I always thought I was unbeatable, but now—I can't even land a single hit on her. Not even close!"
Skye said quietly, "I mean no harm. Stay put for now."
At the sound of that familiar voice, Charlotte's hand clutching the vial froze mid-motion. Her whole body tensed as she swiftly concealed the vial.
Charlotte turned her face away.
As Skye reached for the light switch, Charlotte clamped down on her wrist. She hissed, "Don't turn on the light, or I swear—I'll take us both down."
"Fine," Skye conceded, lowering her hand.
Charlotte slumped onto the nearby sofa, her heart racing for reasons she couldn't explain. An unfamiliar surge of emotions welled up in her chest—something between agitation and something else she couldn't quite name.
"I'll have my people escort you out in a moment," Skye said calmly.
Charlotte's expression darkened instantly. She sprang to her feet and snapped coldly, "No need! Helping random strangers always comes with a price. Have you really learned nothing after all these years?"
Skye lowered her gaze, a bitter ache in her chest. "But... you're my sister."
Charlotte sat back down, sneering inwardly: "She probably doesn't even recognize who I am—just playing savior to some random stranger for no real reason."
"Are you short on cash?" Skye blurted out.
Skye's abrupt question took Charlotte by surprise. It took her a moment to process—then it clicked. "Ah," she thought with a hint of bitter amusement, "she must think I'm some petty thief."
Charlotte smirked. "Short? Oh yeah, desperately short! What, you rolling in cash? Maybe I should just kidnap you and hold you for ransom."
A pang of sorrow twisted in Skye's chest, her eyes brimming with anguish as she choked out, "You don't have to kidnap me. I have plenty of money—name your price, and it's yours."
Hearing this, Charlotte was taken aback for a moment, then crossed her arms, turned away with a scornful laugh, and said, "You're insane!"
"Throwing money at me? Does she even know who she's dealing with?"
She just hands out money to any stranger she meets? What is she, some kind of sucker?
Just another rich idiot with more money than sense, she thought.
"If I were a killer, she'd already be dead by my blade," Charlotte thought with icy contempt.
"So, did you spend the last ten years abroad just being a housewife?"
"How can someone be this naive and stupid?" Charlotte sneered inwardly.
Charlotte scoffed inwardly. *"Tch!"*
Figures. Birds of a feather indeed. Just like Emily and Sophia—two useless, naive airheads—you're all the same: clueless airheads.
Skye asked, "Where do you live?"
Skye pressed on.
Charlotte snapped irritably, "Why do you care where I live? What, you want me to spill my address so you can come by and blackmail me? Do I look as stupid as you? Get your head checked—you're the type who'd help count the cash after being robbed blind!"
Skye was speechless.
Seeing Skye speechless, Charlotte smugly crossed her legs. She was just about to use her phone when it hit her—the screen light would give her away. Instantly, her fingers flew to lock it again.
Lauren texted Skye that everything had been taken care of. As Skye picked up her phone to reply, the glow from the screen illuminated her face—and in that instant, Charlotte saw her!
The glow from the screen illuminated Skye's face, just like back then when she video-called her. With that same gentle smile, Skye had said, "Be good and stay home, okay? Big Sister will be back soon. Take care of your pet snake. When I return, we'll go see the animals in the forest together."
A tempest of emotions raged within Charlotte. Waves of searing pain wracked her chest, stealing her breath. Her fists clenched until her knuckles whitened as she fought desperately to contain the maelstrom threatening to consume her.
"Liar! Liar! I hate you!" Charlotte's mind screamed.
Face dark with fury, Charlotte stormed out. Skye lunged to stop her—but she was already gone.