Chapter 494 The Truth Behind the Door

Chapter 494: Chapter 494 The Truth Behind the Door

Diana rummaged through the storage cabinet in her office for quite some time.

All the belongings she’d accumulated over the years were stored there, including an old cellphone.

At work, she was decisive and efficient. In her personal life, however, she could be surprisingly absent-minded.

The previous year, she’d lost her phone and spent ages searching for it without success. Liam had even joked that she was lucky she remembered his number. Otherwise, she might have lost contact with him altogether.

It wasn’t until she bought a new phone that she finally found the supposedly lost one at the office.

By then, she already had a replacement, so she’d left the old phone there as a backup.

Now, holding it in her hands, Diana fell into a long silence.

No one knew what was going through her mind.

She simply sat there for over an hour.

At last, she seemed to make up her mind. She plugged in the phone and switched it on.

*****

Over the past few days, Ryan had been driving Ariel to and from school every day.

Whenever Rose had some free time, she would join him to pick their daughter up.

Somehow, the three of them had developed a little family ritual out of it.

With more than half an hour left before Ariel’s school day ended, Rose spotted a dessert shop in the heart of the city and asked Ryan to pull over.

“I’m going to get Ariel a little cake.”

“Just for Ariel? What about you?”

Ryan continued scrolling through his iPad without looking up, his tone deceptively casual.

Rose paused with her hand on her seat belt.

“...Don’t be so sarcastic.”

Of course she wanted a cake, too. She loved sweets more than anything.

A faint smile tugged at Ryan’s lips, but he didn’t tease her any further. He simply tipped his chin toward her.

“I’ll wait here.”

“Got it.”

Rose climbed out and headed straight for the shop.

Ariel liked chocolate, while she preferred blueberry, so she bought two cakes.

At that time of day, the upscale shopping district was surprisingly busy. Luxury cars streamed past one after another, filling the streets with a constant hum of traffic.

Across the road stood a five-star hotel that had only recently opened.

Rose slowed down and glanced at its name.

Wasn’t this one of the hotels managed by Liam?

As she studied the sign, a car pulled up at the entrance.

She recognized it immediately. She’d seen the same car at NYU before.

It belonged to Liam.

But the person who stepped out wasn’t Liam. It was a woman.

She hurried into the hotel lobby without looking back.

The sight sent a jolt through Rose.

Once might be an accident. Twice might be a coincidence. But three times?

At some point, repeated coincidences stopped feeling like coincidences.

Rose’s breathing quickened. Without a moment’s hesitation, she ran toward the hotel.

She arrived just in time to see the woman step into an elevator.

Rose hurried after her, but by the time she reached the elevator bank, the doors had already closed. She watched the floor indicator climb, pause briefly on the thirteenth floor, then the seventeenth, before continuing upward.

It appeared to be heading for the top floor.

Something clicked in Rose’s mind.

She turned immediately and approached the front desk.

“I’d like to book a room on the top floor. Please hurry.”

The top floor housed the presidential suites.

Unwilling to keep such a distinguished guest waiting, the receptionist processed the reservation as quickly as possible and handed Rose a key card.

Rose barely listened to the explanation before taking the card and heading straight for the elevator.

If the hotel hadn’t required a reservation to access the floor, she wouldn’t have needed to spend so much money on a room.

There were only two suites on the top floor, which made her task much simpler.

She didn’t have to waste time searching.

Her heart pounded as she rode the elevator upward. She couldn’t explain why she felt so nervous, or why her intuition was suddenly so strong.

Perhaps today she’d finally be able to confirm what she’d been suspecting.

This wasn’t just about satisfying her curiosity. Diana’s lifelong happiness was at stake, and the thought made Rose’s palms damp with sweat.

But she’d come this far.

She had to see the truth for herself.

When she reached the top floor, she found that the presidential suites were enormous, with two separate areas extending in opposite directions. The entrances were far enough apart that a guest would have to deliberately walk from one to the other.

Rose made her way to the door she believed the woman had entered.

She stood there for a long time, her thoughts racing.

Then she took out her phone and called the front desk.

“My key card isn’t working. Could you send someone up with a replacement? And the door seems to be stuck. Could someone check it from the outside, too?”

She glanced at the room number.

“Room 3301,” she added clearly.

After ending the call, Rose pressed her lips together and moved to the corner opposite the elevator, keeping herself out of sight.

Perhaps because she’d booked a presidential suite, the hotel responded quickly. Less than two minutes later, a manager in a suit appeared.

Rose watched from behind the corner as he hurried toward the door.

He took out his own key card and swiped it.

Two electronic beeps sounded, and the door opened.

Almost immediately, a woman’s irritated voice came from inside.

“Who are you? Why did you open the door?”

The woman strode toward the entrance, giving Rose a clear view of her face.

Rose recognized her at once.

She’d seen her at Diana’s photography studio.

Sophie Clarke.

Rose’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Sophie’s hair hung loose around her shoulders, as though she’d just stepped out of the shower. She wore nothing but a bathrobe that barely covered her figure.

There was little doubt about the kind of private moment she’d been preparing for.

But Liam was nowhere to be seen.

Rose hadn’t even heard his voice.

The manager, who appeared to know Sophie, spoke respectfully.

“Miss Clarke, didn’t you call to report that the lock was broken? I came up to take a look.”

Sophie pressed her lips together, looking increasingly annoyed.

“I didn’t call anyone. You must have the wrong room. Please don’t disturb us again.”

The manager hesitated briefly but wisely decided not to press the matter.

“Of course. Sorry to have disturbed you.”

The door closed.

Rose had witnessed the entire exchange, but unfortunately, she still hadn’t seen Liam himself.

She tapped her forehead in frustration.

Had she gone through all this trouble for nothing?

After all that, she’d only caught a glimpse of Sophie.

She was now even more suspicious of the relationship between Sophie and Liam, but without seeing Liam in the room, she couldn’t confidently tell Diana that something was wrong.

Her phone began to ring.

It was Ryan.

Rose turned, about to answer, when she caught sight of someone standing a short distance away.

Her expression froze.

Diana.

Rose had no idea when she’d arrived or how long she’d been standing there.

But from where Diana stood, she’d had a clear view of Sophie opening the door.

“Diana...”

Rose’s heart sank. She hurried over and took Diana’s icy hand in hers.

Diana’s face was deathly pale. Her vision seemed blurred, as though she could no longer make out anything around her.

Tears streamed down her cheeks. The hand clutching her phone trembled violently, and her chest rose and fell as she struggled to catch her breath.

Rose felt as though someone had crushed her heart.

“Don’t panic. Liam might not even be in there. What if—”

“There’s no ’what if.’”

Tears slipped down Diana’s face, one after another.

She managed a bitter smile as she looked at Rose.

“Rose, he’s in there right now.”