Her innocence, his inheritance

It was night, and the darkness was the perfect cover to mask her shadow. Bella Stone stood a few meters away from Arthur Lorenzo Mansion in her cheap but beautiful dress. It was a mansion that housed the biggest playboy in town. It was bubbling, and loud music could be heard.

Gaining entrance has been her greatest challenge because of the tight security put in place. She let out a sigh. She was at saturation point and was breaking down rapidly.

Her eyes were teary, but she wasn't going to let the tears drop. She has an important mission tonight, and if she were to make headway, she definitely can't have her make-up ruined.

The last time she was there at the gate, she was turned back because she wasn't on the guest list. She wasn't going to make a good name for herself twice. It has taken four weeks of intensive planning to finally think of something that might work and help her gain entrance to Arthur Lorenzo.

She watched with keen interest as different people drove expensive cars that she had only seen in the movies into the luxurious Lorenzo mansion. They were people of high class and top caliber. She wished she could tag along with them, even as a bag.

There was no way someone of her caliber would be able to fit somewhere or somehow into the caliber of people that were visiting. She had no money, a car, designer clothes, fancy shoes, or jewelry to flaunt. There was no way she could afford those luxury items, and if she could afford them, there was no way she would be standing right there.

Pretending to be what she was not was definitely going to get her exposed. She knows she lacks the grace and charisma the other ladies she had seen gain entrance earlier had.

Though Bella could be described as stunning, she was definitely not a fashionista. Her dress sense was poor, and she possessed all the characteristics of a tomboy. She would rather crash her sexy, beautiful body into baggy jeans and tops than wear clothes that accentuated her feminine figure.

Stretching the cheap gown she had found herself in, it was obvious she wasn't comfortable and needed to get out of it. The heels were not helping matters either; she regretted listening to Amira, who had suggested she wear a heel to complement her dress rather than putting on her comfy sneakers. It was almost like she couldn't breathe, and her feet were okay, but she was determined to pull through against all odds.

"Tonight is the night, Bella." She said she was talking to herself. "Let's endure it and do a great job."

Her eyes rolled around the mansion once again as she set out to execute her plans. Despite not being on the guest list, she must gain entrance and seek an audience with the owner of the mansion himself.

She was carefully biding her time to gain entrance because she knew if she carelessly approached the gate, she would be turned back for sure and embarrassed, of course.

In her four weeks of careful planning, she discovered that a group of waitresses arrives at the gate at exactly ten at night, when the party is at its full peak, wearing black nose masks to conceal their faces. Then the waitress walks in through the smaller gate.

She noticed that this was the daily pattern, day in and day out. She wondered why the bus drops this set of waitresses at the gate instead of taking them in. Nevertheless, she was determined to smuggle herself in with them to gain entrance. That was her only chance, and she was going to take it.

She was only twenty-four years old, but her life experience could be likened to that of a woman in her fifties. When she wants something, she goes for it.

She knew it wouldn't be easy to avoid the prying eyes of the bodyguards stationed at the gate, but she wasn't going to let them win this round.

Bella checked the time; it's a few minutes to ten. "It's almost time; they will be here soon," she said, trying to calm her nervous self. "You'll be fine, Bella; let's stick to the plan." She said she was rubbing her palms together to ease the tension that was gradually building up in her body.

She became worried when it was fifteen minutes past ten and the bus that was being used to convey the walking waitresses was nowhere in sight.

Did she miss something? She wasn't so sure. There was no way she would have missed it amongst the chain of vehicles that had made their prints known at the gate for that day.

"Am I missing something? Is it the waitress's off day? Were they sacked or something?" Different thoughts raced through her mind. "Not tonight; I prepared so hard for this. It took me a great deal of courage to make it down here." She felt tears gather around her eyes.

Bella was afraid for the first time since she made her way down to her hiding place. She was scared she could give up, and giving up would mean losing the only surviving and most important person in her life.

Beads of sweat started forming on her forehead. Her palms were not left behind; she could feel her hands trembling. Momentarily, she forgot she wasn't comfortable in what she was wearing; she forgot her foot ached badly.

Arthur Lorenzo may be a playboy, but he seems to be the only person she could reach out to for help and would be willing to come to her rescue, of course, not for free. She was more than willing to pay the price.

She made up her mind to approach the gate without any plan in mind. It was better for her to try and be turned down than for her not to try at all. The former seems to be a better option for her. She adjusted the gown and forced a not-so-good cat to walk, not minding the pains she was feeling.

She walked out of her hiding place and walked towards the mansion. Her exercise was put on hold by the flashes of light that came from the opposite direction. She quickly ran back to her hiding place.

"Easier said than done." She said to herself, "Why am I always getting fucked up when I'm about to execute my plans? She asked as she watched the vehicle that had flashed lights on her earlier. It was the bus she had been waiting for.

Her joy knew no bounds. "You're finally here." She almost said it aloud. Without further ado, she wore the black nose mask she had bought the previous day before carefully making her way to the back of the bus.

She waited for them to get them from the bus before joining the back queue. Just as usual, the girls were dressed in hot, short gowns of different colors and wore a black nose mask. It was dark, so joining them was easy. The bus moved, and the waitresses made their way into the smaller gate.

They were thoroughly scanned one after the other before they could gain entrance.

Bella was the last to be scanned. She was cleared, and she made her way into Arthur Lorenzo's mansion.

"I made it in." Bella was so proud of herself as she proceeded into the building. Viewing the mansion from the outside was not doing justice to the architectural beauty that was in front of her. She was awestruck by the magnificent buildings that she saw.

"How can someone who spends as lavishly as Arthur own such an estate?" She was puzzled.