Chapter 45 Scumbag, Have a Pleasant Evening

After Alice and the gang got back to the hotel, the manager handed each of them a gift box. "Here's your outfit and mask for the masquerade ball, courtesy of the hotel. The ball kicks off in the banquet hall on the first floor in half an hour. Enjoy your evening."

As soon as the manager finished talking, Esme dragged Alice back to their room, eager to open their boxes.

Esme's outfit was a white, form-fitting evening gown, and the mask was a white feathered eye mask—pretty standard stuff.

Alice's dress, on the other hand, was super seductive. A red deep V-neck slip dress with a plunging back down to the waist, and a red lace eye mask—totally sexy.

Esme scoffed, "What the hell?"

Alice raised an eyebrow. "This masquerade ball is organized by Oliver."

"Is that jerk Oliver plotting something against you? Alice, you can't go."

Alice picked up the skimpy dress and chuckled, "How can the show go on if I don't?"

Half an hour later, Alice and Esme walked into the banquet hall hand in hand.

Inside, the luxurious crystal chandeliers cast a dim light, creating a mysterious vibe.

Everyone was dressed up and wearing masks. If they didn't know someone well, it was hard to tell them apart.

Alice and Esme headed to the dessert area and grabbed some decent-looking treats.

Esme took a bite and complained, "Not as good as yours."

Alice smiled lightly while scanning the room for Henry but didn't see him.

She pulled out her phone and sent Henry a message on Facebook: [Uncle Henry, are you here yet?]

After waiting a bit, there was no reply.

She didn't mind, figuring he might not be ready yet.

Just then, a waiter came over with a tray of red wine. "Ladies, would you like a glass of red wine?"

Alice smiled, "Sure."

Esme declined.

The waiter handed Alice a glass. "Enjoy your evening."

"Thanks." Alice gently swirled the wine glass and downed it in one go.

Esme glanced at her, "This is kinda exciting."

"Tomorrow morning will probably be even more exciting." Alice shot a glance at Oliver, who was standing in the corner with a smug smile on his face.

Soon, a man approached Alice. "May I have this dance, beautiful lady?"

"Sure." Alice handed her clutch to Esme and let the man lead her to the dance floor, where they danced gracefully.

After a bit, Alice seemed uncomfortable and rested her forehead on the man's shoulder.

"Not feeling well?"

"Yeah."

"Want me to help you to a guest room upstairs to rest?"

"Okay."

Alice let the man help her into the elevator. Just as the doors were about to close, a large hand blocked them.

Oliver walked in. "Thanks, but this is my fiancée. I'll take it from here."

The man shrugged. "She wasn't feeling well, so I thought I'd help her to a guest room to rest. Since you're her fiancé, I'll leave her to you."

Oliver replaced the man and stood next to Alice, his hand on her waist.

He couldn't help but marvel at how slender Alice's waist was.

A dark glint flashed in Alice's eyes; she wished she could chop off Oliver's hand.

The elevator stopped on the seventh floor, and the doors opened.

Oliver thanked the man and helped Alice out.

A hint of amusement appeared in the man's eyes, as the black earring in his left ear glistened. For some reason, Oliver felt like he was on fire. He asked, "Alice, are you feeling unwell?"

"Yeah, not feeling great."

"I'm not either, but we'll both feel better soon." Oliver helped her stop in front of room 707 and swiped the card to enter.

"Come on, Alice." Just as Oliver finished his words, he cried out in pain.

Seeing Oliver on the ground, Alice stomped on his hand. "Scumbag, have a pleasant evening!"

With that, she opened the door and saw the man with the black earring standing at the entrance.

He gave a smile. "I'm quite satisfied with this prey."

Alice raised an eyebrow. "Have a pleasant evening. You know what to say in the morning, right?"

"Of course." The man walked into the room and shut the door.

Alice stared at the door, her eyes cold.

Earlier, when she returned to the hotel to change her dress, she found Clara talking to a man. Alice hid and overheard their conversation.

It turned out that Clara wanted to drug Alice with an aphrodisiac and have the man assault her, and the man readily agreed.

Clara left confidently, but she didn't know that the man had sent a suggestive Facebook message to another man.

Alice instantly realized the man was bisexual. She approached him for a negotiation, leading to the current situation.

From inside the room came sounds of intense passion, and Alice withdrew her gaze. She lifted her long dress and quickly walked into the elevator to return to the banquet hall, where Esme was waiting at the entrance.

Seeing Alice come back, Esme said, "All settled?"

Alice nodded.

Esme felt very pleased. "Clara, that bitch is so shameless, and she'll get her comeuppance sooner or later! I can't wait to see Oliver's face tomorrow morning and the dogfight between him and Clara."

Alice responded absentmindedly. She took out her phone and checked Henry's Facebook messages, but Henry hadn't replied yet.

It had been half an hour since the message was sent. Alice felt a vague unease inwardly. "Esme, I'm going to find Uncle Henry. Don't stay out too late, and stay safe."

Esme nodded. "Okay, call me if anything happens."

Alice returned to the ninth floor and went to Henry's room. Standing in front of the door, she could hear Clara's voice inside.

"Uncle Henry, open the door and let me take care of you. I really like you! I know you're in pain right now. Just open the door, and I'll make you feel so good. Uncle Henry, let me help you!"

Alice gritted her teeth, realizing Clara had not only plotted against her but also against Henry.

She had truly underestimated Clara.

Alice immediately took out her phone to access the hotel's security system and hacked into room 908's lock.

She pushed the door open, immediately greeted by Clara's lascivious moans and the sound of pounding on the door.

Her nose twitched, detecting a strange scent in the air.

Rounding the corner, Clara noticed someone out of the corner of her eye. Before she could see clearly, she felt a pain in her neck and collapsed to the ground.

Alice looked at Clara on the ground, her eyes filled with disdain. She bent down and grabbed Clara's hair to drag her out. She threw Clara into the elevator and even kicked her a few times.

Returning to the room, Alice locked the security chain and followed the scent to its source. In the corner of the wall was a small incense burner the size of a ping-pong ball.

This incense was called "Aphrodisiac Incense," with a faint scent but astonishing effects.