After having lunch, Tristan and Jacob stayed in Belle’s company a little longer. “Did you find out who donated my necklace under your name?” Belle asked Tristan before sipping from her cup of coffee.
Tristan shook his head, “You can ask Jacob here, he talked to the organizer,” gesturing to his assistant to take the floor.
“What happened?” Belle asked before Jacob could speak.
The man cleared his throat, “It was indeed a setup, but we didn’t get to know who the donor was. I talked to the organizer just this morning. I was told that they received an anonymous call that an item would be donated but it must be under Tristan’s name. The necklace was delivered to the venue just an hour after they received the call. The person who instructed them also told them that it was meant as a surprise, but they have no idea for whom,” Jacob narrated.
Belle nodded her head slowly, still wondering who was the culprit. When he talked to Lawrence to inform him that she had gotten the necklace back, her father told her that she was wearing it when she got shot and fell to the sea.
Thinking about it, Belle concluded that it was either of her parents, Lydia or Raymond, who hid the necklace. However, they kept it in their home, thinking it was safe there.
But then, they got robbed. The Roberts’ residence in Dale was ransacked. Something popped into Belle’s head, but she chose to set it aside for the moment.
When the clock struck three in the afternoon, Tristan and Jacob bade Belle and Nathalie farewell. Both women even escorted them out of the building to their car, waving at them as they drove off.
When they went back in, Belle stopped Nathalie from going to her desk. She invited her into her office instead.
“What’s wrong?” her friend asked, concerned.
Belle sat on her chair, hands clasped on top of the table, and she sighed. “Do you think we can ask the hospital I was confined in for a copy of their CCTV? I want to see who the man was looking for me,” she told her friend.
She just recalled that when they left the hotel the next day, she received an important call. It was from one of the nurses in Dale Hospital, who happened to be their high school classmate.
Belle was informed that the night before she was released, a group of hooligans came to the hospital looking for her. They even caused trouble when they were told that she had already left.
Eyebrows furrowed, Nathalie sat on the chair right in front of Belle’s table, “Why? Did anything happen?”
“I think the men who were looking for me at the hospital were the same men who ransacked our house. They were the ones who got the necklace. Not sure if they donated it, but I’m sure that whoever it is they were working for did that.”
Nathalie nodded slowly, processing the information Belle passed to her. “I’ll try calling Mandy, maybe she can help us,” referring to their nurse friend.
When Belle nodded, Nathalie stepped out of the office. Belle, on the other hand, continued working on her presentation, to take her mind off of the things that bothered her at the same time.
After three hours, Nathalie went back to Belle’s office. “Girl, check your email,” she told her as she walked toward her friend’s table.
Belle quickly checked her email and there she got a copy of the hospital’s CCTV recording. With Nathalie on her back, she played the video that was sent to her.
In the said video, they can clearly see the face of the man who approached the nurses’ station. He looked agitated while talking to one of the nurses on duty.
Belle looked closely at her monitor before opening another email. It was the one that contains the video sent to her by Raymond.
She tried comparing both men but they were not the same. Watching the videos again, Belle and Nathalie were able to identify one man who appeared on both recordings.
In the video sent to her by her father, the man can be seen wearing a leather jacket over a white shirt. In the video from the hospital, the guy wasn’t wearing a jacket.
However, no matter how they look at it, they can confirm that it was the same man. He looked way different from the rest of the men in his group.
The man in question has curly hair, a thin mustache, and a deep scar under his right eye. He looked like he was the leader of the gang.
“Now the question is, who is he working for?” Nathalie spoke, breaking the silence between them.
Belle leaned on the backrest of her chair, propping a hand under her chin. “Could it be Esme? Vernice? Joyce?” enumerating the women who abhor her.
“Do you think he’s the same man who kidnapped you?”
Belle let out a sigh, “I’m not quite sure, but it seems like their build is different. The man who kidnapped me looks taller than this guy,” pointing at the man on the screen.
“We can check with Jacob. If I remember correctly, they have a copy of the CCTV recording from Eden,” Nathalie informed her.
When Belle nodded, Nathalie quickly dialed her phone to ask Jacob for the recording. “We do, but it’s on Tristan’s system. I can send it to you or you can come over to watch it,” Jacob suggested.
“We’ll come over!” Nathalie replied, not asking for Belle’s opinion. She even averted her gaze and bit her lower lip when she saw Belle looking at her.
“What was that?” Belle asked curiously.
Nathalie slipped her phone into her pocket. “Let’s go, we’re going to De Clarion,” she told her before heading out of her friend’s office.
Belle could only shake her head. Nathalie had already decided for them, she couldn’t do anything about it, so she just quickly gathered her stuff and prepared to leave.
“Do you have a copy of the CCTVs from the Roberts residence and the hospital?” Tristan asked while clicking on his security system.
Belle nodded at him though he wasn’t looking. Jacob arranged two chairs in front of the security monitors for Belle and Nathalie to sit.
After a few minutes, the recording from Eden was displayed on the monitor. Belle shook her head, “They are different people,” she muttered.
“Are you sure? Let’s see your recordings,” and Belle was quick to pass her phone to him. Jacob then connected it to the blank monitor for them to watch.
“Different men indeed,” Tristan commented.
“But to whom do these ruffians belong?” Jacob asked no one in particular.
“I was thinking they were Esme’s men, but I’m not sure if she does have connections in Dale, seeing as one of them works there,” Belle stated.
All four people continued the discussion regarding the men who had been causing trouble for them. However, they were interrupted when the TV displayed a news flash.
As per the news, a fire broke out in a residential area in Bree and it’s quickly spreading. Nathalie stood up rashly, toppling the chair she was sitting on.
“That’s our neighborhood!”