"Ugh" Annabelle groaned with the effort as she pushed the heavy man off her niece.

Izzy took a deep, long breath as soon the guard was pushed to the side. The man weighed a ton; she thought she was going to die.

" Bless your heart " Anabelle pitied Izzy and gave her a hand,helping her rise to her feet.

"Thank you " Izzy blurted out and when she had realized what she said, added immediately;

" I don't really mean that, so don't let it get into your head. "

Anabelle hid her face away and smiled, though Isabella pretends to be cold, tough and aloof, but she believes she is one big softy at heart.

Sensing the awkward moment, Izzy cleared her throat and asked " By the way, how and where did you get that powder? "

Anabelle waved at her face " Hello? Have you forgotten my father runs an entertainment agency? you would be shocked to see the things in his possession. So I quietly sneaked out the item that fit my plan " she explained with a triumphant glee.

Truth be told, Izzy was totally impressed but she didn't let it show on her face .

So her cousin had a bit of a brain after all, but then her countenance changed suddenly .

If Anabelle continued in this way, she might become a formidable opponent in the future.

Isabella wasn't stupid, even if her cousin doesn't want the position, she had no say in the matter.

She had seen the look on Eden's face, he would do anything and everything to put her daughter there. And because Anabelle loved her father so much,she would have no choice than to abide by her father's wishes.

Besides greed was a very good motivator, by the time her dear cousin grows up a bit more, who's to say she won't strive for her position?

"I need to go, the other guards should have been notified already" Izzy surmised and grabbed her backpack from the bed, filled to the brim with unknown items.

She glanced up at Annabelle " How do I get out of here?"

"My chauffeur is out there, so all you have to do is make it past the entrance " She pointed out and sat down on Izzy's bouncy bed.

Izzy asked in disbelief " That is all? "

Anabelle shrugged " I've done enough damage for tonight, and it's quite obvious that my dad would skin me alive once he gets news of this adventure ."

Izzy mocked her " Whatever, daddy's girl "

Then she turned to walk out of the room but Annabelle's words stopped her in her tracks,

"Be sure not to get caught, I can't have all my painful efforts go to waste "

Izzy darted a haughty glance her way "Don't worry " she began " I've got brains and balls unlike you "

Done,she sprint down the stairs while Anabelle released an unbelievable scoff.

Walking into Niklaus mansion was easy but leaving was like escaping a prison yard with no backup plan.

There were security cameras here and there and patrols at different time intervals, security was insanely tight.

Thankfully because of the gala tonight , the number of security placed at the house reduced drastically. But that didn't mean, the house was penetrable.

As much as Izzy was smart and confident, sweat still broke across her forehead as she hides behind a wall each time a guard passes her by without noticing her .

She knew the interior and exterior of the mansion like the back of the hand, knew the number of cameras available, their positions, and therefore manipulated their blindspots to her benefit.

Thankfully her clothes were dark which camouflaged with the darkness of the night once she made it outside.

She observed the patrols and per her knowledge carefully worked her way to Annabelle's car packed at a corner of the long, tree-lined drive.

She tapped on the front side window twice and it slide down exposing Lionel, Annabelle's chauffeur

" Get in " he ordered her with a stoic expression on his face.

Isabella didn't care anyway, she didn't need to be told but it was obvious the man didn't support Annabelle's actions tonight .

Once she slid into the seat, she told him " I need to change " and he wordlessly pulled up the car partition.

Grabbing the clothes from her backpack, Izzy changed out of her casual wear and donned a simple beaded champagne V-neck dress.

She pulled her hair into a tight yet high ponytail and applied nothing but powder on her face.

Once they arrived, Izzy didn't go through the red-carpet entrance as expected, but thought of sneaking in through the backdoor accessible to staff only the moment Lionel dropped her.

Yes she was smart but so was that man called Niklaus. He might not know how but he surely knew she would attend that gala if she wanted to, and so must have stationed guards at the entrance as a backup plan incase she did escape the ones at home.

They would definitely capture and take her home the moment they lay their sight on her.

Her eyes narrowed into slits the moment she discovered there were security doing checks at the entrance.

Heck, why can't things be easy for once. For five minutes, Izzy couldn't come up with a good plan but she still refused to give up.

She sighed and rubbed her forehead before her eyes caught a van offloading vegetables probably meant for the kitchen.

A smile graced her lips and she quickly joined the small queue amid the intense stares from the people - her dress and height definitely didn't match the occasion.

When it came to her turn, the offloader paused and gave her a quizzical look.

Izzy scratched her head shyly, boomed a sheepish grin and said in her most childlike voice ever "Ahh, I'm here with my mom, I'm helping her out in the kitchen "

The man stared at her with a doubtful look but Izzy turned, waved and smiled at a woman standing a few metres away from them and the strange woman waved back too with a smile .

Though there was still a hint of doubt on his face but after that little scene, it was not as vivid as earlier.

He simply cleared his throat before giving her a smaller load to carry inside and she thanked him in her tiny fake voice.

Once out of earshot, she gagged and cringed inwardly. Isabella couldn't believe she just imitated her cousin Annabelle - how disgusting!

To be truthful, she had taken a gamble but it seems the universe was on her side after all.

Still debating on how to convince the offloader, she had turned and that moment her eyes connected with that woman.

Izzy decided to wave at her and she surprisingly waved back - albeit confusedly - but the man was in a hurry, so he didn't take time to notice the difference.

Izzy walked towards the entrance confidently though her heart was in her mouth. Her head was not lowered but she didn't dare to look the security in the eyes and almost stepped into the hallway that would lead the journey to the ballroom when she was stopped.

"Stop! " she heard one of them order and she froze.

"Turn around " came the second order.

Fist clenched and eyes burning, Izzy cursed that man called Niklaus in her heart over and over - he was really out to get her tonight.

But just as she decided to turn around, someone draped an arm on her shoulder, stopping her and spoke to them in a resolute manner ,

"She's with me ""