Masquerade: What Happened To Edna Lane

Chapter 1: Murder at Mystery Manor

Paige stepped out of the car. With the amount of commotion inside the mansion, she could tell that they started the party without her.
Wearing stilettos, she made her way up the steps of the manor and was greeted by a man, most likely Edna's servant, in a well maintained suit and a pair of white gloves. He had a short mustache, and his hair was combed very neatly to the back.
"Invitation?" He asked Paige and he held out his hand.
"I don't need one." Paige said as she continued to walk through the doors. Yet, the servant still didn't seem to mind, he still recognised her as one of Edna's friends.
The ballroom was full of people dressed in long gowns and tuxedos. On the ceiling was a large glass chandelier that lighted the entire ballroom.
Paige did not like crowded places. She did not even know why on earth Edna had to invite so many people to her 30th birthday party.
"Paige, my dear why are you late? The party started two hours ago!" Edna exclaimed as she rushed forth to welcome her old friend.
She was wearing a white gown with lacing and she wore diamond jewellery. Her soft hair was brown and was let down.
"Don't you think this is a lot of people?" Paige asked.
"Who cares! I invited my entire company and-"
"I bet you don't even know half of the people you invited."
Edna paused for a moment before she continued to speak.
"Well, I...I...I like your dress!" Edna complimented.
"Thanks, but still-"
"Would you like something to drink as well? I could get something for you." Edna said as she signalled one of her butlers to fetch a drink for Paige.
The butler arrived shortly with two glasses of champagne. Edna and paige both took a glass.
"Cheers."
"Cheers."
The two both took a sip of the champagne before Paige remembered something she had to do.
"Oh right!" Paige exclaimed as she took out a small box from her purse.
"Happy birthday." Paige said as she handed the box to Edna.
"Thanks!" Edna replied with a gracious smile as she took the present and held it in her other hand.
A butler came up to Edna and whispered something into her ear. Edna's smile faded and her face became more serious.
"I'm going to let you enjoy the rest of my party on your own. I have some important matters to attend to." Edna said as she followed the butler into a room.
Paige had a instinct to follow anyone who had important matters to attend to so she walked behind Edna, just in case.
They came to the dining room where the butler left Edna alone. From there, Paige placed her glass of champagne aside as she hid behind a wall and tried to listen to everything that was happening there.
She heard Edna talking to two people, both male.
"Oh its you two." Edna said
"I need to talk to you about something." Said the male person.
"What?"
"You still owe me something." Said the other male person.
"You think I'll ever pay you? All the work you ever give me is shit!"
"You can tell I tried didn't you? I deserve some credit!"
"Why? That assignment was due months ago!"
"Hey! Joe deserves some pay! He's been working his ass off ever since the start of this job, and you don't even pay him enough salary!"
"All you care about is yourself!"
"You two dare talk to me like that? I'm going to fire you two and you two better not show your faces tomorrow at work! This conversation is over!"
And just like that, Edna stormed off.
Paige hid behind another wall so Edna could not see her spying on their conversation. She wished that she could do something there but she did not want to lose her friend's trust in her.
But Paige felt the heated arguement wasn't going to end there. She continued to follow her to an empty hallway where Edna opened her present. Inside was a gold watch that had diamond decoration.
"What are you doing?"
Paige turned around to find a man that was dressed in a black suit with a red tie. His hair was red and combed aside and he had a tough build.
"I'm watching over my friend, making sure she's okay." Paige responded quietly to avoid attracting any unwanted attention, "Are you one of her colleagues?"
"Yes, my name is Bryan, Bryan White And you are..."
"Paige Madison. Private investigator."
"I see..."
Edna heard footsteps behind her. She turned around and saw a man wielding a dagger. She dropped her champagne glass as it crashed onto the floor. Glass were flying flying across the hallway.
Paige turned around upon hearing the noise. This did not sound good.
But when she reached where Edna was, the dagger was already in her throat.