Work Text:
Amanda has expensive taste. She was raised with an appreciation for the finer things in life and that has carried with her into adulthood. Unfortunately, adulthood means buying your own things and Devenmentiel’s salary can’t maintain the lifestyle she grew up with. So, without the parental cheque book paying for her every want; she steals.
It starts off simple enough. Smaller items are easily slipped up a sleeve, knocked into a pocket, or even pushed down a boot if you’re kneeling down. As her confidence builds and her list of wants grows larger, so too does the risk level. She needs to go bigger.
For bigger ideas, she needs a partner, and Ysaline is easily roped in. Some people will do anything for love, including but not limited to criminal acts. Ysaline distracts the salesperson with multiple questions and requests to see items from the back while Amanda uses the opportunity to make away with the goods.
But it’s not enough. Stealing constantly to get the things you need is risky; sooner or later they will be caught. What Amanda needs is to steal money or something so valuable that it’ll pay for her every desire. But she’s not stupid, she knows she can’t hold up a bank, she needs something with fewer obstacles.
After careful consideration and weighing the possibilities of security depots, cash in transit vans, jewellers, and even museums, Amanda comes to the realisation that the best heist is one where nobody would ever suspect you because you’re a victim too.
The Grand Prometheus Hotel is probably the finest hotel in all the country, dating back over 400 years and having played host to the sort of people who shaped politics and culture for the last few centuries. And in its commitment to preserving the hotel’s historic legacy, the current owners haven’t dared to drill through the vintage coving and cornices to install a little thing like security cameras.
Amanda has stayed and dined at the hotel many times over the years with her family, often enough to be on friendly terms with management. So, the general manager thinks nothing of a light chat over tea and cake in his office while Amanda enquires about organising her parents’ wedding anniversary in one of the function rooms. Knowing the family so well, he provides attentive customer service and he’s more than happy to dash out for more jam for Amanda’s scone when she asks.
When he heads out, she steals the master keys and swiftly hides them in the bottom of her bag and when he returns, she carries on the charade. The jam, much like victory, tastes sweet.
That’s where Ysaline comes into play. Ysaline, or Ruth as her fake, but legally valid ID says, has gotten a job as a maid in the hotel. It’s easy enough to get a new identity; you find a grave of a long-deceased person who’s about your age, get something in that name to your postal address and off you head to the local records department to get yourself a copy of that birth certificate you ‘lost.’
With her room keys and the master keys Amanda obtained, every safe is Ysaline’s to open. She visits only a select few suites, unlocks them with a metal key rather than a digital room key so her comings and goings can’t be logged, and empties the contents of the safes. Crucially, she empties Amanda’s safe too, leaving the impression of having robbed her of a valuable, sentimental, and heavily insured piece of jewellery. A second scam and the illusion of innocence all in one.
Downstairs, Amanda plays her part. Flitting around the ballroom, making conversation with every select guest come target, Amanda ensures that nobody returns to their room early.
With the jewels, watches, and other items of value hidden in a laundry bag, Ysaline pushes her cart through the halls without attracting any notice. In the laundry room, she grabs a rucksack hidden in one of the vents, swaps her uniform for the change of clothes inside and deposits the laundry bag into her rucksack. Then, after signing out of work as per usual, she heads home on the bus. If she ever comes under suspicion, would an investigator believe the thief left by bus rather than a getaway car?
That night, Amanda sleeps like a baby in her suite. Nobody has, as of yet, opened their safe and discovered the theft. Not being able to determine the time of the crime only expands the suspect pool, making it harder for anyone to suspect them.
Tomorrow, when someone raises the alarm, Amanda will discover her necklace gone. She will do all the right things like cry, report it to the police, and when enough time has elapsed, she’ll file an insurance claim.
Ysaline, as Ruth, will soon leave her job. She won’t quit immediately to avoid attracting attention, but the theft will mean a loss in guests and a lessened demand for housekeeping. And as the last in she’ll be the first out when cuts are made.
When the dust settles, Ysaline and Amanda will be somewhere tropical, sipping cocktails and getting massages by the pool while the police at home scratch their heads.