All characters except Lara Croft and Winston are created by me. This story is a stand-alone, has no real connection to any games or movies.

This is my first story, so please review if you find it interesting enough to be continued. I had no beta readers, so please bear with me if my english is not perfect (I am no native speaker). If anyone is interested in beta reading the sequels, please let me know.

Chapter 1

The mansion was perfused with light. On the long road leading up to the main entrance expensive cars were queuing, the drivers standing in small groups. London's high society gathered at the party today, just like many other nights. Always the same company, always the same faces. A lot of people were swirling in the ballroom, the ladies tried to surpass each other with their dresses, men were chatting with thick cigars in their mouths. The tables were filled with delicacies, there were hundreds of champagne glasses lined up. Waiters balanced their trays in the crowd, a string quartet played in the corner. Some people began to dance despite the fact that the evening had just started.

At one side of the room, a relatively away from the crowd a young woman was standing with a glass of champagne in her hand. She tried to avoid the few people she knew as she did not want to talk to anyone. She hated these events, but sometimes she was obliged to attend them with her social background. Despite coming from an old aristocratic family, she did not feel anything in common with these people. Having been attending the best English and Swiss schools she perfectly mastered the etiquette, yet she was totally condemned by the aimless lifestyle that most of these people were living. When others looked at her, they saw a beautiful young woman who was not really sociable. As very little was known about her, the few times she appeared on parties made her even more interesting in their eyes. Several men tried to approach her in the past, but she politely refused them all. If at one of these occasions a photo was taken of her with someone, a variety of rumours were released the next day in the gossip magazines. Aristocracy was a popular topic in London, everyone was happy to read about their private lives. A mysterious young woman was straight the cover story. She did not want to give them occasion to write about her. The less the public knew about her, the better. Therefore she did not accept many invitations and certainly did not come without any purpose that night.

As she was wondering what her the next step should be, she had the strange feeling that someone was watching her. Carefully she peered around but did not notice anyone, she only saw vividly chatting groups and dancing couples. Still she could not escape the feeling. Already early in the evening she began to feel uncomfortable, more and more annoyed by the wait. She became aware that a young man was approaching her, with obvious uncertainty on his face. Usually this was the reaction she evoked by the opposite sex, either they were too afraid to approach her, or the ones who did were mostly arrogant ones. At this moment she did not desire to be entertained. Inadvertently she sent such a glance towards the young man that made him stop and he went off to a different direction.

While the woman was somewhat annoyed by her own behaviour, someone else was very amused by it. The man was standing a bit away from her in a secluded area and had a good time watching her. He could not stand a smile watching the previous scene. For him this woman was the only remarkable thing about the party, at least until his time came. Exactly his sort of woman, tall, slim, with an emanation, which could not be overlooked. On the other hand there was a certain feeling of inaccessibility coming from her, and this combination made him very curious. Inside he had its own opinion about this company, he was not one of them. Despite the fact that she fit into the picture perfectly, something about her was different. It may not be such a boring night after all - he thought.

Then he saw the person who was the reason for him being at the party. Immediately he put aside his previous thoughts, only concentrating on his work. He liked to have fun, but the task came first. Being a professional, a woman could not divert his attention, even if she was as beautiful as her. If he had time, he would find her later, if he carried out what he came for.

The host of the evening passed in front of him through the crowd. Kindly welcomed the newcomers, exchanged a few words with close friends, but his face showed that something concerned him very much. He followed the elderly man with his eyes, who very deliberately proceeded in a certain direction. He stretched forth his hand and warmly welcomed someone, who to his biggest surprise was the object of his attention earlier. He drew closer wanting to hear what they were talking.

"Lady Croft. I'm so glad you came. I expected you very much."

"Lord Crestley. You have a very nice house, I have not been here for ages."

"Yes, we have not met since..."

"I know, but let's not talk about this now" - she broke the sentence in the middle. Suddenly sadness appeared on her face.

So he was right. The man was a bit disappointed, he hoped that this woman may be different than expected, but she seemed to be just one of the ladies who spent her time at parties. The following sentence, however, aroused his curiosity again.

"Your phone call was very mysterious. You have to tell me everything if you want my help."

"Come my dear, let's move a bit away from the crowd, I would not like others to hear what we are talking." – said the old gentleman, and ushered her towards the end of the room, where almost no one was standing. They stopped in front of the double glass door leading to the terrace. It had been increasingly difficult for the man to discreetly follow them, but any information could have changed everything.

"That is why I asked you here tonight. But I still cannot leave my guests alone. Would you stay till the end of the evening, then I can also show you what I was talking about." – continued the landlord.

"If you wish, then of course I will be waiting."

A slight disappointment was visible on the woman's face. This meant a further delay, maybe long hours she somehow had to spend. The old man returned to the hall, leaving her alone. The woman could not quite decide what to do next, she was lost in her thoughts. Her eyes were fixed on the floor in front of her when the feeling of being watched returned to her. I am getting paranoid - she thought. As she looked up, she realized that this time it was not her imagination playing with her. A man was leaning against the wall and stared at her openly. She had never seen him before, the black dinner jacket made him look very elegant. He looked straight into her eyes, and she found herself forgetting everything else for a moment. On the one hand she found him cheeky for feasting his eyes on her like that, on the other hand she was enjoying the attention of the attractive stranger.

Behind her she heard voices, a couple entered the room through the door from the terrace. Automatically she turned her head there to see who they were. When she looked back, he disappeared from her sight. Her eyes instinctively ran over the crowd, but he was nowhere to be seen. For a long time he was the first who goaded her curiosity.

Returning to the main hall, she tried to figure out how to spend the following hours. Some have attempted to talk to her, but after a few polite words she excused herself and went on. Aimlessly walking around she got from one end of the room to the other. Being lost in her thoughts she did not notice who was standing in front of her.

"My dear, I'm glad to see you. We rarely have the opportunity to chat a bit."

She looked up, and forcing a friendly smile on her face she accepted the greeting. Within she cursed herself of being so careless.

"Lady Paddington. I did not know you were here. What a surprise." This at least was true. The encounter with the old lady was the worst possible thing that could have happened. Everyone knew that it was almost impossible to get rid of her again. It was hard to conceal anything from her, she knew everything. If she could not find things out, she used her very vivid fantasy. Gossip magazines were bloody amateurs in comparison to her.

"You could really honour us with your presence a little bit more often, we hardly get to see you. At such a young age you should not entrench yourself so much. Tell me something."

"There's nothing to tell you, Lady Paddington. There is not much happening on the estate, I assure you. "

"I saw you the other day in the newspaper with a very handsome young man. Confide me in!"- inquired the old lady.

Here we are, always the same topic - the woman thought. Lady Paddington was always trying to couple everyone, or gossip about things she had no idea about.

"Believe me, I see no one." She did not really understand why she was explaining herself. In fact, she did not care what people were thinking about her till it was only about men. She knew it very well what kind of stories were circulating about her. Nobody could imagine that she lived alone, she was coupled with anybody people ever had seen her with. Her denials actually reached the opposite effect, no one believed her.

"Come, walk with me." - Lady Paddington took her arm, and they set off. Almost for an hour she could not get away from her, meanwhile she introduced her to at least thirty people, among them ten young men. When she could endure no more, she suddenly pretended to have noticed a friend in the crowd and apologized. Why did this not occur to me before? – she blamed herself while trying to get the furthest away from the old lady.

She decided that she had enough of the prying questions and superficial conversations. She took a glass of white wine, and walked towards the terrace. It was a warm summer evening, she was sure spending the rest of the time outside would be nicer. She stepped out into the fresh air. The terrace must have had a nice view, but she could not see much in the darkness anymore. Walking to the banister she put down the glass. Leaving the people behind was almost a relief, she took a deep breath.

The woman was still standing on the terrace and watched the shadows of the night out in the distance. Not wanting to interfere, the man decided not to approach her yet. He was standing in the doorway and just watched her for a while. Her body had a perfect shape, the fine material of the dress nicely outlined her curves, as his eyes scanned her. Her long brown hair caressed her back as the evening breeze softly blew in it sometimes. She was wearing a light yellow evening dress with thin straps, which was unusual. Women usually liked to choose black dresses for such formal occasions, but it fit her well. It made a nice contrast to the colour of her skin. Probably some expensive vacation - he thought. He was wondering what Lord Crestley wanted from the woman. How did a lady come in the picture? What did she have to do with all this? It seemed Lady Croft still had not have really much information if he understood the earlier conversation well. If it depended on him, it would remain so. It was more and more confident that he should not have got closer to the woman but he could not resist. Already having been completed his job he could have afforded a little fun.

"No one told you that staring somebody out of countenance is very impolite?" – she asked suddenly without even turning around.

"I am only enjoying the view. Every human being is attracted to beauty" - answered the man with obvious pleasure in his voice.

A small smile passed over her lips. Oh god, this is the worst pick-up line I have ever heard - she thought. She heard the steps when the man came closer, felt him standing right behind her.

"Simon Hanningham, at your service." The woman faced him and looked into his eyes.

"Lara Croft." – she returned the introduction. "What can I do for you that you are following me the whole night?"

"You do not use your title as I can see." – he avoided the answer.

"And what conclusion are you getting from this?"

"That maybe I had the wrong impression on you back in there.' – said Simon smiling at her.

Meanwhile he was standing dangerously closer to her, just inches separating them from each other. Lara could not understand why she let this happen at all. He emitted power, had that maddeningly confident smile on his face that she could not decide whether she found it charming or very irritating. Simon enjoyed the proximity of the woman, she looked absolutely stunning, self-confident and strong. She was standing only inches away from him and still seemed so unreachable. But he loved challenges. None of them wanted to break the gaze meaning to lose the first battle between them. They both did not know why but they felt that this was not the last time they would cross each other's ways. Suddenly, however, a loud shot broke the silence of the night. They both raised their heads toward the sound. Not far from them they glimpsed Lord Crestley on a balcony. His back was to them, so they did not see what was happening. But a moment later the old gentleman slowly sank to the floor, and behind him the murderer's face looked back at them.