As she walked toward the door, Selene called after her, rolling her eyes. "Now you know we still need some catching up to do".

She paused for a while. "And Amara I won't regret it"

Amara paused for a moment at the doorway, her back to them. "I hope so," she murmured softly, then stepped out without looking back.

Sora was about to hop after her when Selene tugged sharply on her pigtails.

"Ow! What was that for?!" Sora yelped.

"Where do you think you're going? Come help me with this."

"Huuu..." Sora let out a frustrated whimper, her shoulders slumping as Selene smirked knowingly.

Amara stepped out of the building, the cool breeze brushing against her skin as if trying to soothe the storm inside her. Her footsteps were slow and measured, but her mind raced.

I've spent my whole life stuck in this city, she thought bitterly. Enduring, clawing my way through, just to end up with nothing. And now... now I have to start over from scratch, don't I?

A sharp, humorless laugh escaped her lips. I might as well live my life a little, then.

She stopped in front of a glass wall, her reflection staring back at her. Amber eyes rimmed with exhaustion, hair falling messily over her shoulders, her face a mixture of resilience and weariness. She stared for a moment before the corner of her lips curved into a small, almost defiant smile.

Maybe I should cut my hair. Buy a few things for myself. If I'm starting fresh, I can't keep living like this, can I?

Her chest tightened at the thought of Sora and Selene-the only people she truly had. If they ever found out I tried to take my life last night... how would they feel?

Amara clenched her fists, drawing a deep breath to steady herself.

Her mind drifted, unbidden, to the man she had pulled from the sea-the stranger whose fate she'd changed. For a moment, his pale, unconscious face flashed before her eyes. She shook her head sharply.

Well... that's no longer my business. I did my best.

With that, she raised a hand and hailed a taxi, exhaustion weighing down her every movement. She wasn't ready for anything else tonight. Right now, all she wanted was to get back to the Hayes estate and collapse into sleep.

--

Somewhere in the heart of the city, within an extremely exclusive residential estate that only the most powerful families could afford to reside in, silence pressed heavily against the walls of a vast villa.

Inside a dimly lit room, a man reclined lazily in a chair. His long legs were crossed, one arm draped over the armrest, the other covering half of his face. Despite the relaxed posture, there was nothing casual about him. His skin was frighteningly pale, the kind that only accentuated the sharp, almost inhuman perfection of his features. His lips curved faintly, though not in amusement.

"How is the investigation going?" His voice was low and hoarse, yet it carried a weight that made the air itself feel suffocating.

None of the men standing before him dared to speak. They stood stiffly, backs drenched in cold sweat, as though the wrong word would seal their fate. No one even breathed too loudly

Only one man stepped forward-his assistant, Elias.

"Young Master," Elias said, his voice steady though sweat dampened his back, "we managed to deal with those who dared ambush you. But... we still cannot identify who leaked your location."

The man lowered his hand slightly, revealing eyes as sharp as obsidian. He spoke again, his tone flat. "And the woman? Have you found her?"

At the mention of the woman, Elias's composure faltered for the first time. Cold sweat trickled down his temple. "Sir, we... only recovered a wallet she left behind. But it appears to belong to a man. There was nothing inside except for a small amount of cash and-" he paused, bowing deeper, "-a hidden card. We are still investigating the seal on it."

The man's expression twisted into a faint, icy smile that sent chills down everyone's spine.

"Incompetent."

Just that single word had the temperature in the room dropping several degrees. The guards held their breath, hearts pounding. No one dared to move.

Suddenly, the man's body lurched forward as a violent fit of coughs wracked him. The pale shade of his face deepened, his thin lips stained faintly red.

"Young Master, you only just woke from a coma-you mustn't strain yourself!" The doctor at the side rushed forward, his tone urgent, worry evident in his eyes.

"Get out," the man ordered, his voice colder than winter ice.

Everyone in the room scrambled away in panic, heads bowed low, until only Elias and the doctor remained, hesitant.

The man slowly raised his head, his gaze sharp and merciless, like a blade. The pale light illuminated his features-strikingly handsome yet terrifying, like a demon king who had just clawed his way out of hell. His black hair fell across his forehead, shadowing his expression as his lips curved into a dangerous smirk.

"Do I need to repeat myself?"

The doctor and Elias bowed hastily, retreating with trembling steps until the room fell into silence again.

The young man leaned back once more, eyes half-lidded. His brows knitted together as he stared into the void, his thoughts drifting.

Who was that woman...?

Her face was nothing but a blur in his memory-hazy, slipping away each time he tried to recall it. Yet, the faint warmth of her touch still lingered against his skin. It gnawed at him, that one memory he couldn't grasp.

A woman who appeared out of nowhere, dragged him back from the gates of death... and disappeared without a trace.

His jaw clenched. No matter who she is... I will find her.

--

That night, Amara returned home exhausted. Without saying a word to anyone, she slipped into her small room-the only space she could truly call her own.

Collapsing onto the bed, she stared at the ceiling, her heart a tangled mess of emotions. Should she feel grateful that she was still standing after everything, or bitter that life had stripped her of everything she once had? She didn't know.

But one thing was certain-she would no longer cower in the shadows of her past. Whatever trials awaited, she would face them head-on.

Her eyelids grew heavy, yet her mind refused to settle, thoughts chasing her deep into the night. Somewhere between hope and sorrow, she drifted into sleep-unaware that fate had already set something far greater in motion for her.

Early the next morning, Amara returned to the studio. She didn't bother greeting her uncle or his family, who were gathered around the breakfast table pretending she didn't exist. She'd learned to return the favor - silence was easier than pretense.

The soft morning sun spilled through the studio's glass windows as she stepped inside. The familiar scene was oddly comforting. Sora and Selene were already there, sitting side by side in front of a laptop, their expressions unusually serious.

"Hey, guys. What's up?" Amara asked casually, tossing her bag onto the couch and bouncing onto it with a carefree grin.

Selene didn't smile. "Come take a look at this," she said, her tone low but firm.

Curious, Amara stood and walked over. Her eyes fixed on the screen - and within seconds, her playful expression vanished.

She stared in silence, as she turned to look at them. Selene gave a small nod. "We might need your help with this, Amara," she said seriously.

__

The atmosphere inside the studio had shifted - from serious to deceptively light.

Empty snack wrappers lay scattered across the table as the three women lounged around, munching without a care in the world.

"So, what's our next move?" Sora asked between bites, cheeks puffed as she chewed noisily.

Selene leaned back on the couch, her expression unreadable. "According to the information I managed to gather, the mayor is hosting a private gala at his residence tomorrow night," she began calmly, her voice cutting through the sound of crunching chips. "He'll be welcoming a big shot - someone important enough to have the entire security detail on edge."

Amara raised a brow. "A big shot, huh? And what's so special about this event?"

Selene's eyes flickered toward her laptop screen. "It's rumored there'll be an exchange that night - something classified. A prototype... a high-tech microdrive capable of wiping or rewriting digital records in seconds."

The room fell silent for a moment. Even Sora stopped chewing.

"Our mission," Selene continued, "is to obtain that microdrive and deliver it to the contact waiting near Raven's Bridge before sunrise."

"Sounds simple enough." Sora finally spoke again, swallowing. "Except for the part where we have zero intel. You're saying they didn't even leave you a trace?"

Amara crossed her legs, grabbing another snack. "Yeah, Selene, what's going on? You always have details, blueprints, routes, security layouts... something."

Selene's gaze darkened. "That's exactly the problem. The post went up on the dark web under a high-tier bounty tag, but every attempt to trace the source hit a dead end. It's almost like whoever posted it doesn't want anyone finding out who's behind it."

"That's not normal," Sora said, her tone losing its usual playfulness. "If even you can't dig anything up, this isn't just risky, it's suicidal. People don't back out of high-paying jobs unless there's a damn good reason."

Selene nodded slowly, her fingers drumming against the table. "It's been on the board for days now, but one by one, teams are withdrawing. Some vanished completely. No trace. No message. Just-gone."

The three of them exchanged looks, unease filling the air.

"The object?" Sora asked hesitantly.

"No," Amara said quietly, shaking her head. "It's not the object. It's the person. The big shot they're all afraid of."

Selene's eyes met hers, her gaze calm, calculating, and yet faintly troubled. "Exactly," she said softly. "And whoever he is... he's the reason this mission feels like walking straight into a trap."

"Sora", Selene called, "I need you to pull every security feed and activity log for the mayor's residence - everything from the past week, and anything within a one-hour radius of the place. Find us patterns".

"On it," Sora said, already sliding over to her customized laptop. She hooked into the software at the side and her fingers flew over the keys, the screen filling with grids of timestamps, camera IDs and movement trails.

Amara and Selene kept talking while Sora worked, voices low and serious.

"So how do we even get into the gala?" Amara asked.

Selene glanced up, eyes narrowed with a plan forming. "The gala's a masked event. Everyone will be in disguise - which makes things both harder and easier. Harder because of the crowd, easier because masks give us anonymity." She tapped the laptop as if it punctuated her point. "We need to know who we're facing before we move."

"First," she added, turning to Amara, "we go shopping. You need to look the part."

Amara blinked. "Me?"

Selene's mouth tilted. "Yes. You're going in. I can get us through - with the studio's connections and my aunt's influence. But we need to steal an identity for you. A believable one. Someone who can get past guest lists and security without a second glance."

Sora didn't look up, eyes flicking across feeds. "I've found three blind spots in the south perimeter cameras. If we time it right, we can sneak in through the service entrance." She smirked. "Also-there's a delivery route that's rarely checked. Good for a discrete exit."

Amara swallowed, feeling the pulse of adrenaline push at her ribs. "So we dress like guests, slip in through a service entrance, grab the microdrive, and disappear?"

Selene nodded once, calmly. "Exactly. We get the object and we move it to Raven's Bridge before dawn."

"Sora," Selene said, her tone sharp and focused, "other than the mayor's residence, can you track any big shots who've entered the country within the past week?"

Sora tilted her head, still tapping away at the keyboard. "Hmm... there are a bunch of them swooping in. Guess it's a major event after all." She began reading off names from the screen - a list of prominent families and business figures. "The Lin family, the Harts, the Veyrans... and-" she paused, eyes narrowing, "Blackwood Enterprise."

"Wait." Selene straightened in her seat. "Hold on right there."

Sora froze mid-scroll. "What, the Blackwoods?"

Selene's voice dropped, serious and sharp. "I have a feeling the person we're looking for might be tied to them."

Amara frowned, confusion flickering across her face. "The Blackwood Enterprise? What do they have to do with this?"

Selene leaned back, eyes darkening in thought. "That's what I want to find out."

Amara's voice trembled slightly. "My uncle... he's planning to sign a contract with one of their subsidiaries. Maybe that's why they're here."

Selene arched a brow, her tone laced with disdain. "You really think the Blackwood family would send someone personally to deal with your uncle's small-time business?"

Sora glanced up from the screen, curiosity lighting her expression. "Hold on, who exactly are the Blackwood family? You're talking like they're royalty."

Selene gave a humorless laugh. "Royalty? They might as well be. The Blackwoods run one of the most powerful conglomerates across Veyra and beyond - tech, arms, pharmaceuticals, even politics. They've got influence everywhere. If someone from their bloodline's involved..." she trailed off, her voice lowering, "...then this mission just became a lot more dangerous."

The air in the studio thickened, tension buzzing like static. Sora's fingers hovered uncertainly over the keyboard. "You're saying the big shot the mayor's welcoming could be a Blackwood?"

Selene's gaze was sharp, and calculating. "I'm saying-if it's them, we're walking straight into a lion's den."

Somewhere in another city in Liora, the air inside a grand study room was still and heavy. The curtains were drawn, leaving the space cloaked in dim shadows. On a long leather lounge near the window, a man lay languidly, one leg bent, an arm draped across his eyes, his entire presence radiating quiet dominance and restrained menace.

The silence was broken by a soft knock at the door.

Click.

A sliver of light slipped into the dark room as the door opened. The man on the lounge frowned at once, his brows creasing at the unwelcome brightness.

Elias stepped in carefully, closing the door behind him. He knew better than to provoke his master's temper. The young master's mood had been sour for days, his mind clearly disturbed by something. Ever since the sea incident, he had been restless. They had searched for the mysterious woman he spoke of, but every lead had ended in nothing. Some even believed he might have been imagining things, but they dare not voice it out.

"Young Master," Elias began cautiously, "we found where the seal on the card is connected to."

At that moment, he opened his eyes slightly. His gaze, dark as ink and equally cold, flickered with faint interest.

"Speak," he ordered.

"The wallet belongs to the mayor's stepson from the city of Ravenscout," Elias explained, his voice steady despite the tension in the air. "But we found no trace of how it could be linked to a woman."

Damien's frown deepened, his jaw tightening. Impossible. He remembered her, even in his half-conscious state, he could still hear that soft, trembling voice and the faint warmth of her hand, in his when he held her out of instinct. That was no hallucination.

"Find a way to get me there quietly," Damien said coldly, sitting up slowly "I want to confirm something myself."

Elias hesitated. "Young Master... I found a way. One of our tech subsidiaries under the Blackwood Enterprise has recently developed a high-tech drive - a prototype that's been attracting a lot of attention. It was sold at a private auction, and the mayor of Ravenscout happened to win the bid."

Damien's gaze sharpened. "Go on."

"The device is scheduled for delivery by the head of the subsidiary. The mayor plans to hold a gala to welcome him, partly to celebrate the contract, and partly to flaunt his connection with the Blackwood Enterprise," Elias said carefully.

Damien rose from the lounge in one fluid motion. He walked toward the window and pulled the curtain open. Sunlight spilled into the room, momentarily blinding him, but he didn't flinch. His pale skin glowed faintly under the light, his sharp features now illuminated, a breathtaking contrast of beauty and danger, like a fallen ancient monarch.

"I see..." he murmured, his lips curving slightly. "Inform the head of the tech facility that I will personally deliver the device. No one is to know of my identity - only that I'm representing the Blackwood Enterprise."

Elias bowed deeply. "Yes, Young Master."

Damien turned his gaze toward the skyline outside, his expression unreadable.

That woman...

He narrowed his eyes.

I'll find you.

--

Somewhere in Ravenscout, Amara, Selene, and Sora strolled through the bustling mall, their laughter echoing softly as they moved from one boutique to another. They were shopping for the gala happening the next day-though Sora wouldn't be attending, she insisted it wouldn't be fair to leave her out of the fun.

As they browsed through the racks, a particular gown caught their attention.

It was a red mermaid dress, its silk glimmering under the warm store lights. The design was elegant yet daring, the kind of dress that turned heads.

Selene's eyes widened. "Amara, you have to try that on. That shade of red will look perfect on your skin!"

Sora nodded eagerly. "Yeah, it's totally your color. You'll steal the entire show."

With a small smile, Amara took the dress and disappeared into the fitting room.

Just then, the atmosphere shifted.

Melissa and her little entourage strutted in like they owned the place, heels clicking, with their heavy perfumes in the air, and expressions dripping with superiority.

"Well, well, look who we have here," one of Melissa's lackeys sneered. "If it isn't Sora and Selene-the country bumpkins from high school who used to sleep their way to the top."

A ripple of laughter followed. Heads turned. Shoppers and sales clerks alike began whispering, their eyes filled with judgment.

"Hey, stop it, Clara," Melissa said sweetly, pretending to scold her friend. "You don't have to say things like that. I'm sure they... have their reasons."

Her fake concern only made things worse.

"Melissa, you're too nice," another girl chimed in. "These two acted like they owned the school back then. Karma's finally catching up, huh?"

Selene sighed, unimpressed. She exchanged a look with Sora, who yawned dramatically.

"Let's not lower our IQ over idiots," Sora muttered under her breath, turning her attention back to the fitting room.

Melissa's crew faltered, irritated that they were being ignored. But before they could say another word, the fitting room curtain slid open.

And the world seemed to pause.

Amara stepped out in the red gown, her golden hair falling loosely over her shoulders. The fabric hugged her curves perfectly, highlighting her graceful silhouette. The dress shimmered with each step she took.

The sales clerks froze.

Even the boys who came with their girlfriends couldn't stop staring.

Selene blinked in awe. "You look... stunning."

Sora let out a loud squeal. "Oh my God, Amara! You look like a goddess! No-scratch that-like vengeance wrapped in velvet!"

Amara smiled softly, spinning once. "So... should I get it?"

Selene turned to the sales assistant. "We'll take it."

The clerk practically beamed as she rushed off to prepare the packaging-no doubt thrilled by the hefty commission.

But before Amara could return to the fitting room, Melissa stepped in her way, voice sickly sweet.

"Amara," she said loudly enough for everyone to hear, "you don't have to do this for money. You're too beautiful to throw yourself away following them. If you ever need help, I can-"

Her words cut off when Amara's hand shot out, gripping her wrist tightly.

Amara leaned in, eyes cold as frost. "You'd better keep your little schemes to yourself, Melissa," she said quietly. "Marry the trash I decided to throw out and stay out of my way, before I ruin you."

Melissa gasped in pain as the pressure in Amara's grip increased, the faint sound of cracking making her eyes widen.

With a final shove, Amara released her, brushing past as if nothing had happened.

Sora and Selene calmly settled the payment. As they passed Melissa, who was now surrounded by her worried friends, nursing her wrist, while bad mouthing them. Melissa still tried to put up the front of a caring sister. Sora snorted.

"What a green tea bitch," she muttered coldly.

Selene gave a small smirk. "How pathetic."

And with that, they walked out together, their confidence leaving a trail that Melissa could never hope to match.