The girls returned to the studio to finalize their plans, gathering and checking every piece of equipment they would need for the mission. As usual, whenever they worked on a major operation together, they decided to spend the night at the studio - their unofficial headquarters and safe space.

By the next day, the atmosphere was charged with anticipation. The gala was set for that evening, and every detail had to go perfectly. Amara disguised herself as one of the workers at the mayor's residence, slipping in quietly to observe and assess the environment from within.

Meanwhile, Sora was at her station, fingers flying across the keyboard as lines of code streamed down her screens. Selene, the strategist of the group, stayed on comms, coordinating their movements through the earpieces linked between them.

Everything was falling into place. The mission had begun.

--

It was finally the night of the gala. The mayor's residence gleamed like a palace under the golden evening lights, music drifting softly from within as luxury cars pulled up one after another.

Selene and Amara were dressed elegantly for the event - Selene in a sleek midnight-blue gown that shimmered subtly under the light, while Amara's red mermaid dress hugged her curves perfectly. Selene had managed to secure an official invitation for herself thanks to her family connections, but Amara... not so lucky.

That left them with one option.

Outside the venue, Amara scanned the line of guests until her eyes landed on a young woman dressed in an elegant black gown and lace mask, clutching her invitation card proudly. Perfect.

Amara approached with a sweet smile. "Oh my God, your dress is stunning!" she gushed dramatically, stepping closer. "Where did you get it?"

The woman blinked in surprise but smiled back, clearly pleased. "Oh, it's custom-"

Before she could finish, Amara pretended to trip on her own heels and grabbed the woman's arm for balance. "Ah! I'm so sorry-your perfume's so strong, it's making me dizzy," she said in mock distress.

The woman, flustered, waved her hands. "No, no, it's fine-wait, are you okay-"

That was when Amara discreetly pressed a small device against her neck. The woman blinked twice, slumped to the side, and Amara caught her effortlessly before anyone noticed.

Moments later, Amara emerged from behind a decorative hedge wearing the woman's elegant black mask and holding her invitation card. Her red lips curled into a sly smile as she adjusted her hair and smoothed her gown.

She handed the card to the security at the gate, who scanned it and let her through without question.

"Phase one accomplished," she whispered through the earpiece with a confident smirk, her voice calm and teasing.

Across the grand hall, Selene caught sight of her. Amara gave her a subtle nod, her expression unreadable beneath the mask - the game had officially begun.

The gala began in full swing.

Music drifted through the grand hall, a graceful waltz mingling with laughter, clinking glasses, and the low murmur of conversations. The mayor's mansion gleamed with gold accents and crystal chandeliers, every corner filled with the city's wealthiest elites flaunting smiles and status.

Amara and Selene moved carefully among them, each keeping their composure behind elegant masks. To anyone watching, they were just two more beautiful guests.

The mayor eventually took the stage, raising his glass for attention.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he began proudly, "tonight marks a new era for Ravenscout. We have acquired a revolutionary device that could change the future of technology itself. And this evening, it will be officially delivered by our distinguished guest from the Blackwood Enterprise."

The moment that name was mentioned, the crowd stirred. Murmurs broke out, the air thick with curiosity and awe.

Those who didn't know whispered, Who are the Blackwoods?

Those who did... fell silent.

The grand doors opened.

A small entourage entered, men in black suits, their steps synchronized, with unreadable expressions behind dark glasses. But it was the man in the center who made the entire room still.

Tall. Composed. His presence heavy, and commanding.

Even behind his elegant mask, his aura was impossible to miss - cold, lethal, and unmistakably powerful. People instinctively cleared a path.

The mayor rushed forward, his smile almost trembling with excitement.

"Welcome, welcome! It's an honor to meet the head of the Blackwood subsidiary!"

Elias, walking just a step behind the tall man, spoke smoothly, "Correction, we're not from the subsidiary. We represent Blackwood directly."

The mayor froze for a heartbeat before his face split into a shocked grin.

"Directly... from Blackwood?" He nearly bowed. "This is-this is a great honor! Please, this way!"

He guided them toward a private section, keeping up a stream of praise and small talk, though it was clear the tall man barely listened. He exuded quiet dominance, the kind that made people afraid to speak too loudly around him.

The presentation went on, ending with the mayor receiving the prized high-tech device amid applause and camera flashes. But as Selene and Amara observed from the sidelines, both exchanged a knowing glance.

That wasn't the real device.

Years of experience told them that the one presented on stage was a decoy, the real transfer would happen later, away from the public eye.

As guests began preparing for the exclusive dinner event, Selene frowned, checking the details again.

"Damn," she muttered under her breath. "My invite doesn't include the private dinner. But I think the one you took... does."

Amara's lips twitched. "Guess I'm going solo."

Selene's voice came through the hidden mic in her ear, soft but serious.

"Be careful. That man - something about his aura feels wrong. I think the real exchange will happen after dinner. Stay sharp, Amara. I'm counting on you."

"Copy that," Amara murmured, swirling her wine glass calmly even as adrenaline coursed through her veins.

Across town, in their studio, Sora's fingers flew across her keyboard, her high-tech glasses reflecting the live feed from the event. "All systems stable. I'm seeing through your angle clearly, Amara. Don't mess this up - you're too pretty to die."

Amara smirked faintly, whispering, "Not planning to."

She sat elegantly among the other guests, her eyes darting subtly toward the man who now had everyone's attention without even trying.

He sat like a king among mortals, bored yet powerful, a faint shadow of amusement in his cold eyes as if the entire world was beneath him.

Amara studied him discreetly, analyzing every movement, and every interaction. If the device isn't with the mayor... it's probably with him.

But perhaps she stared too long.

Because suddenly, Damien's dark eyes lifted - straight at her.

His gaze met hers across the hall, sharp and piercing like a blade. The air in her chest caught; she choked slightly on her wine and turned away quickly, cheeks burning beneath her mask.

Sora's teasing voice came through the mic.

"Oh no... target spotted you, didn't he?"

Amara exhaled shakily. "Shut up."

Amara quietly slipped away from the crowd, her heart still pounding from that intense eye contact. She pushed open the door to the restroom and locked it behind her, letting out a shaky breath.

Removing her mask, she leaned over the sink and splashed cold water on her face. Droplets slid down her pale skin as she stared at her reflection in the mirror - her expression calm, but her eyes sharp and restless.

"Get it together," she muttered under her breath.

After a moment, she straightened up, wiped her face, and reached for her lipstick. The familiar shade of crimson glided across her lips - bold, daring, like armor for what was coming next. She slipped her mask back on and whispered into the mic, voice steady now.

"I think I'm going to do it the absurd way."

Selene's voice crackled through the earpiece almost immediately.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I'm going to drug that man - just enough to cause a distraction. It's the only way to get close and grab the device without raising suspicion."

There was a pause. Then Sora's panicked voice broke in,

"Are you insane, Amara?! You never use that plan! It's too risky-"

"I don't think I have a choice this time," Amara cut her off firmly.

Silence filled the line for a moment before Selene's calm voice returned.

"...Alright. Do it. But be careful. One wrong move and everything could fall apart."

Sora groaned in frustration,

"Ugh, why do I even bother? Fine-but if this goes south, I'm hacking the entire mayor's system!"

A small smirk tugged at Amara's lips.

"Noted."

She reached under her dress, retrieving a small capsule hidden along her inner thigh strap, and slipped it discreetly into her jeweled bangle, before stepping back into the gala

Amara returned to the dining hall with a composed smile, her crimson lips curling as she slipped easily into conversation with a few of the city's elite. Her laughter sounded light and graceful, but beneath the mask, her mind was sharp and calculating, deliberately trying to blend in among the crowd

Still, she couldn't ignore the heavy weight of his gaze.

His eyes followed her with unnerving intensity.

Every time she tried to look away, she could still feel it, piercing through the crowd.

Her fingers twitched slightly around her wine glass, but she forced herself to stay calm, pretending to be engaged in idle chatter about politics and business.

She tried her best to stay focus and not falter

Dinner dragged on, filled with polite laughter and empty praise. When it finally ended, guests began offering their farewells to the mayor before leaving the hall. Amidst the distraction, Amara moved quietly and gracefully, her hand brushing beneath the long dining table.

With a swift motion, she attached a small black device beneath the carved wooden edge - a sound recorder disguised as a piece of jewelry.

No one noticed.

She straightened her gown, gave one last polite smile to a passing guest, and exited through the side hall.

Once outside, her earpiece crackled softly as the recorder transmitted faint voices from the now-empty dining room.

Voice 1 (Elias): "Mr. Mayor, we'll be retiring for the night. To avoid any... complications, the final exchange will be carried out tomorrow."

Mayor: "Ah, of course, Mr. Elias. I've already reserved a residence for your rest. Please, allow me to show you personally-"

Elias: "No need. We've already made arrangements ourselves."

The mayor chuckled awkwardly, his voice dripping with forced courtesy.

Mayor: "Then forgive me for the trouble, gentlemen. It's truly an honor working with someone from the Blackwood Enterprise."

Their footsteps echoed faintly against the hallway as they walked out.

–

Amara trailed the men to a luxurious high-end hotel and whispered into the mic, "Sora, can you help me with the security system? I need a way in."

"On it," Sora replied. "Can you take the whole system down for a distraction?" Amara asked.

"Give me a few minutes," Sora said.

Forty minutes later, the hotel's surveillance grid stuttered and went dark in exactly the sectors Sora had flagged. Amara slipped inside, and managed to get to His presidential suite evading the distracted bodyguards. Spotting a bottle of wine on the table, she tipped a capsule into the glass and tucked the bottle back where it had been. Her pulse was steady. One misstep and everything would come apart. She darted into the suite's inner room to search for the device.

Damien, who had been out on the balcony, stepped inside and poured himself a glass of wine. He sipped it slowly, then frowned as he detected something off.

Scanning the suite with the glass still in hand, a sudden heat surged through him. He realized he'd been drugged-and not with just any aphrodisiac. His aura turned lethally dangerous, rage boiling over.

Storming into the room, he scanned every corner and yanked Amara from her hiding spot behind the curtain, pinning her against the wall.

"Damn it, you even dared to drug me," he growled, fury etched on his face.

Amara froze in terror, her heart pounding. Selene's voice immediately buzzed urgently in her earpiece,

"Amara, get out! Abort!"

Sora's voice came quickly after, "Amara get out of there! It was a Trap!!"

But Damien swiftly disarmed the tiny, nearly invisible mic from her ear, and forcefully yanked off her mask. He gazed at her intensely, as if ingraining her features in his mind

Leaving her confused and panicked

His mask was off, revealing a face so dangerously alluring they could ensnare the soul, under normal circumstances, Amara would have been mesmerized, but now was not a good time.

He really looked like a captivating demon king who just came out of hell ready to destroy anything. It was extremely terrifying even for her

He pressed his hand to her neck in anger, his body heating rapidly from the aphrodisiac's effect, he let out a strained groan. "If not for the fact that you saved me once, I would have killed you right here." He said in an extremely cold and threatening manner

Amara frowned confused by his words as she struggled to break free, due to suffocation, she felt the air getting more and more thinner

"Wh-what do-" she stammered, but he cut her off, hurling her onto the bed forcefully.

He shrugged off his unbuttoned suit jacket, eyes blazing with wrath, then grabbed the glass from the table and downed the remaining tainted wine in one defiant gulp.

Dread coiled in Amara's gut, a chilling premonition of the storm about to break. She scrambled to the bed's edge, her breath ragged, fear etched on her face.

Damien's gaze locked on her, intensely, the wine's residue still pooling in his mouth. He seized her ankle, yanking her back mercilessly; her heels clattered to the floor. She fought wildly, but he overpowered her effortlessly, crashing his lips against hers in a savage kiss, forcing the drugged liquid down her throat.

He pulled back, and lethally whispered to her "Since you dared to drug me," he said coldly, "be prepared to face the consequences. Neither of us sleeps tonight."