World A (Previously Olivia Smith. Now Emma William's)
Back to the scene of the Banquet event.
"Hey! Stop there!"
A man in a black suit tried to slip away from the crowd of guards stationed outside the grand hall where the charity gala was underway.
That was how they'd tried to assassinate Olivia before. Harry had his men infiltrate her security team, pretending to be bodyguards, and one had slipped away to execute the plan.
Olivia never stepped outside without her well-trained guards flanking her. Her uncle had wanted her dead since her childhood. Even in college, she had three shadow guards, always within reach.
She could never make real friends. Most people thought she was showing off her wealth, not realizing she was a prisoner of protection. The only time she was ever alone was when she was bathing or asleep.
While girls her age went out to parties and weekend trips, Olivia trained. She spent her youth on the shooting range and in combat drills. By eighteen, she could dismantle a gun blindfolded and take down a man twice her size.
Her parents carried the guilt of it. They thought they had stolen her youth, forced her into a cage of security. Yet Olivia never complained. When they brought in a new instructor, she learned eagerly. Every scar, every bruise, became part of her armor.
It was also why her parents had sought an alliance with Max's family. Max was ruthless when it came to protecting those he claimed as his own, dangerous enough to scare away threats, powerful enough to make enemies disappear.
They never pushed the marriage, though. They wanted things to unfold naturally, aware of how complicated Olivia's life already was.
Harry, however, had heard of the plan and wanted to stop it before it threatened his influence. He didn't dare cross Max directly so he planned to eliminate Olivia first.
And tonight, his assassination plan was already in motion.
There was a small mole just below the killer's left ear, something Olivia's guards remembered from their previous encounter. Olivia had barely survived that day, wounded but alive.
As one of her guards swept his gaze across the crowd, he froze. He'd seen that mole before. His heart dropped.
"Stop there!" he barked.
The man kept walking, pretending not to hear.
Five elite guards formed Olivia's personal team. At the signal, four broke into pursuit while the fifth rushed to alert her parents' security, telling them to get Olivia's parents out, fast.
"Stop there!" one shouted again, boots pounding against the marble.
The suspect clutched a sleek black bag, inside, a dismantled sniper rifle. His jet-black hair gleamed under the light, and his dark shades reflected the light as he moved.
When he realized they wouldn't give up, he pressed the Bluetooth in his ear and muttered, "I've been spotted."
Then he stopped.
Olivia's guards tensed. Something was wrong.
The hall complex was enormous, lavish floral arches, side corridors, and several unused banquet rooms. The air grew tight with danger.
They drew their weapons, spreading out, barrels trained on the man. He turned slowly, lowering the bag, then faced them with a smirk curling at his lips.
That smirk was the warning.
A glint flashed from the adjoining hall, gunfire erupted a second later. Bullets whistled through the air as the guards dove aside and returned fire.
One of them caught a glimpse of the main assailant raising his gun. He fired first, narrowly missing the man's chest. The killer rolled, performing a double somersault that brought him dangerously close.
Then chaos exploded.
Gunfire echoed through the courtyard. The assassin clashed hand-to-hand with one of Olivia's guards in a blur of motion.
Outside the hall, members of the press, previously held back by security, spotted the commotion. Cameras lifted instantly.
They recognized the insignia on the guards' uniforms: Olivia Smith's personal detail.
And since this wasn't the first time someone had tried to kill her, they knew exactly what was happening.
The reporters began filming from a safe distance, their lenses capturing the fight as more of the Smith family's guards stormed the scene.
The hunt for Olivia Smith's would-be killer had begun again.