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The golden chandeliers of the Royal Hotel didn't sparkle tonight; they glared.
Under the harsh glow of the entrance, the air smelled of expensive perfume and cold rain. Raina was being dragged toward a patrol car, the metal of the handcuffs biting into her wrists. She looked like a fallen queen. Her designer engagement dress—a cloud of white silk—was torn at the hem, dragging through the grime of the pavement. Her mascara was a jagged, black map of grief down her cheeks.
In the crowd, her mother, Bianca, stood frozen. A single, heavy tear escaped her eye, a silent eulogy for her daughter's freedom.
Raina's hollow gaze shifted, landing on Felix. Her fiancé stood like a statue, his tuxedo pristine, his face a mask of shattered disbelief.
As the police car door slammed shut, Jake watched from the shadows of the pillars. His mind flickered back to the rooftop just an hour ago. He saw Raina huddled on the cold concrete, her heart audibly breaking.
"You didn't kill him," Jake had whispered, his voice desperate. "Why did you confess on that livestream? Why did you tell the world you did it?"
Raina had let out a dry, jagged chuckle that sounded like glass breaking. "I'm one of the reasons, Jake," she'd sobbed, her voice rising to a scream. "He died because of me!"
Jake snapped back to the present. His face was a blank slate, but his knuckles were white. Beside him, Selina and Han looked on, their faces pale with a worry that bordered on terror.
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The Shadow in the Crowd
Felix felt a prickle on the back of his neck—the sensation of being watched. He whipped his head around and caught a glimpse of a silhouette moving with predatory grace on the far side of the crowd.
He didn't think. He ran.
He reached the dim, concrete expanse of the parking area just as she was slipping away. Felix lunged, grabbing her wrist and spinning her around.
The breath left his lungs. It was Gabriella.
She was dressed in a sleek, midnight-black slip dress that made her look like part of the shadows. Her eyes were steady, icy, and completely devoid of the chaos happening ten yards away.
"Is it you?" Felix's voice was a low growl. "Are you the one behind Raina's arrest?"
Gabriella tilted her head, a cold, mocking smile playing on her lips. "What? Me? Felix, have you lost your mind because your precious fiancé is in handcuffs?" Her smile vanished instantly, replaced by a gaze that could draw blood. "Or do you just blame me for everything wrong in this world?"
Felix didn't flinch. "I'm not playing. Why are you acting like nothing happened? Raina was your friend."
Gabriella's eyes flickered for a fraction of a second—a glitch in her armor. She stepped closer, leaning into his space until he could smell the dark cherry of her lip gloss.
"Because we aren't friends," she hissed in a husky, deadly whisper. "Do you forget what I said at her birthday party?"
Felix felt the memory hit him. He had asked if she was Raina's friend, and Gabriella had whispered back: No... more than that.
"Where did you go when you left that room?" Felix demanded, his voice turning into an interrogation. "I know you were sober. You didn't just 'wander off'."
Gabriella's expression froze. Did he see something? she wondered. Does he know I was the one holding the strings?
She recovered with a smirk. "I told you, Felix. I can handle my liquor. Even the strong stuff."
She turned to walk away, her heels clicking like a countdown on the pavement. After a few steps, she paused. Without looking back, her voice cut through the damp air, sharper than a blade.
"I know you're concerned about your fiancé. But I have told you before right ?, Anything can happen in the future."
As her figure disappeared into the darkness, Felix pulled out his phone. His thumb swiped aggressively across the screen as he hit a speed dial.
"Check the background of Gabriella," he ordered, his voice cold and predatory. "Everything. And find out exactly what was happening between her and Raina behind closed doors."
"But sir," the voice on the other end hesitated. "You said she was just a mere girl. No need for a deep dive."
Felix's eyes narrowed, looking like a fox that had finally found the scent of the hunter.
"No," Felix whispered, watching the spot where she had vanished. "She isn't a mere girl. She's much more than that."
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To be Continued...
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