Loren Vex had been careful all his life. Every step measured, every escape planned, every target calculated. But tonight, the predator was being toyed with. And he didn't even know it.
He sat in a dimly lit room, phone pressed to his ear.
"I'm only telling you this because I have no choice," he said, voice clipped, defensive.
On the other end, a calm, almost playful tone answered:
"And what choice is that, Loren?"
Vex exhaled sharply. He hated this uncertainty, the feeling of being toyed with, but he had a contract to fulfill. Money was at stake.
"Chloe… she ordered the job," he admitted, fingers tightening around the receiver. "Selena… she was supposed to be scared, maybe hurt. Nothing more. I got there, and she was… gone. Dead. Someone else got to her first."
Raina didn't reveal herself. She was the unseen predator, watching, listening, letting his words tumble out like pieces of a puzzle.
"And you told Chloe it was done?" she prompted softly.
Vex hesitated, then admitted with a shrug of his own conscience:
"I had to. I needed the payment. Chloe doesn't forgive delays."
Raina's lips curved faintly. Not a smile. A calculation.
"So," she whispered, almost to herself, "the job was never yours to finish. You just took credit."
Vex's pulse quickened, though he had no idea why.
"Yes. That's it. Nothing else. I didn't touch her. Didn't see who did. Someone got there before me."
Raina leaned back in the shadows, eyes narrowing.
"And that someone…" she murmured, "they aren't Chloe."
Albert's silent presence behind her didn't distract her. Her mind was racing, piecing together the implications.
"Selena must have seen something she shouldn't have. Something worth killing for. Chloe wanted fear. Someone else wanted… finality."
Vex's voice wavered slightly. He thought he had been clever, but the calm, invisible figure on the other end had already turned the tables.
"So tell me," Raina said slowly, voice teasing yet cold, "who else could have been watching her?"
Vex swallowed. His mind raced.
"I don't know. I never saw them. They moved fast. Efficient. Professional."
Raina's eyes glimmered with lethal curiosity.
"Professional," she repeated, softer now. "Yes… but they're sloppy enough to leave a trail."
The line went silent for a heartbeat. Loren's own heartbeat thumped loud in his ears. He didn't know he was already in her game.
"And Chloe?" Raina finally asked. "Will she find out her little plan… failed?"
Vex hesitated.
"She'll never know… not yet."
Raina's hand tapped lightly against the edge of the desk.
"Then we wait," she said, tone smooth as steel. "And watch."
Her eyes drifted to the city lights beyond the window.
"Because whoever killed Selena first… left a puzzle. And I intend to solve it."
A faint, predatory smile appeared on her face.
"And then," she whispered, voice almost deadly calm, "I'll find out who dared… and why."
Silence filled the study. Cold. Electric. Perfect.
Raina's fingers flexed on the desk. She was no longer toying—she was hunting.
"The game just got a lot more interesting," she murmured.