It's still night, and Blue feels the world spinning around her. A moment ago, she was in the routine of scouting her victims and killing them.
Tonight's targets were supposed to be Detective Wayne and the drug lord Xavier Elder, but when she saw that hot, wet body and those dark brown eyes, something held her back. She had been so close to pulling the trigger.
Something deep inside made her hesitate—something she didn't want to feel, something that complicated her feelings. And if that wasn't enough, she realized, with a bite of disbelief, that she was still a fucking virgin.
Blue looks up at the dark sky, dazzling with stars, and chuckles in disbelief—dark, cold laughter laced with emptiness and sadness. Outside the Elder Casino, where pleasure and music still whirl around and people stream in and out of the club, she finds she doesn't care about any of it.
"You just had to come out and spoil my fun, didn't you?" she shouts to no one. "What, I leave for five fucking years and you can't hold yourself together? You became soft and vanilla?" Her yell catches the attention of passersby. In her rage, she strikes the wall with her bare hand, causing blood to seep from her knuckles. She barely registers the pain.
"Hey, what's wrong? Come on," Xavier calls out, having noticed Blue's outrageous reaction. He quickly closes the distance and holds her tightly in a hug.
He was now in differnts pants and a simple T-shirt. Still elegants, and freaking smoking hot.
She smells in his fresh vanilla cologne and feels a warmth she knows she shouldn't feel—but then she shoves him away and points a gun at his chest. Xavier raises his hands immediately.
"Don't make me do it," she says her voice horse, backing away until she disappears into the street. Xavier is about to follow, but he pulls himself back.
"What's wrong with her?" Derek asks, munching on a snack with a tipsy woman draped over his arm. Before Derek can say any more nonsense, he feels a sharp pain across his face.
"You broke my nose!" Derek yells, clutching his bleeding face. He knows exactly why Xavier punched him.
"Oh, yeah?" Xavier retorts angrily. "You showed her to my suite?"
He can tolerate any prank from Derek, but revealing his suite to anyone is out of the question.
Derek, however, assumes the punch was simply for forcing him to mingle; he insists he never showed Blue to Xavier's suite.
"No, I didn't," Derek says, confused. Xavier frowns as he realizes Derek is telling the truth.
***
In a luxurious duplex, the lights are dim and everyone is asleep. A woman lies sprawled on the master bed as if she has no worries in the world. Suddenly, an AI house assistant speaks up.
"ALERT! ALERT!" the red device beeps repeatedly.
The woman wakes with a frustrated groan. "Quiet, Ice. I'm trying to sleep here," she mutters wearily.
"Hey Viv, there's an intruder entering Samuels Group," Ice broadcasts.
The woman, Viv—Ice calls her Viv—bolts upright. She grabs her iPad and switches on the surveillance feed at the company. On screen she can clearly see a dark silhouette moving into the company lobby. Viv quickly goes to her closet to dress.
"I'm trying to sell this company, so I'm not going to let some robber take what's mine," she murmurs as she pulls on a jacket. She grabs her keys from the table and rushes out.
A minute later, she parks her Mercedes GLE 53 in front of the Samuels Group building and walks inside. The building is huge but completely empty—the middle of the night, and every employee is at home except the security guards patrolling. Viv notices how quiet it is. The security team is here, but there's no sign of any intruder and no commotion. Did she really see that? She's been under so much pressure since her husband filed for divorce and ran off with someone else, leaving her with a company drowning in debt. Her head feels heavy lately—could she be hallucinating?
Vivian heads toward the guard who has just returned from his rounds. The officer looks shocked and concerned to see his boss here at this hour.
"Is everything all right, boss? Did you forget something?" he asks, relieved.
"Did you get an alarm alert—like, an intruder entering the company?" she asks, genuinely puzzled given how clean, quiet, and secure the environment is.
"An alert? Here?" the guard repeats, confused as he checks his security watch. Normally, an alert would have signaled him first, then gone to the security company, and only then to the duplex. Vivian realizes she left her iPad at home, so she can't show him the footage Ice pulled. Now she feels stupid—maybe Ice AI malfunctioned, ruining her sleep and sending her here for nothing.
"No, it's nothing. Don't mind me—I'm just testing your job skills," she says, forcing a laugh. "I'll just grab some files in my office. You're right, I forgot something." She heads toward the company entrance.
Vivian opens her office door. It's a very large space, filled with stacks of books and files like a private library. It even has a small kitchen area with a fridge, microwave, and kettle. The office desk is flanked by two chairs across from a large seat that looks like a queen's throne. On the desk are papers, files, office books, and two expensive Apple desktop computers.
Vivian releases a heavy sigh that nearly chokes her as she notices a boot resting on the desk. The office is still dim—she hasn't turned on the light—but she can clearly see someone sitting in her "throne" chair. Her heart drops—Ice AI didn't malfunction; there really is an intruder. She wants to scream for security.
"I wouldn't do that," a voice says—female, soft, sweet—the voice she knows all too well.
The shadowy woman stands up from the chair and walks slowly, deliberately toward Vivian. She can't see her face, but from those long curls and that shapely body, she recognizes the person. Vivian swallows a scream. Her body shakes in fear as the intruder approaches. Then the person stops and leans against the desk some distance from Vivian, who remains frozen in the doorway.
"Oh, hey Viv, did you miss me?" the intruder repeats calmly, as if this is some reunion. Vivian's mind snaps into place—except, "dead women don't come back," she thinks.
"Viv?" the intruder says again, but Vivian is still frozen, speechless. There's no way she can believe that the person before her is who she thinks it is.
The intruder pauses. "Oh, I forgot—it's so dim in here, you probably can't even see it's me. So…" She stops and smirks. "Let's see if Ice recognizes me," she says, pulling out her phone. Of course, if Ice recognizes the voice, the AI will do exactly what it's told. Vivian closes her eyes and counts silently, praying for this nightmare to end so she can wake up in her bed.
"Ice, get the light," the intruder commands. Immediately, the lights click on. Vivian opens her eyes, and her nightmare truly begins. The intruder—Blue—has already closed the distance between them.
Vivian flinches as her heart pounds in her chest and her breath catches. Blue reaches out and tucks Vivian's hair behind her ear, as if smoothing her daughter's hair. Vivian is sure the room just dropped several degrees in temperature.
Vivian tries to speak: "P…P…" but no sound comes out.
Blue's tone is sweet, mockingly concerned. "Are you cold?" she asks. "Too bad I didn't bring a jacket… got one in your closet?" She walks toward the office closet, rubbing her shoulders as if she feels a chill. Vivian can barely breathe.
Blue glances back and smirks. "I like what you did with the office. So very you, Viv. The Queen of Wealth."
Vivian finally finds her voice. "Who are you?" she manages to whisper.
Blue laughs softly as she rummages through the closet. "Oh, you don't recognize me?" she asks. Annoyed at not finding any jacket, she snaps, "What, did you come here to run a fashion show?" She shrugs and closes the closet door.
"Sorry, I can't find any decent jackets," she says. Leaning again against the desk, she stares into Vivian's eyes. Vivian is still paralyzed in place.
Blue's expression turns serious. "Really? You still don't recognize me?"
Vivian's eyes widen. "You… You can't be…" she stammers. Blue cuts her off with a harsh laugh.
"Yes, I can," Blue snarls. "And I was just reading this paper—your property papers. Where did you design these, on Canva?" She laughs hysterically. The sound sends a chill down Vivian's spine.
"How did she get the property papers?" Vivian thinks, breaking eye contact. She looks under the desk at the safe—and her heart sinks when she sees the lid open.
Blue tosses the property documents onto the floor at Vivian's feet. "You're so predictable. Catherine's birthday, really?" she mocks.
Vivian shakes her head in disbelief. "No, you can't be…" she repeats, voice trembling. This truly feels like a nightmare—she just wants to wake up in her own bed.
Suddenly, Blue yells, "I SAID CAN!" The words erupt with rage. Vivian flinches.
Taking one step forward, Blue snatches up the papers. "Whoever gave you these did a good job. Anyone could fall for this," she says, flipping through the pages. "I don't know how Victor fell for it either...but Victor's signature wasn't supposed to be here. Paige's was. Then again, maybe he was just playing with you all."
Vivian realizes something terrifying. "Victor..." she whispers. Paige, her daughter, never referred to her father by his first name. That's a small comfort—this woman can't be Paige. Vivian exhales in relief for a moment.
But then she notices those blue eyes. Paige was born with blue eyes (rare, since both Magano and Victor are as dark as night). Paige had caramel skin, curly hair, and blue eyes. Vivian had once suggested Magano put Paige in colored contact lenses to avoid unwanted attention. And this woman looks just like Paige—so those must be contacts.
"You know nothing," Vivian says shakily.
Blue sneers. "Really? Just a thought. Maybe you should bring it up at Shikongo Industries when you sign the shareholding contract. Even there, it would be Paige's signature."
Vivian gasps, putting it together. "Who are you? And why do you know so much? Paige's dead—are you her twin?" she stammers. But Blue interrupts, a wild light in her eyes.
Blue steps even closer, fixing Vivian with a terrifying stare. "I am someone who will carve out your heart, hang it by its veins and arteries while you watch me use those vessels to sew your mouth shut," she whispers, voice cold as ice. Vivian feels her knees go weak at the brutal threat.