Hidden in the dark, among the maple trees, was a mansion, all its lights lit brightly. It was like a sparkly gem on top of the hill. Luxury cars from black sedans to polished sports cars and race classics were parked on the grounds, the lantern lights shimmering on their chrome bodies.
Beautiful women dressed in expensive silk and sequin gowns with colors ranging from dark emerald to pale champagne, walked up the marble steps with elegance and grace. They had their arms hooked around men wearing tailored tuxedos, their chatter and mirth permeating the air.
The ballroom inside was the quintessence of luxury. Crystal chandeliers hung up high from the vaulted ceilings. They scattered light into countless sparkles across the shining floors. Gold-framed mirrors and antique oil paintings lined the walls, their surfaces glimmering softly below the soft lights.
Walking through the crowd of guests, where waiters dressed in blue waistcoats and bow ties. They balanced trays in their hands with great skill. Each tray sparkled with golden streams of bubbles rising in the champagne flutes. Guests reached over as they passed by their conversation, uninterrupted.
Melodious piano sounds merged with the guests' endless chatter. Some couples danced hand over hand on the dance floor while others gossiped about their hosts in murmured whispers.
Upstairs, Preston stood stiffly as his mother fixed his bowtie. Cynane Persson's face was smooth, her features unnaturally youthful after a recent facelift, but her eyes betrayed the sharpness of her true age.
"Just do as I told you," she said softly, tugging the fabric into place. "This position will rightfully be yours."
Preston sneered, his lips contorting with resentment. "It should have been mine from the beginning. That old bastard was too biased, picking that brat."
Cynane's gaze stiffened, her manicured fingers pausing at his collar. "I told you before, restrain yourself." Preston snorted coldly, but said nothing more.
Cynane Persson was Mazen Castel's second wife. His first had been his childhood sweetheart, Landen's mother, who died tragically in a car crash. When she passed, Mazen's family pressured him to remarry, and Cynane was waiting.
She had loved Mazen from the moment she first laid eyes on him, but he had been a married man. Before his first wife's body was even cold, her family arranged the union. The Persson family was eager. If Cynane's child became the Enforcer, their influence in the underworld would soar.
Cynane gained the title of wife, but she never won Mazen's heart. To him, she was a business arrangement, nothing more. Though he never showed it outwardly, Mazen disliked her, and with good reason.
She warned her son to restrain himself, but her own hatred burned. She loathed Dagur, the "bitch's son." She often wished Landen had died with his mother, so Dagur would never have existed.
Preston fixed his cuffs, and with his voice low, he asked, "Are you sure those thugs will finish him off?"
The thugs he referred to were SS20, a small-time gang with personal animosity toward Dagur. Their members were serving in the same prison, and if all went well, Dagur would leave only in a body bag.
A knock interrupted them. Cynane's personal assistant walked in, bowing gently. "Madam, it's time."
Her lips curved into a cold smile, and she said, "Then let's begin."
***
Lila sautered through the glittering ballroom, her beautiful red dress glinting in the light. Her hair was elegantly pinned up, and she wore black gloves that reached up her forearms. She picked up a glass of champagne, her mouth curved into a sly smile as she spoke quietly into her receiver, "This place is fancy."
Across the room, a middle-aged gentleman admired her from afar, and Lila sent back his gaze with a tender smile, playing her role perfectly.
In the van deep in the forested hills, Dex's voice came through the channel saying, "They have got money to burn. Don't mind us taking a little bit of it."
Eli, dressed in a waiter's uniform, replied casually while walking down a corridor. "They won't miss it anyway."
Suddenly, he turned a corner and nearly collided with a tall man. The scar across his eye made Eli's guts churn. The man wore a black suit, a security earpiece tucked neatly in place. Eli almost yelped in fright but quickly bowed his head, apologizing profusely.
The man glared at him before continuing down the hall. Eli sighed in relief until the man stopped mid-step. "Wait a minute."
Eli stiffened, his blood running cold. Slowly, he turned back.
Marcel's calm voice came through the earpiece, saying, "Relax. You are just a regular waiter doing your job."
Eli put on a smile as the scar-faced man approached him. That's when Eli noticed the security card clipped to the man's belt. It was supposed to be Lila's job to swipe it, but the opportunity was right there, and Eli was really good at stealing.
As though fate was testing him, the man came closer, adjusting Eli's collar. Eli stiffened, his fingers tingling with temptation. The card was right there.
The scar-faced man's voice was low, authoritative. "These are very important people. Don't give them an opportunity to make things difficult for you."
Eli bowed his head quickly. "Oh, thank you."
Without the man noticing, he had already swiped the card from the man's belt and put it in his pocket. The replicator device scanned it. In the van, Dex received a notification on the screen. He tapped it, and the scanned data came through.
Having finished helping him, the man turned to leave. Eli dropped the fake access card and said, "Wait, sir, isn't this yours?"
The man turned back, his brow creased. When he saw the card, he nodded and said, "Yes, thanks. Eli handed it to him, and without any suspicion, the man took it and left.
In the tunnel hidden deep in the forest, Marcel's voice came via the comms. "Did you give him the replica?"
Eli smirked. "Yep. He won't even notice it's gone."
Lila, sipping champagne, smiled subtly. "Ohh sweetie, you are making my job easy today."
Being a foodie at heart, Eli couldn't help but say, "To repay me, how about you buy me dinner at that fancy rooftop restaurant?"
Lila chuckled. She had a feeling he would say that. Who in their group didn't know that Eli couldn't resist anything that looked delicious? "Sure," she said, her eyes wandering towards the middle-aged man coming down the stairs with a woman who looked seventy-five percent similar to him.
"The party's about to start," Lila murmured into her receiver.
Dex zoomed in on the pair through the feed from Lila's brooch camera, his fingers typing rapidly on the keyboard as he searched their identities in the background.
Marcel removed the cover at the tunnel entrance, his voice composed saying, "We are going in. Tell me if there's anything."
Rhea lit the torch fixed to her hat, stepping forward, but Marcel raised a hand. "I will go in first." She nodded, falling in behind him as the shadows engulfed them both.