At exactly 3:06 a.m., in a hidden lounge beneath the ballroom—guarded by biometric locks and a piano-playing AI—Aurora plugged in the chip she stole.
A single file appeared:
"The Eden Protocol - Subject: Ochieng."
Her eyes widened.
Video Log #17
A dark room. A young boy—barely 9—strapped to a chair. Electrodes on his temple. Blood on his lips.
Scientist: "Subject Ochieng shows abnormal memory retention and suppressed instincts. Initiate Phase 3."
Aurora paused the footage.
Her hands trembled.
Aurora (to herself):
"Why would they experiment on a child like that?"
And why… did she remember being there?
---
Outside in the shadowed corridor, Kael Monroe leaned against the marble wall, watching Gloria pass with that unmistakable sway of elegance and danger.
She paused when she saw him.
No words. Just a look.
Then she walked up, slow and deliberate. Pulled off his cigarette. Tossed it.
Gloria: "Still playing the tortured rebel?"
Kael: "Still playing the unreachable goddess?"
She grabbed his tie.
Gloria (whispering):
"If you kiss me tonight, I'll ruin you."
Kael:
"Darling… that's exactly why I'm going to."
He kissed her.
It was violent. Addictive. Sweet like venom.
And just as she pulled away—she slipped something into his coat pocket.
Gloria: "Deliver that to Ochieng. Tell him the past wants him back."
---
Ochieng stood in front of the ancient mirror within the Dead Garden—the only untouched relic in Seraphina's mansion.
Behind him stood Celestine Navarro, wearing mourning black and wielding a blade hidden in her corset.
Celestine: "Your bloodline killed mine. Did you know that?"
Ochieng: "And yours sold mine to demons in suits."
They circled each other.
But Ochieng wasn't afraid. His eyes glowed with something more terrifying than rage.
Ochieng: "You think pain makes you unique. It doesn't. I've worn pain like skin since birth."
Celestine: "Then let's see how well you bleed."
But as she lunged—he caught her blade midair. Looked into her eyes.
And kissed her.
Not out of love.
Out of control.
Because he wasn't the same man anymore.
--
Elsewhere in the ruins of a cathedral-turned-party zone, a lone figure emerged from the shadows.
The Scarlet Dagger, age unknown, identity redacted by thirteen governments. Paid only in secrets.
She had come to eliminate one person:
Aurora Takahashi.
But as she raised her silenced pistol, something unexpected happened.
Aurora turned. And smiled.
Aurora: "I know who you are."
Scarlet: "Impossible."
Aurora: "My mother was your last contract… wasn't she?"
The Scarlet Dagger paused. For the first time in ten years… her hand trembled.
---
In another wing of the estate, two families clashed:
The De La Veras, billionaires with old money and older grudges.
The Omari Dynasty, trillionaire moguls with blood-soaked contracts and a hunger for dominance.
The party turned into a warzone of whispers, insults, and exchanged veiled threats.
Yvette De La Vera, 25, beauty queen turned CEO, publicly slapped Damien Omari, heir to the trillion-dollar Empire of Gas & Gold.
Yvette: "Try to touch me again, and I'll cut off more than your fingers."
Damien (smiling):
"Tempting. But I like my women wild."
---Everything
Kael handed the note from Gloria to Ochieng beneath a blood moon.
It wasn't ink. It was lipstick—deep red and curved like danger.
It read:
> "You forgot who you were. But soon, everyone will remember."
— Elira
---