CHAPTER 1: THE WOMAN BEHIND THE NAME
CHAPTER 1: THE WOMAN BEHIND THE NAME
The ballroom didn’t understand what it had become yet.
It still clung to the illusion that it was a place of elegance—until the steel sealed the last exit and the air itself felt heavier, as if the building had exhaled and decided not to let anyone leave.
My attacker stood frozen, staring at me like he was trying to rewrite what he was seeing.
“That’s impossible…” he muttered. “You’re just—”
“Just what?” I asked softly.
Silence swallowed his answer before he could find one.
Somewhere above us, hidden speakers clicked again. A second voice—different from the system tone—cut through the mansion.
“Authorization confirmed.”
The guests turned in every direction.
Not toward the exits anymore.
Toward me.
My attacker’s expression shifted. Not fear yet—confusion fighting with disbelief.
“You’re bluffing,” he said quickly, louder this time, as if volume could restore his power. “No one in this country has authority over a full estate lockdown without council approval.”
I tilted my head.
“You’re right.”
A pause.
Then I added:
May you like
“I don’t need council approval.”
That was the first moment he stopped breathing properly.
