Chapter 103 Selena Makes a Deal
Chapter 103 Selena Makes a Deal
Selena hated waiting.
The bar was quiet for a Friday night, the kind of place people used when they didn’t want to be noticed.
Perfect.
She sat in the far corner booth with a glass she hadn’t touched.
The message had been simple.
If you want Evelyn Hart gone, meet me.
No name.
No explanation.
Just a time and a location.
Most people would have ignored it.
Selena didn’t.
Because she knew exactly where the message had come from.
The kind who watched everything.
The kind who moved pieces quietly.
The kind who knew what she wanted before she said it out loud.
Her jaw tightened at the thought of Evelyn.
Even now, the name alone made something bitter rise in her chest.
Evelyn Hart.
The woman who walked into rooms like she belonged there.
The woman people suddenly listened to.
The woman Damien Cross protected like the world would collapse if she disappeared.
Selena finished the drink in one swallow.
It burned going down.
Good.
She needed the fire.
Footsteps approached the booth.
Calm and controlled.
Someone slid into the seat across from her.
She lifted her gaze.
The man across from her looked ordinary.
That was the first unsettling thing.
Mid-thirties, maybe early forties. Dark jacket. No visible security. No arrogance.
Just quiet confidence.
The kind that didn’t need attention.
“Selena,” he said.
His voice was calm. Almost polite.
“You know my name,” she replied.
“I know a lot of things.”
“Then you know I don’t like games.”
“Good,” he said simply. “Neither do I.”
She studied him carefully.
“You sent the message.”
“Yes.”
“And you think you can help me.”
“I know I can.”
Selena leaned back slightly.
“You’re confident for someone I’ve never heard of.”
The man didn’t react.
“That’s because the people who hear my name usually hear it too late.”
That earned a small pause
Interest.
Selena rested her arms on the table.
“Let’s skip the dramatic lines,” she said. “What exactly do you want from me?”
The man folded his hands.
“Very little.”
“And in exchange?”
“I give you exactly what you want.”
She let out a quiet laugh.
“People who promise that usually want something big.”
He tilted his head slightly.
“Do you want revenge on Evelyn Hart?”
Her expression hardened instantly.
“Yes.”
“Do you want Damien Cross to suffer for protecting her?”
Her silence answered that.
The man nodded once, as if confirming something he already knew.
“Then we want the same thing.”
Selena’s eyes narrowed.
“No,” she said slowly. “We don’t.”
“Oh?”
“I want Evelyn ruined,” she said. “Publicly. Completely. I want everything she thinks she’s built to fall apart.”
The man watched her calmly.
“That’s very achievable.”
“Is it?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
He didn’t answer right away.
Instead, he reached into his coat and placed a small envelope on the table.
Selena didn’t touch it.
“What is it?”
“Information.”
“That vague, huh?”
“You’ll like what’s inside.”
She studied the envelope for a moment before finally opening it.
Inside was a photograph.
Her brows pulled together slightly.
Evelyn.
Walking beside Damien earlier that day.
The angle was distant, but clear enough to recognize them.
Selena looked back up slowly.
“You had someone following them.”
“Yes.”
“That’s risky.”
The man shrugged lightly.
“Only if you’re afraid of being noticed.”
“Damien Cross notices everything.”
“Yes,” the man said calmly. “He does.”
Selena leaned forward slightly.
“So what’s your angle?”
“My angle,” he said, “is that Damien Cross is very good at protecting people.”
“And?”
“And eventually,” the man continued, “protecting someone becomes a weakness.”
She held his gaze.
“You think Evelyn is his weakness.”
“I know she is.”
Selena sat back again.
That idea had crossed her mind before.
But hearing someone say it out loud made something inside her settle.
“Interesting theory,” she said.
“It’s not a theory.”
“Then prove it.”
The man smiled faintly.
certain.
“Every powerful man has a pressure point,” he said. “You just have to press it in the right place.”
Selena tapped the photograph lightly.
“And Evelyn is that place.”
“Yes.”
“And what exactly do you plan to do about it?”
He leaned forward slightly now.
“Break her.”
Selena’s lips curved slowly.
“That part I like.”
“I assumed you would.”
She studied him again.
Still calm and controlled.
“You still haven’t told me your name.”
“That’s intentional.”
“That doesn’t make me trust you.”
“I’m not asking for trust.”
“What are you asking for then?”
He held her gaze steadily.
“Partnership.”
Selena let the word sit between them.
Partnership.
Dangerous word.
“Why me?” she asked.
“You already hate her,” he said simply. “That makes you motivated.”
“And?”
“And you have access to some circles she still moves in.”
Selena considered that.
“You want me close to her.”
“Yes.”
“And you’ll do what?”
“Everything else.”
The confidence in his voice should have been unsettling.
Instead, it was strangely reassuring.
Because it sounded like a man who had already planned ten steps ahead.
“You’re asking me to trust a stranger with a revenge plan against the most protected woman in the city.”
“Yes.”
“That’s bold.”
“Not really.”
“Why not?”
He nodded toward the photo in her hand.
“Because you’re already thinking about saying yes.”
She hated that he was right.
A slow smile formed on her lips.
“Let’s assume I agree,” she said. “What happens first?”
The man leaned back slightly.
“First, you stay close to Evelyn.”
“And then?”
“Then we wait.”
Selena frowned.
“That sounds boring.”
“Patience wins wars.”
“I prefer immediate damage.”
“You’ll get it.”
His eyes darkened slightly.
“But timing matters.”
Silence stretched between them.
Selena looked down at the photo again.
Evelyn smiling at something Damien had said.
Comfortable.
Safe and Protected.
The image made something twist inside her chest.
Enough.
She placed the photo back inside the envelope and pushed it toward him.
“Fine,” she said.
The man didn’t move.
“You’re agreeing?”
Selena extended her hand across the table.
“I’m agreeing.”
A slow smile appeared on his face as he reached forward.
Their hands met.
Firm and Final.
Deal made.
Selena leaned back.
“So,” she said. “When do we start?”
The man’s smile widened slightly.
“Oh,” he said quietly.
“We already did.”
Selena blinked.
“What does that mean?”
But the man was already standing.
He placed a few bills on the table and turned to leave.
She frowned.
“Wait.”
He stopped.
But didn’t turn around.
“You still didn’t tell me your name.”
A quiet pause.
Then he spoke.
“Names don’t matter,” he said calmly.
“What matters is outcomes.”
And then he walked out of the bar.
Selena watched the door close behind him.
Across the street, a black sedan sat with its engine running.
Inside the car, the man from the bar pulled out his phone.
A single message waited on the screen.
Did she agree?
He typed his response.
Yes.
Then he added one more line.
She’ll be useful.
The reply came almost instantly.
Good.
The man looked back toward the bar window where Selena still sat.
Completely unaware.
He smiled faintly.
Because Selena thought she had just found an ally.
But the truth was far simpler.
Tonight...
She had just shaken hands with the man who planned to destroy all of them.