Chapter 11 First Simulation

Chapter 11 First Simulation
The night of the Midnight Gala was not a celebration; it was a marketplace of flesh and power. The West Wing had been a whirlwind of activity since dawn. Vera delivered my gown—an obsidian silk dress that looked as if it were woven from shadows. It was backless, tracing the perfect curve of my spine, while the front was held together by thin, treacherous threads.

“Remember, Eris,” Madame V whispered as she fastened a necklace of black diamonds around my throat. “Make him thirsty. Make him desperate. A man who is parched is easy to drown.”

I looked in the mirror. I was a lethal weapon disguised as a dream. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Julian. He was in a midnight-blue tuxedo, standing like a dark god. His gaze never left me—a raw, primal hunger he struggled to suppress.

“Your target is Captain Valdes,” Madame V commanded. “He handles the logistics for the offshore accounts. Seduce him, get the codes. Do not fail.”

The ballroom was thick with the scent of expensive tobacco and champagne. I found Valdes in the VIP lounge. He was a middle-aged man with a bloated face and eyes that crawled over my body like insects.

“Well, well… what do we have here?” Valdes chuckled, his voice raspy. “A new offering from Madame V? Come here, darling.”

I stepped closer, letting my thigh brush against his. “They say you’re the man who knows everyone’s secrets, Captain.”

He laughed, and the sound of it triggered a sharp, cold pain in my chest.

FLASHBACK
Three years ago. A dark, rain-slicked office at the precinct. I was begging for information about my father. Captain Rios was leaning back in his chair, feet up on the desk as if he were enjoying a show.

“Your father? He’s a traitor, Margo,” Rios said, tossing a single piece of paper onto the desk. The death certificate. My hands shook as I reached for it. Rios smirked—a disgusting, satisfied curve of his lips as he watched my world shatter. “Case closed, little girl. Why don’t you go home and pray the fire didn’t miss anything?”

He laughed while I broke down. It was a laugh fueled by mockery and a total lack of respect for human life. In that moment, Rios wasn’t just a cop; he was the executioner’s dog.

“Darling? You’re spacing out,” Valdes’s voice snapped me back. His hand was already on my waist, fingers digging into my skin.

He led me to a private balcony, sheltered from prying eyes. The moonlight hit the obsidian silk of my dress. Valdes was aggressive. He shoved me against the stone railing, his breath reeking of expensive brandy.

“Madame V certainly knows how to pick them,” Valdes groaned, burying his face into the crook of my neck. His hands began to wander, tugging at the thin straps of my gown. “Tell me, Eris… what do I have to do to make you scream my name tonight?”

Revulsion curdled in my stomach, but I didn’t pull away. I let out a soft, shaky breath, arching my back. Valdes let out a low growl, his mouth finding the skin above my chest, biting and sucking as if he wanted to leave a permanent mark. I felt his hand slide down the curve of my hip, his fingers grazing the edge of my thigh strap.

“I like it when a man takes what he wants,” I whispered, my fingers tracing the collar of his uniform, slowly moving down.

Valdes was losing control. He pulled me closer, his body pressing hard against mine. His hands were everywhere—fumbling with the silk of my dress, his touch becoming frantic and demanding. I closed my eyes, enduring the filth of every caress, his lips desperately trying to steal my breath.

“Captain… they say you have the codes to the Vespera Vault,” I purred, my hand finally slipping into his pocket. I felt the small, cold metal of his flash drive. “Tell me the override code, Valdes. And I’ll show you exactly how ‘soft’ I can be.”

“You want… business… now?” He gasped, his face flushed, his hand moving dangerously high up the slit of my dress, his fingers brushing against the lace of my underwear. “11… 24… 95… anything for you, you little witch.”

I had it. My fingers closed around the drive. I was about to shove him away when the phone in his pocket vibrated.

Ring. Ring.

“Damn it,” Valdes cursed, pulling back just enough to breathe.

“Captain, ignore it,” I whispered, trying to pull him back so he wouldn’t notice the drive in my hand.

“No… it’s the Senator,” he panted, his eyes clearing from the haze of lust. He looked down at his pocket and noticed the slight gap in the fabric.

My heart leapt into my throat. I quickly tucked the drive into the garter of my thigh strap.

“Wait a minute…” Valdes’s eyes narrowed. “What were you doing near my pockets, darling?”

He grabbed my wrist, his grip like iron. “Madame V didn’t send you just to play, did she?”

“Captain, you’re hurting me,” I said, donning my best ‘frightened girl’ mask. My heart hammered like a drum.

Before he could investigate further, a shadow eclipsed the moonlight.

“Captain Valdes. The Senator is expecting you in the library. Immediately.”

It was Julian. He stood at the balcony door, his presence cold and suffocating. His eyes were locked on Valdes’s hand, which was still crushing my wrist.

“Thorne,” Valdes spat, releasing me. “Your protege has… curious hands.”

“She’s new, Captain. Over-eager to please,” Julian replied, his voice a low, dangerous vibration. “I’ll discipline her. Go. You don’t want to keep Silas waiting.”

Valdes huffed, straightening his uniform and giving me one last suspicious glare before marching away.

Julian and I were left alone on the balcony. The silence was deafening.

“Give it to me,” Julian demanded, stepping closer.

“What?” I asked, playing innocent.

“The drive, Eris. I saw you take it.”

I looked at him, then slowly reached into my thigh strap and pulled out the flash drive. I didn’t hand it over. Instead, I held it between us—a trophy of my first kill.

“I got the codes,” I said, my voice finally turning cold again. “11-24-95. Do you know what that date is, Julian? That’s the day your family took everything from me.”

Julian flinched as if I had slapped him. His eyes fell to the marks on my neck—the red, angry splotches left by Valdes. His jaw clenched so hard I thought it would shatter.

“Was it worth it?” he hissed, grabbing the back of my neck and pulling me toward him. “Letting that pig touch you, bite you… all for a few numbers?”

“I’ve felt worse, Julian,” I retorted, my eyes burning into his. “What your family did to us hurts far more than a few marks from a deviant.”

Julian’s eyes darkened with a toxic mixture of possessiveness and agony. He didn’t let go. Instead, he leaned in, his forehead resting against mine. “You’re playing with fire, Margo. And this fire will consume you, too.”

“Good. At least I won’t burn alone,” I whispered.

The music from the ballroom drifted toward us—a slow, haunting waltz.

“Dance with me,” Julian growled, not waiting for an answer. He pulled me into the center of the balcony, his hand on the small of my back pressing me hard against his chest.

We moved in the moonlight, a dance between two enemies who couldn’t stay apart. I could feel his heart racing against mine. For the first time, I saw it clearly in his eyes: jealousy. Pure, unadulterated jealousy.

Good, I thought, leaning my head on his shoulder, the flash drive hidden safely in my palm. Let your heart burn, Julian. Let it ache for a woman you can never truly own.

“You’re mine, Eris,” he whispered into my hair, his voice sounding broken.

“Nobody owns a ghost, Julian,” I whispered back.

As the waltz ended, I pulled away, leaving him alone in the dark. I walked back into the gala, the obsidian silk of my dress trailing behind me like a funeral shroud.

The codes were mine. The first cut had been made.

And as I looked at Senator Silas across the room, I knew… the next cut would be for his throat.