Aliana arrived at the Pavilion just before midnight, her elegant appearance a stark contrast to the events of only a few hours earlier. A simple yet expensive ck gown hugged her figure, her hair was neatly pinned up, and her face was calm–as though nothing had happened She had cleaned herself up in a secret apartment before returning, erasing all traces of the fight and her identity as Nyx.

    Andrian was already waiting in the living room, his face grim. He stood with his fists clenched at his sides, his eyes fixed sharply on Aliana as she walked olliin. /li/ol

    “Where have you been?” Andrian’s voice was deep yet firm. “Out there, the person who tried to kill iyou /iis still atrge, and you’re wandering around as you pleaseb./bb” /b

    Aliana walked calmly toward the sofa, sitting down gracefully without answering right away. “I just went out bto /btake care of something important.”

    Andrian’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. “Important? Important enough to ignore your own safety?”

    “As important as my life,” Aliana replied curtly, without meeting his gaze.

    Andrian stepped closer, his voice rising. “Do you think this is ba /bgame, Aliana? That person almost ran you down in public, and now you’re acting like nothing happened. You even went out without an escort–aren’t you afraid of dying?”

    Aliana exhaled softly. “If I were afraid of dying, I wouldn’t have gone outb. /bI can take care of myself, Andrian.”

    “Take care of yourself?b” /bAndrian let out a shortb, /bcoldugh. “Fine. Let’s say I believe youb, /bsince you came back in one piece. But why did you leave without telling anyoneb, /bnot even your assistant? Did you deliberately want me to search for you like some fool?”

    Aliana met his gáze tly. “I don’t need you toe looking for me.”

    Her words made Andrian’s jaw tighten. Of course, he knew Aliana wasn’t trying to gain his favor. In factb, /bshe was tantly disregarding him now.

    “So, where exactly were you?” Andrian pressed, his tone more interrogative.

    Aliana gave a faint smile, though inwardly she had already prepared her answer. “Like I said, I was taking care of something important. I don’t need to report my every move, do I?”

    Andrian stepped closer, his gaze piercing. “Did you meet Charlotte Dcroix again?b” /b

    Aliana’s eyes narrowed slightly, but her voice remained calm. “That’s

    my

    businessb./bb” /b

    Andrian scoffed. “Your ibusiness/ib, /bor the Velor family’s? What did you talk about with her? I know you had just met that woman before the attack.”

    “Ah! So you’re not really here because you’re worried about my safety. You’re bjust /bcurious why I met Madame Dcroix?”

    “Aliana!” iAndrian /isnapped, his frustration mounting as she twisted his words.

    “Do you want me to invite Madame Charlotte here so you can ask her yourself what we talked about?” Aliana replied coolly, her even tone making him all the more irate.

    “Don’t y word games, Aliana.” Andrian closed his eyes briefly, attempting to rein in his temper, and failed. “I know you’re not the type to meet someone like Charlotte just ifor /ismall talk.”

    “I met her because there was something that needed to be discussed. That’s all,” Aliana answered dismissively, as if eager bto /bbend /bbthe /bconversation. Andrian’s re sharpened. He knew there was no point in reasoning with Aliana, who clearly didn’t care about bher /bbown /bsafety.

    “You’re creating problems ifor /iyourself, Aliana. Should I lock byou /bup here bso /byou can’t do as you please? Do you realize bthat /bif banything /bbhappens /bbto /bbyou/b, I’ll bbe /bthe one held responsible?”

    07:16

    bSept /b

    Aliana straightened her back, meeting his gaze directly. Her voice was cold and resolute.

    b90/b%

    “I belong to myself, Andrian. No one can cage me–not even you I don’t need your concern. What you need to know is that i can take care of mysel

    Her words left Andrian silent for a few seconds. He stared at her, trying to read her expression, but all he saw was a calmness that only deepened his

    frustration.

    “I don’t know what you’re really nning,” he said, his tone like ice. “But remember this, Aliana–every action has consequences And if you’re not careful, you’ll regret it. I don’t want to be dragged into the mess you create.”

    Aliana said nothing. She simply looked at him as if his words were nothing more than wind passing by.

    Seeing her unyielding reaction, Andrian finally grabbed his jacket from the chair. Without another word, he turned and walked out of the Pavilion, leaving the door wide open behind him.

    Aliana watched his back until he disappeared, then exhaled slowly. Her face remained expressionless, but her eyes held a cold glint. She knew Andrian truly was worried for her safety, but he also harbored suspicion–and that meant she had to act with even more caution.

    One thing was certain–Aliana would not stop just because Andrian was angry. Her goal was still far from achieved, and nothing would stand in bher /bway until she had avenged Alicia’s death.

    Meanwhile, Derek began carrying out Bianca’s orders. He knew he had to move carefully, leaving no trace that could be linked back to himself or his

    mistress.

    Derek pulled an external hard drive from a desk drawer in his apartment. Inside was the original recording of the tragedy that had befallen Alicia–a recording he had kept hidden for just such a time, in case it was ever needed as a weapon.

    The fact that Aliana and Alicia looked almost identical was a huge advantage. Derek wouldn’t have to change much. He only needed to cut certain parts, alter camera angles, and adjust lighting and color saturation so that Alicia’s face in the video looked fresher–making it appear as though it was truly Aliana.

    Derek was confident that, in the hands of a skilled technician, the manipted video would lookpletely convincing.

    He summoned two IT experts he trusted–specialists in digital maniption. They didn’t speak much, merely epted the hard drive from Derek and began their work.

    The secret room where they worked was filled with the sound of mouse clicks, the rhythm of keyboard strokes, and the faint hum ofputers straining to render the edits.

    “Make it look like an affair,” Derek instructed firmly as he oversaw the process. “No need for any violence.”

    One of them replied iwithout /ilooking away from the screen. “Give us two hours. After that, this video will look like a scene of consensual intimacy. No one will suspect a thing.”

    Derek sat in the chair with a rxed posture, but his eyes were sharp, watching every move. He made sure every trace that could indicate the video was rape was removed–cuts to the movements, screams erased, reced with faint sounds that conveyed a different impression.

    Time passed slowly, but the final result was satisfying/On the screen, the footage that had once been evidence of brutality had now transformed into a steamy scandal. There were no signs of violence. Everything looked like a consensual illicit affair. Derek gave a faint smile.

    “Good. Save a copy for me, and delete all files from yourputers after you’ve uploaded it,” Derek ordered.

    Once he had the edited copy in hand, Derek immediately contacted several of his connections in underground forums. Using multipleyers of anonymity–VPN, foreign servers, and untraceable devices–he uploaded the video to various dark tforms before it eventually leaked into mainstream social media through anonymous gossip ounts.

    His steps were precise and meticulous. Derek made it appear as though the video came from an “insider” dissatisfied with Aliana’s perfect public image. He knew that in the online worldb, /bba /bscandal like this would spread like wildfire in a dry forestb–/bespecially when the target was Andrian Velor’s wifeb, /bba /bbbig /bname that was always prime prey for news hunters.

    Derek made sure to time the uploads and coordinate the distribution pattern so that the video appeared from multiple different ounta locations. This way tracing the original source would be extremely difficult almost impossible.

    On hisptop screen, Derek watched the first posts go live. Comments began flooding in–ranging from shock, outrage, and dishelief to those age use the moment to tarnish the reputations of both the Velor and Zavier families.

    Derek smiled in satisfaction. The initial impact was going exactly as nned. But he knew his work wasn’t done. There was still one problem the two editors who had just helped manipte the footage. They were living witnesses who could expose his identity. And to Derek, witnesses were bthreats /bthat

    had to be eliminated.

    While they were busy packing up their equipment and storing the payment they had just received, Derek stepped closer. His friendly smile remained in ce, keeping them unsuspecting.

    “You two did an excellent job,” Derek praised. “Truly professional.”

    One of them chuckled. “Thank youb, /bsir. If there’s another job, just let us kn—”

    The sentence was cut short as Derek pulled a suppressed pistol from beneath his jacket. Two muffled shots ended their lives instantly. Their bodies copsed almost simultaneously, blood seeping onto the floor but not spreading far–Derek had already ced a thin tarp under the worktable in preparation.

    Without expression, Derek began cleaning the scene. He wiped away fingerprints, checked the internal CCTV recordings, then removed and destroyed the storage hard drive. In less than two hours, the room was pristine again, as if nothing had happened.

    He ced the two bodies into thick ck body bags. Derek had already prepared a car with a spacious trunk. In the darkness of night, he transported the bags to a disposal site known only to a handful of people–a ce safe from both thew and the public eye.

    Once the disposal wasplete, Derek drove calmly back toward bthe /bcity center. His face remained nk, his mind already moving to the next step. He knew Bianca would be pleased to hear that the video had spread without a hitch–and that there were no witnesses left.

    He parked in a quiet underground garage, changed the car’s license te, then switched into different clothes to erase any sign that he had just done something serious. His phone buzzed–a short message from Bianca.

    “Is everything done?”

    Derek typed a short reply. “Yes, Miss. No problems.”

    After sending the message, ihe /itossed the burner phone used during the operation into a drain. All temporarymunication devices had been wiped of data and could no longer be traced.