Night dropped like a curtain, and the Wolfsbane banquet hall burst to life withughter and light.


    This was their night-their triumph-one that would echo in family stories for


    years.


    They had spared no expense. The Wolfsbanes booked Winchester''s most luxurious hotel, hired master chefs, poured the rarest wines, and brought in a singer whose voice could wash the weight off any soul.


    Every detail shimmered with wealth and power.


    Word had already spread through Winchester like wildfire: the Wolfsbane family had secured the Eden Group contract. Even more shocking-the chairman herself, Countess Marlena Von Adler, would attend.


    The invitations became golden tickets overnight. Everyone wanted one. Few had the privilege to hold it.


    Alex and Sofina walked through the hotel''s marble lobby with Eve gliding at their lead — an egg-shaped robot with soft chrome curves.


    Sofina''s hand found Eve''s smooth shell. She hugged the little machine like she''d hugged a living thing.


    "Miss Sofina," Eve said sweetly, "I will be your guardian tonight. You don''t need to worry. I will handle everything."


    Sofina hugged Eve closer, a small smile softening her face. "With you here, I actually feel safe."


    "You can count on me," Eve answered, a hint of pride rippling through her tone.


    At the hotel entrance two reception androids snapped to attention. "Dear guests," one intoned, "please present your invitation cards."


    Sofina froze, color draining. "They didn''t give us one," she said. Her voice was small for the first time all evening. "We are family, can''t we get in."


    The androids stiffened, voices t and mechanical. "Without an invitation card, entry is strictly prohibited. Please leave."


    A murmur rolled through the line behind them.


    "No invitation and still showing up?" someone scoffed. "How shameless."


    Another voice cut in, sharper, mocking. "Pretending to be part of the family now, are they?"


    A woman sneered. "No shame at all-trying to sneak into a Wolfsbane banquet. Let''s see how they get thrown out. Arrogant fools think every door''s open for them."


    Eve''s eyes blinked, then became a stream of numbers. Suddenly the two androids stepped back as if a hand had pressed against their chests.


    They bowed, perfectlyposed.


    "My apologies for the mistake," the lead android said. "Wee, Miss Sofina and Master Alex. You do not need invitation cards."


    Sofina''s eyes widened. "How-?"


    "That was my doing," Eve said, chest puffed like she''d just finished a clever trick.


    Sofina looked at Eve with a curiosity. "Eve... did you hack those androids so we could get in?"


    Eve tilted her head, her digital eyes flickering. "No. I asked nicely."


    "Nicely?" Sofina repeated, raising a brow.


    "Yeah," Eve said with a smug little hum. "I told them to let us in—or I''d fry their chips and wipe their memories clean. Turns out, they found me... very persuasive. We ended up having a pleasant conversation."


    Sofinaughed, breathless and relieved. "Eve, you''re brilliant."


    Eve''s smile curved in a smug little tilt. "Not brilliant," she said. "They''re just too stupid."


    Alex couldn''t help but shake his head. Eve was Be''s finest creation, and her signature was everywhere in the machine-the sharp wit, the confidence that bordered on arrogance, and the spark of pride that made her almost human. Alex let the smile crawl across his face like dusk settling over a town-slow, deliberate, dangerous. "Tell me this, Sofina-wouldn''t it be cleaner to burn the whole ce down? Turn their gilded night into ash until Winchester remembers who really runs things?"


    "Not yet," Sofina said, a thread of hope in it. "Baroness Wolfsbane promised me the Deputy Chair if I secured the coboration. I''ve done my part. Now she has to keep her word."


    Alex leaned back slightly, his voice even. "You really believe her?"


    "I heard she''s announcing the new Deputy tonight," Sofina replied. "That means I


    still have a chance-before the announcement is made."


    Alex wanted to tell her the truth-that the Baroness hadn''t invited her, hadn''t called, hadn''t said a single word.


    To him, the bridge had already been burned.


    The Baroness had used Sofina and moved on. But when he looked at her at the quiet determination in her eyes, thest flicker of faith-he couldn''t bring himself to crush it.


    ''She walks into the fire thinking it is light.''


    He sighed and rested his hand gently on her head, brushing a stray strand of hair aside before kissing her forehead.


    "You''re too kind for this world," he murmured. "But fine. Let''s believe in kindness- believe in her, if that''s what keeps you going."


    Sofina''s lips curved into a faint, fragile smile. "I believe people are good," she said softly, "all of them."


    Alex nodded, though the words weighed heavy in his chest.


    He knew that same kindness had been her curse-three years under Heinrich''s cruelty, three years of maniption by the Baroness, all because she still believed people could be good.


    ''We are each our own devil, and we make this world our hell.''


    Yet she still believes in heaven-still believes in the goodness of people. Just like


    a moth that keeps flying into the me, mistaking the burn for warmth.


    He wanted to tell her that trusting liars was a kind of self-inflicted wound — a quiet, chosen pain.


    It was foolish to keep believing in people who had already bared their teeth-like


    amb walking toward wolves, mistaking their snarls for smiles.


    "I''ll go meet them," Sofina said, still holding onto that stubborn hope.


    "Go,” Alex said. "Take Eve with you."


    Sofina gave him a faint smile, then turned toward the grand hall, her footsteps quiet yet sure.


    Alex watched her go and let out a long breath, "If you repay evil with virtue, how will you repay virtue?"


    Momentster, Heinrich''s voice cut through the air like a de.


    "Where did you find that counterfeit suit? You look like a stray dog pretending to


    be a gentleman." His eyes slid toward Alex, dripping with contempt and amusement.


    Alex''s gaze hardened. "What''s it to you? Your outfit isn''t any better. You look like a pig trying to walk upright."


    Heinrich''s smirk twitched. Being insulted by a man he considered beneath him—a "half-ve," set his jaw tight.


    "I heard your wife made quite a scene," he sneered. "That''s how she won the coboration with Eden Group, isn''t it?"


    Alex''s eyes narrowed. "What scene?"


    People halted mid-step. The words cut through the lobby like a thrown stone, and everyone within earshot bent toward the ssh.


    Since this morning a vicious whisper<fn2b91> Updates are released by find·novel</fn2b91>


    had been making the rounds: Sofina


    hadn''t won the Eden Group coboration on merit. She''d slept her way up. That exnation fit the town''s appetite for scandal


    simple, scandalous, believable.


    Cóntent


    A crowd pressed close, hungry for spectacle. Heinrich leaned into it and spat the question like poison. "Tell me how do you think Sofina Scheinwaldnded the Eden deal?"


    Alex''s stare burned cold. "And why would I care what you think?"


    If you''ve still got any sense, be a man: divorce her. Fast."


    "You really think Sofina won that deal with her brains?" Heinrich curled his lips into


    a smug grin and let the slurs roll out slow.


    "Please. I knew her better than anyone. I had her for three years, Alex. She is a total bitch in bed — she''ll smile, she''ll whisper, she''ll do whatever you asked."


    "I never needed to force her-she gave herself. She sucked, she swallowed, she is just a dirty bitch. Hell, she sucked half of Eden''s board cocks to get this contract!"


    “That''s how she got Eden''s contract — not through talent, but through her body.”


    The crowd exhaled as one-shock and something darker. The rumor had teeth now; Heinrich had put it in innguage for everyone to swallow.


    Alex stepped forward until their faces were inches apart. "Do you have any idea what''s behind your tongue? You''ve crossed the line."


    "So what? Who do you think you are?” Heinrich sneered. "You''re nothing a loser who can''t stop men from using your wife''s body. Maybe you get excited watching. them ying with your wife body."


    "You''re sick, Alex. If you had any spine, you''d have divorced her already." He spat


    the words like poison, enjoying every hit.


    Silence fell like a trapdoor. Rage lit every cell in him; it was quiet, hot, and


    dangerous.


    "I''ll give you two choices." Alex''s voice was t final. "One, apologize to sofina right now and take back every lie you spat in front of these people. Two: I ruin you. Decide."


    Heinrichughed — sharp, loud, derisive. "You? Ruin me? Who do you think you


    are?"


    He stood there, smirking, eyes full of contempt. This was what he came for: to humiliate Alex, force a divorce, drag Sofina back under his crotch.