Crystal glasses clinked in Clara's penthouse as the city lights shimmered beneath the floor-to-ceiling windows. A circle of her closest social allies lounged on velvet couches, sipping champagne while the soft notes of a string quartet played in the background.
Clara sat at the head of the gathering, her expression sharp enough to slice through the elegance of the evening.
"So," she began, swirling her glass, "our dear Adrian decided to parade his little charity project in front of the board today."
Laughter bubbled from one of the women. "I heard he called her his partner. The audacity."
Clara's lips curled into something between a smile and a snarl. "Audacity… or desperation. Adrian has always been proud. For him to use that word, he's playing a dangerous game. And she's the bait."
The men in the circle shifted uncomfortably. Everyone in that room knew better than to cross Clara in this mood.
"She looked nervous," another voice offered, trying to appease her. "She doesn't belong in our world, Clara. Sooner or later, she'll trip, and when she does—"
Clara's laugh cut them off. Cold. Calculated. "Sooner isn't soon enough. Rumors didn't destroy her. Adrian shielded her with his name, and people are too cowardly to challenge him."
She leaned forward, placing her glass on the marble table with a sharp clink. "So we don't go after her reputation. Not directly. We go after her foundation. Her family. Her past. The pieces of her life that Adrian can't control."
A silence fell over the room. One of the women raised an eyebrow. "Her family? What could they possibly have that matters?"
Clara's smile returned, this time softer, deadlier. "Every nobody has a crack in their perfect story. A debt. A scandal. A mistake. All I need is one."
She lifted her phone, dialing a private investigator. "Find me everything on Lena Hart. I don't care how small. I'll turn it into her downfall."
The guests exchanged glances, some thrilled by the cruelty, others too afraid to object.
As the music swelled, Clara stood, her silhouette glowing against the city skyline. "She wants to play in our world? Fine. But she'll learn quickly—this game doesn't have mercy."
Far across the city, Lena lay awake in Adrian's penthouse, staring at the ceiling. She didn't know it yet, but the real war had just begun.