Chapter 169

No.1

The heavy oak doors of the restaurant swung shut behind August and Allena, leaving a tense, artificial chatter in their wake.

Jewel was vibrating with rage, her fingernails biting into her palms. "I can't believe he just walked out with the drives.He thinks he's a god."

Elisa released Jewel's armn. Her face was a mask of cold calculation. "Let them celebrate. Come with me."

She turned and walked swiftly toward the back of the restaurant, slipping through a swinging door marked 'Staff Only'. Jewel followed close behind.

They navigated a narrow, brightly lit corridor smelling of bleach and roasted garlic, pushing past startled waiters until they reached a small, windowless room at the very back. The AV control room.

Elisa locked the door behind them. The room was cramped, filled with racks of amplifiers and a single

No.2

desk holding a computer monitor.

"He took the physical drives," Elisa said, leaning against the doorframe to take the weight off her spine. "But you were tapped into the feed. Tell me you'didn't just stream it locally."

Jewel let out a sharp, wicked laugh. The anger in her eyes was replaced by the thrill of the hunt.

"Please. I've been in television for ten years," Jewel said, dropping into the chair in front of the computer."I never trust physical media when a billionaire is in the room. The moment I plugged into their server, I initiated a background mirror to my encrypted cloud drive."

Jewel's fingers flew across the keyboard. She bypassed the restaurant's local network and logged into a secure, remote server.

"I didn't just get the hallway clip," Jewel muttered,her eyes scanning lines of file directories. "I dumped the entire day's B-roll from all four cameras."

No.3

"Show me camera two," Elisa commanded. "The one positioned near the green room, thirty minutes before the hallway incident."

"That's the one," Jewel said. "They left it on a tripod to get some ambient shots of the office environment.They forgot it was rolling."

Jewel clicked a file. A high-definition video popped up on the screen.

It showed a quiet, empty corridor outside the makeshift makeup room. Allena was standing alone.

She wasn't smiling. Her face was set in a hard,irritable scowl. She was aggressively typing on her phone, looking annoyed.

Then, the video showed Allena glancing down the hall. Her posture instantly changed. She shoved her phone into her pocket.

No.4

With deliberate, calculated movements, Allena reached up to the collar of her silk blouse. She unfastened the top two buttons, pulling the fabric slightly apart to expose the curve of her collarbone.She messed up her perfectly styled hair with one hand,making herself look disheveled and fragile.

A few seconds later, August walked into the frame from the far end of the hall.

As he approached, Allena took a step forward.She deliberately twisted he right ankle inward, letting her knee buckle. She let out a soft, theatrical gasp and pitched forward, falling perfectly and precisely into August's chest.

August caught her instantly, his arms wrapping around her. Allena buried her face in his neck, her hands clutching his lapels, playing the role of the terrified, delicate victim to absolute perfection.

Jewel hit the spacebar, pausing the video on Allena's face, which was hidden from August but perfectly visible to the camera. She was smiling. A cold,calculating, victorious smile.

"Son of a bitch," Jewel breathed, staring at the screen in disgust. "She orchestrated the whole thing.The 'fainting', the falling... it's all a performance to keep him hooked."

No.5

The video was the ultimate proof. It wasn't just that Allena was a liar. It proved that the very foundation of August's protective obsession-Allena's fragility-was a weaponized manipulation.

"Download it," Elisa said, her voice quiet and deadly.

"Isolate that specific sequence. High definition.Encrypt it."

"Done," Jewel said, plugging a small, black USB drive into the terminal. The progress bar zipped across the screen. "Do you want me to send this to the press right now? We can have it on Page Six before they even get back to their penthouse."

Elisa stared at the frozen image of Allena's fake,manipulative smile.

"No," Elisa said.

No.6

Jewel looked up, confused. "Why not? This destroys her entire 'innocent victim' narrative."

"Because if we release it now, August's PR machine will spin it," Elisa explained, her mind working ten steps ahead. "They will say she was dizzy. They will bury it with money, just like he did out there tonight.A leak isn't enough."

Jewel pulled the USB drive from the computer and held it out.

Elisa took the small piece of plastic. It felt heavy in her palm. It was a loaded gun.

"We don't waste ammunition on a warning shot,"Elisa said, slipping the drive into the pocket of her dress. "We save it for the moment she is standing on the highest pedestal she can build. We wait until she has everything to lose, and no shadows left to hide in."

Someone rattled the doorknob from the outside. A muffled voice called out, asking who was in the control room.

No.7

Elisa and Jewel shared a look. Jewel quickly logged out,wiping the terminal's history.

They slipped out the back service exit, stepping into the coo, damp air of the Manhattan alleyway.

Elisa touched her pocket. The physical pain in her back was still there, a dull roar of agony. But her mind was crystal clear. She had the weapon. Now,she just needed to build the perfect stage for the execution.