Chapter 4 - BLOOD ON THE DANCE FLOOR.
I stopped directly behind Cassandra, standing perfectly still until the men surrounding her noticed my presence and fell utterly silent.
Cassandra turned around slowly, an annoyed scowl forming on her perfectly painted lips.
She looked me up and down, her eyes catching the angry red scratch on my cheek and the striking contrast of my white suit and black gloves.
She recognized me instantly, but her arrogance masked her fear.
"Get out out of my way!" she shrieked, her voice shrill enough to cut through the classical music.
I stepped closer, invading her personal space, completely unbothered by her volume.
"How dare you," she hissed, stepping into my face.
I slowly raised my black-gloved index finger and pressed it against her cheek, shushing her like a petulant child.
Her eyes widened in pure, unadulterated outrage.
"I own people like you!" Cassandra screamed, leaning back and preparing to strike me.
She never got the chance to raise her hand.
I grabbed the front of her yellow dress with my left hand, pulling her off balance.
With my right hand, I delivered a devastating, open-palm strike directly into her collarbone.
The force of the blow lifted her feet off the polished marble floor.
Cassandra collapsed onto her back, a crumpled mess of yellow silk and shattered pride.
The surrounding guests gasped in horror, drinks spilling onto the floor as they scrambled backward.
Two large men in tuxedos rushed forward from the crowd, stepping up behind me.
They were Cassandra's bodyguards, but a single, lethal glance over my shoulder froze them in their tracks.
They recognized the stance of a professional killer and decided their paychecks weren't worth their lives.
I looked down at Cassandra, who was clutching her chest and gasping for air on the marble floor.
"You don't know who I am," I stated, my voice echoing clearly in the sudden silence of the ballroom.
I crouched down beside her, grabbing a fistful of her expensive red hair and pulling her face close to mine.
"Where is Eleanor taking my daughter?" I whispered, ensuring only she could hear the promise of death in my words.
"She's... she's taking her to the old naval shipyard," Cassandra choked out, tears of pain ruining her mascara.
"Pier forty-four," she sobbed, trembling under my grip.
"If she is already gone when I get there, I am coming back to finish this," I promised.
May you like
I released her hair and stood up, smoothing the front of my white suit.
I walked out of the ballroom through the parted sea of terrified billionaires, my target locked and my timeline shrinking.
