Scarlet’s POV
Mr. Hans settled into a plush seat, his arms resting comfortably on the chair. His gaze flicked dismissively toward Dickson and Priscilla. "And who are these two? Fresh at?"
"Unfortunately, no," I said, my tone flat. "They’re still useful, for now. I called you here to ask you about sothing that happened so weeks back. Why did you stop going after Eleanor Moore?"
His face tightened, a flash of genuine frustration breaking through his polished facade. "The Vexxon triplets," he said, the na a bitter taste in his mouth. "They made it very clear that I was to cease all interest in her permanently. They implied the consequences would be... terminal."
I was stunned. I hadn’t been aware of that. "How long ago was this?"
"Less than twenty-four hours after the incident at the Serpent’s Kiss."
My blood ran cold. "And you didn’t think to inform ?"
"At the ti, the matter was personal," he retorted, a muscle twitching in his jaw. "That bitch didn’t just resist; she fought back. She’s the reason all the n I sent to retrieve her are dead, slaughtered by those rogues on the track. I only recently discovered you had your own vendetta against her."
"That’s true," I conceded, my mind racing.
He leaned forward, his eyes sharp and probing. "So, tell , Miss Valois. Why are the Vexxon brothers protecting a nobody? A woman they barely know? What is she to them?"
I felt my nails dig into my palms. I could never reveal the truth. That information was a weapon I could never let fall into the wrong hands.
"I don’t know," I lied, my voice steady despite the fury simring inside . "All I know is that this woman is in my way. She’s a nuisance, an obstacle to my plans, and she needs to be removed."
"We need concrete ideas for her downfall." I turned my gaze to the frail-looking woman, Eleanor’s sister. "You. You must know sothing. A secret, a weakness. Sothing we can use to blackmail her or ruin what’s left of her reputation."
The woman, Priscilla, shook her head, her eyes wide with a practiced innocence. "I was never on good terms with my sister. I don’t know anything."
Dickson quickly backed her up, placing a protective hand on her shoulder. "It’s true. Eleanor has always bullied Priscilla, even though my wife has only ever worried for her well-being."
I nearly laughed. It was obvious Priscilla enjoyed playing the victim for her simpering husband, but their dostic drama was of no interest to .
Mr. Hans spoke up. "Perhaps we don’t need the truth. We could... plant evidence. Suggest she’s using charms, enchantnts... sothing for selfish, unnatural gains."
My hand instinctively went to my waist, where the hidden, enchanted beads rested against my skin. The irony was not lost on , but it wasn’t irony—it was necessity. What I was doing was justified.
I was claiming my rightful place. If they wouldn’t see Eleanor as the slut she was, then I would make them see her as a monster.
"I like that," I said, a slow, cold smile spreading across my lips. "We’ll make it look like she’s involved in sothing dark. Hans, your new task is to get close to her. Don’t worry about the Vexxons. I’ll handle them. I’ll simply explain that as a partner to the Valois empire, and given that Valois is a partner to Vexxon, you have every right to be involved in Serpent’s Kiss events. It’s just good business."
Mr. Hans still looked doubtful, but a familiar, predatory gleam entered his eyes. "I’ll do it. I have a particular talent for luring won, young or old."
I turned my attention back to the pathetic couple. "As for you two, your mission is simple. Make her life miserable. Harass her at every opportunity. And rember," I said, my voice dropping to a dangerous whisper, "I am the one backing you. Do not fail again."
"We won’t dissappoint." Dickson stamred, bowing his head.
"Carson will arrange a new position for you," I said with a dismissive wave. "And whatever resources you need to make this work. Now, all of you should get out."
once they were gone, i left out a long sigh, sinking deeper into the plus chair. the tension was a coiled spring in my body. I definitely needed a release, a break to clear my head. But it would have to wait until i was back in the privacy of my room.
Carson re-entered the room. The expression on his face ant he wanted to say sothing.
"Speak"
"All this stress has been taking a toll on you," his said, his voice a neutral tone. "I would like to suggest a way to make your needs more worthwhile."
I gestured for him to continue. "I’m listening."
He handed a tablet. On the screen were images of hyper-realistic, anatomically perfect male robots. "The new models of the dolls are fully automated. They can now move on their own and respond to pre-programd scenarios."
The thought of a like-like doll, moving on its own volition...was a thrilling prospect. And sooner or later, the real n will take the dolls’ plae, and be properly trained and obedient.
"Get it imdiately," I commanded, handing the tablet back to him. "Spare no expense."
He gave a slight bow. "Of course, ma’am."
I leaned back, a sense of profound satisfaction washing over . This was the true perk of power.I could sit back and watch others carry out my every desire and command. No one could defy . No one can dare ss with .
And Eleanor moore was about to learn that lesson in the most devastating way possible.
***
Eleanor’s POV
"Eleanor, eyes on your right! I can’t keep babysitting you over here!" Roxy’s voice crackled over the comm, sharp with urgency.
"Got it!" I yelled back, my hands gripping the wheel as I swerved. I squeezed the trigger, and a burst of plasma lit up the track, vaporizing two of the screeching, green-skinned creatures that had scrambled out of the asphalt.
These were new. The track had unlocked them today, and I knew it the mont we’d started the practice run. I’d heard it again—a low, whispering murmur that slithered up from the road into my bones. I have prepared a more challenging road for you, my master.
Mira’s briefing had called them goblins. Small, vicious, and unnervingly strong for their size. one of their weakness? Fire.
One landed on my hood with a sickening thud, its claws screeching against the reinforced glass of the windshield. Then another. They were piling on, their dead, black eyes fixed on , their bony fists hamring at the roof, trying to smash their way in.
"Ti for a barbecue," I muttered, my finger finding a different trigger. A new chanism, whirred to life. Nozzles erged from the sides of the vehicle, and with a whoosh, a spray of liquid fire engulfed the front of my car.
I kept driving, a blazing cot on the track. The creatures clinging to didn’t scream; they just let out a guttural hiss as the flas consud them, their grips loosening as they rolled away from the speeding vehicle, their bodies turning to ash in the wind.
I watched them go, my heart hamring. I didn’t know if they felt fear. How could you tell? All their faces looked like they were already dead.
I glanced to my left and saw Roxy’s vehicle rocket toward a massive jump ramp. She hit the peak, suspended in the air for a breathtaking mont, and then she fired. Liquid fla erupted from her vehicle in a full, glorious circle as she executed a perfect, controlled spin mid-air. It was like watching a firework designed for pure, destructive beauty.
"You know you can get rid of them without doing that right?" Mira’s dry voice comnted over the comms. "Let’s focus on what’s at hand."
"Jealous you can’t pull it off?" Roxy shot back, her landing smooth as silk.
Mira didn’t reply with words. Instead, her car surged forward, aiming for another ramp. She hit it at a sharper angle, and her vehicle flipped completely upside down at the apex of the jump. While inverted, a precise stream of fire shot downward, incinerating a cluster of goblins on the track below. Then, with impossible grace, her car righted itself and landed perfectly, imdiately drifting into a tight turn.
"That was amazing!" I gasped, my own driving feeling clumsy in comparison.
"How—where did you learn to do that?" Roxy demanded, the impressed shock clear in her tone.
Mira’s voice was laced with a smirk. "Have you forgotten? I used to be a prodigy."
"Show-off," Roxy grumbled.
As we sped down the final stretch, the whisper ca again, slithering up from the asphalt through the very fra of my car. You did well... I will see you again.
A violent chill racked my body. I slamd my foot down on the accelerator, surging forward. I didn’t want to hear it the more. I didn’t want to give it a chance to unleash sothing else.
We crossed it, our cars screeching to a halt after. I sat there, breathing heavily, and watched through my window as the remaining goblins still shambling on the track dissolved into clouds of black dust, swept away by an unseen wind.
That’s how it always was. Once the race was over, the road went back to normal, as if nothing had ever happened.
Sitting in the sudden silence of the parked car, my hands still trembling on the wheel, I fumbled in my pocket. My fingers closed around the crisp edge of the card Sir Alfred had given . The enchantress.
Maybe the suppressants would also quiet the voice in the asphalt. Would things be able to go her way this ti?
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