Revenge is Best Served After Reborn (James)

A goon from the Gibbs family had the audacity to block their path like that. Normally, the boss wouldn't let that slide.

"Isn't Sophie inside? If I stick my nose in, she might blame me for messing up her plan."

Odie glanced at his watch-it was precisely eight o'clock. They had three hours; by eleven, the dinner should be over.

"Keep a sharp eye on things," Odie ordered. "If there's any trouble inside, rush in! Any suspicious characters? Rush in! And if nobody's out by eleven, trash the hotel!" "Got it, boss!"

Outside the dinner venue, the socialites not only strutted down the red carpet but also attracted a flurry of photographers from numerous media outlets. These events always made it to the papers and magazines, sometimes even grabbing international headlines. Sophie, in her stunning white mermaid dress, was the star of the show, making Sandy realize that everyone else was in black gowns. Sophie truly stood out.

"Looks like you're the lucky one, the queen bee of our socialite hive," Sandy whispered to Sophie.

"Queen bee? Ms. Sandy, isn't that a bit of a stretch?"

"Well, you get my drift. You're the star tonight, lucky you."

Sandy pouted. If only she'd agreed to swap dresses when Sophie had asked her earlier that afternoon!

"I wonder who designed this dress. It's quite different from the usual style but really well done."

That's what Sandy said, but her eyes never left the other socialites.

"White and black-symbols of light and darkness," Sophie mused. "Clearly, light's on the losing side tonight."

Sophie was the only one in white, standing out like a beacon in a sea of black.

By now, everyone had entered the venue.

"Welcome to the Mysterious Lady Dinner hosted by Sunshine," the host's voice echoed from all directions, clearly a high-tech sound system floating mid-air. Suddenly, the once-dark second floor was flooded with light.

Rows of seats were revealed, filled with men and women wearing white masks and black cloaks. Their hidden faces added a creepy, oppressive vibe. "What's all this about? It's so unsettling."

"Yeah, are we on display or something? What's with those looks?"

Grumbles of discontent spread among the socialites; they were used to being revered, not scrutinized like merchandise.

Sandy felt it too, a wave of discomfort washing over her. "What are they doing? This feels so wrong."

"Uncomfortable?" Sophie replied nonchalantly. "That's because we're on the first floor and they're on the second, looking at us through lenses, like we're goods on display."

Outside, the place had been swarming with reporters, but once inside, they all vanished.

Sophie knew the Mintons held these sleazy dinners every month to butter up corporate bigwigs. But this time, something felt different, even more off than usual. én.swnovels.net