Chapter 1: The Woman in Red
Chapter 1: The Woman in Red
Silence swallowed the ballroom.
No one moved.
The shattered champagne glasses glittered across the polished marble floor like scattered diamonds. Among them rested a six-inch stiletto knife, its razor-sharp blade catching the chandelier's light.
The woman in the red dress froze.
For the first time that night, confidence vanished from her face.
The young waitress stood protectively in front of the elderly woman, breathing hard, her empty serving tray still trembling in her hands.
"I saw the blade," she said quietly.
Security rushed toward the attacker, but before they could reach her, the woman in red smiled.
"You have no idea what you've interrupted."
She suddenly bit down on something hidden inside her mouth.
Within seconds, she collapsed.
Poison.
The ballroom erupted into chaos.
Doctors pushed through the crowd, but it was already too late.
The assassin had taken every secret with her.
The elderly woman in the wheelchair slowly looked up at the waitress.
"You just saved my life."
Her voice was calm.
Almost emotionless.
But her eyes carried decades of pain.
Before the waitress could answer, every light in the ballroom dimmed.
Someone had cut the power.
When the emergency lights flickered on, the mysterious young man in the black tuxedo had disappeared.
Only one thing remained where he had been standing.
A black chess piece.
The King.
The old woman stared at it for several seconds.
May you like
Then she whispered,
"He's finally come home."
