Director Kaelen offered an awkward smile. "Mr. Fenris will handle the perimeter security."
Serena's smirk widened. "Perfect. I'm in a much better mood without someone breathing down my neck."
Jerrick spoke up, his tone frigid. "There are surveillance cameras inside the theater."
Serena scoffed. "Then make sure you keep your eyes wide open out here and watch me closely."
Jerrick's grayish-blue eyes darkened imperceptibly.
On the surface, it sounded like a blatant provocation.
But only he understood the hidden layer beneath her words.
With cameras everywhere, she couldn't make any sudden moves.
But if things went sideways, the people outside would be the first to know.
Jerrick's voice was perfectly flat as he responded. "Let's hope you don't add to my workload, Miss Panacea."
Serena laughed. "Don't worry, I value my life far too much."
To Kaelen's ears, the exchange sounded like raw, unfiltered hostility.
Only the two of them knew they were covertly swapping intel.
Serena turned and followed Kaelen through the final security checkpoint into the exhibition space.
The temperature inside was noticeably colder than the corridor.
The room was incredibly spacious, yet it felt entirely different from a standard showroom.
It was designed more like an isolated, heavily modified observation chamber.
In the center was a display area enclosed by reinforced blast glass.
The display zone was rigged with life-support lines, biometric monitors, and emergency suppression systems.
A short distance away sat a single black leather chair.
Two armed guards stood rigidly beside it.
Further ahead, a man in a dark tailored suit stood with his back to the door, gazing through the observation glass.
The exquisite cut of the black suit perfectly accentuated his tall, broad-shouldered frame.
He didn't have to do a thing.
Just standing there.
Even from behind, he radiated an overwhelming aura of lethal elegance.
The moment Kaelen saw him, his
posture shifted into a stance of absolute deference. "Mr. Sterling. Sovereign, Your Excellency The Panacea has arrived."
The man slowly turned around.
Serena had maintained her lazy, irritable facade, but the instant she saw his face,
her grip on the medical kit tightened.
She had never seen this face before.
The brow bone was sharper, the nose bridge higher, and the line of his mouth
pressed into a thin, aloof contour.
But those eyes...
Those predatory eyes that always
seemed to harbor a trace of amusement masking lethal danger they were entirely too familiar. He looked exactly like a certain shameless, manipulative fiance of hers.
Why... why was he here?
Wasn't he supposed to be back in Vaelion City, coordinating the external extraction with her brothers?
How did he manage to board Project Zero-Transit, let alone become the ultimate VIP buyer, The Sterling Sovereign?
In that split second, her heart skipped a beat.
This man clearly had no intention of following her instructions either.
But Serena only faltered for a fraction of a second before burying the shock deep within her.
Her expression shifted seamlessly back to the gloomy, indolent mask of The Panacea. "The Sterling Sovereign?"
Nicholas Blackwood's gaze landed heavily on her.
The woman standing before him possessed a strikingly cold beauty exuding a morbid, almost unhinged aura beneath her pale complexion.
Even though her face was completely different and her demeanor deliberately warped into something dangerous and bizarre...
Nicholas recognized her instantly.
Not by her features.
But by her essence.
No matter how heavily she disguised herself, that signature lazy, careless tilt of her eyes was impossible to hide.
He knew her so well that he didn't even need a second glance to be absolutely certain.
His Serena—the same Serena who had promised him she wouldn't operate alone— had actually infiltrated the ship.