Champagne flutes trembled on silver trays as Luna swept into the ballroom, her ivory qipao whispering against marble floors. The crowd parted like startled minnows, whispers rising in her wake—"She dares show her face?" "Look at Liyun's expression—priceless!"
Liyun's vermillion nails dug into Richard's forearm, her smile a rictus of lacquered malice. "Darling," she cooed too brightly, "our prodigal daughter graces us."
Luna paused before them, veiled face tilted in mock deference. "Father. Stepmother." Her tone dripped honeyed frost. "How… united you look."
Richard's jowls quivered. "You've caused enough—"
"—concern for your reputation?" Luna's laugh tinkled like wind chimes. "I came to congratulate your enduring union. A testament to… shared interests."
The barb struck true. Liyun's diamond choker constricted with her swallow.
Across the room, crystal pendants shivered as double doors swung open. Luo Fu entered with the gravitas of a warlord—silk suit straining over his bulk, cigar smoke trailing like a conqueror's banner.
Liyun revived, syrupy sweetness returning. "Godfather! How honored we are by your presence!"
She latched onto his arm, but Luo's piggish eyes locked on Luna. "Who's this delicate blossom?"
"My husband's… wayward daughter." Liyun's nails flexed possessively. "Pay her no mind."
Luna extended a gloved hand, voice silken. "Luna Xia. I've heard so much about your… philanthropic shipments to Xia Medical."
Luo's grin revealed gold-capped molars. "Let's discuss your curiosity over cognac, little flower."
As Luo steered Luna toward the bar, the crowd's whispers crescendoed. Liyun's composure cracked. "Richard! Are you blind? She's seducing our last lifeline!"
Richard watched Luna's retreating figure, calculating. "Perhaps she'll secure better terms than your blundering."
At the mahogany bar, Luna accepted a brandy snifter, her veil lifted just enough to tease. "Your wife must admire your dedication, Mr. Luo—traveling so far to celebrate another man's marriage."
Luo's chuckle vibrated the cut-crystal decanters. "My Lihua prefers I… socialize while she tends to Beijing affairs."
"How fortunate." Luna traced the rim of her glass. "I'd love to meet her. She sounds… formidable."
His smile faltered.
Outside, a black Maybach Phantom glided to the curb. A woman emerged—midnight qipao, hair swept into a silver guan, eyes sharp as obsidian shards.
The maitre d' blanched. "M-Madam Luo!"
Lihua Luo entered like a blade unsheathed, her gaze finding her husband's meaty hand on Luna's wrist.
Cha stilled.
Luna smiled.
Checkmate.
The ballroom's chandeliers trembled as Luo Fu's bulk cast a shadow over the festivities. Richard's sycophantic grin faltered when the tycoon's sausage-thick fingers closed around Liyun's wrist. "My Yulan deserves better than this circus," Luo rumbled, his breath reeking of cigars and single malt.
Liyun preened beneath his gaze, the diamond choker at her throat catching light like a predator's eyes in the dark. "Godfather always knows what's best," she simpered, shooting Luna a venomous glance.
Xiaodie materialized at Luna's elbow, her whisper a serpent's hiss. "See how he adores her? You'll never touch this kind of power."
Luna sipped champagne, the bubbles stinging her tongue. "How fortunate your mother's… devotion keeps the family afloat."
The quartet struck up a waltz. Richard extended a trembling hand to Liyun, his voice brittle. "My dear—"
Liyun turned her back, draping herself over Luo's arm. "Godfather honors us with the first dance."
On the floor, Luo's palm slid lower than propriety allowed. Liyun's laughter trilled too high, too forced. "Careful," she murmured, "your wife might hear."
"Let the harpy choke on her jade bangles," he growled, fingers digging into her corseted waist.
Luna's voice sliced through the murmur of crystal and gossip. "Father, Xiaodie says you've upset Aunt Liyun." Her tone carried just enough volume to still nearby conversations. "Is it true Godfather's generosity comes with… special conditions?"
A champagne flute shattered.
All eyes snapped to the dance floor where Luo now nuzzled Liyun's earlobe, his hand vanishing beneath the sequined train of her gown.
Richard's face purpled. "You whore—"
The ballroom doors exploded inward.
Madam Luo entered like a blade unsheathed—emerald cheongsam slit to the thigh, hair coiled with jade hairpins sharp enough to draw blood. The crowd parted before her bullwhip's coiled threat.
"Lihua, darling—" Luo stumbled back, cognac sloshing down his shirtfront.
She ignored him, her gaze locking on Liyun. "This the godchild you've been mentoring?"
The whip cracked.
Liyun's scream harmonized with rending silk as the lash split her gown—and the flesh beneath. She collapsed, ruby droplets blooming across the parquet like poisoned roses.
Madam Luo towered over her, boot crushing Liyun's manicured hand. "My husband's philanthropy ends tonight." She flicked a bloodied photograph at Luo—a surveillance still of him funneling Xia Medical funds into a Cayman account. "Enjoy bankruptcy."
Chaos erupted. Guests stampeded for exits, trampling Liyun's abandoned clutch. Xiaodie wailed over her mother's prone form, mascara bleeding into the bloodstained carpet. Richard vanished into the kitchen's service entrance, trailing the sour stench of vomit.
Luna retrieved Liyun's diamond choker from the floor, its clasp broken. "A fitting metaphor," she murmured, pocketing the jewels.
Outside, rain slashed the limousine windows as Caleb's driver pulled away. Luna leaned into her husband's embrace, his lips brushing her unveiled temple. "Satisfied?"
She watched lightning fork across the sky—nature's own whip cracking over the city. "Not yet."
In the rearview mirror, Thorn Manor's gates swallowed the night whole. Somewhere within its walls, a dossier awaited—photographs of Luo's offshore dealings, Madam Luo's private jet manifests, and a single emerald cufflink lost during the scuffle.
The game, as always, continued.