The music swelled into a lively beat, but Elias wasn't dancing anymore.
His eyes scanned the glittering room, searching for the shadowy man who had just vanished into the sea of sequins and laughter.
Bianca tugged on his sleeve.
"Hey, Earth to Elias! What's wrong?"
He faked a grin.
"Bathroom emergency," he muttered.
"Take a friend with you next time!" Bianca teased as she turned back to the dance floor.
---
Elias slipped through the crowd, pretending to be tipsy so he could bump and stumble his way closer to the balcony.
His heart hammered — not from fear, but excitement.
Was this what secret agents felt like?
As he passed a group of loud businessmen, his Watch vibrated again.
New Task: [Follow without being seen.]
Reward: Enhanced Stealth Skills (Lv. 1)
He grinned. "You got it, boss."
---
Near the heavy velvet curtains that led to the back halls, Elias spotted her.
Sophia Langley, 24:
Profession: Journalist for an underground news site.
Appearance: Pale ivory skin, tall and lean with sharp green eyes that seemed to cut through lies, messy blonde hair tied in a bun.
Personality: Determined, cynical, clever.
Flaws: Trust issues, sarcastic to a fault, secretly terrified of failure.
Sophia was arguing with a waiter, flashing some kind of ID.
Was she investigating something too?
For a second, their eyes met — and Elias felt a jolt, like two magnets repelling.
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him.
He gave his best "I'm just a drunk idiot" smile and wobbled away.
---
The man he was following disappeared behind a thick velvet curtain.
Elias waited two beats, then slipped in after him.
The hallway was darker, lined with paintings and antique vases worth more than his soul.
Up ahead, he spotted the black-suited man talking into an earpiece.
"...confirmed. The boy has the artifact. Waiting for extraction order."
The artifact?
Were they talking about... the Watch?!
Elias crouched behind a golden statue of a cherub (which, up close, looked weirdly judgmental).
The Watch buzzed lightly on his wrist:
[Eavesdrop successful. Bonus reward pending.]
---
As Elias waited, he thought about how everything lately seemed fake — the parties, the smiles, even this mansion filled with "important" people.
All while real dangers brewed behind curtains, hidden from the world.
He felt a strange kinship with Sophia — chasing truth while pretending to be part of the lie.
---
Suddenly, the suited man barked into his mic, "Abort. He's compromised. Fall back."
Footsteps thundered toward Elias.
Without thinking, he sprinted down the hall, knocking over a vase worth probably more than a small country.
Alarms blared.
Bianca's voice crackled through his hidden earpiece:
"Elias, WHAT did you do?!"
"I think I broke rich people's heaven!" he shouted back, crashing through a side door into the gardens.
---