Chapter 58: The Fall
"Hey, you hearing ?"
Elias Kane’s sharp, unfiltered demand cut through the phone line again. Liora Voss didn’t flinch. She simply answered in that cool, velvet tone of hers, "I’ll have her keep more distance. That way she won’t infect you."
The edge in his voice sharpened with real irritation. "So you’re not swapping her out after all?"
"Mhm." Liora let a faint, knowing smile touch her lips. "Still not satisfied? It’s not as if the idiot virus travels through the air. Or is the real reason you want her replaced... that you don’t find her pretty enough?"
Elias’s face stayed perfectly blank on his end. "Her fucking dad."
[System Theta: What happened?]
The system’s flat voice carried genuine shock—both at the host’s sudden crude language and at the fact that the usual profanity filter had apparently vanished without a trace.
Elias let out a cold snort. "I knew she’d pick Lila Morgan because she’s completely plain-looking."
Otherwise, with Liora Voss’s level of intelligence, why would she ever choose soone so amateur at tailing and covert photography? She had to have a deliberate reason.
At first Elias hadn’t been sure what that reason was. What if "plain-looking" was just standard procedure in the surveillance ga? After all, the lower the profile, the harder it was to notice—everyone in that line of work knew it. Send soone stunning and the target would spot them in seconds.
Only when Liora spelled it out herself did he confirm it: she really was guarding against him.
He ground his teeth in genuine frustration. "Seriously, where’s the trust between people? Does Liora Voss really see as the kind of guy who tries to hook up with every pretty woman he ets?"
[System Theta: Um...]
Elias echoed it right back, tone dripping with challenge. "Um?"
The system wisely shut up. Elias huffed again. "I’m not that kind of guy."
While Elias vented to the system, the silence on his end sounded to Liora like quiet admission.
Her hazel eyes narrowed a fraction. Just as she’d suspected—he was dissatisfied with Lila Morgan’s appearance. Good thing she had anticipated it. Even if the girl’s actual skills were subpar, safety mattered more. As long as she stayed "safe," nothing else counted.
She glanced toward the household staff moving discreetly through the room and lowered her voice just enough. "Isn’t Giselle Frost enough for you to play with? Don’t sit there with a full bowl in front of you and still eye the pot. Behave yourself."
"Yeah."
Elias didn’t push back. The lack of argunt actually surprised her. Then his voice ca again, light and conversational. "Speaking of which, I should thank you."
Liora paused, faintly startled. "Thank for what?"
"Thank you for getting my roommates to isolate again..."
That bright, silver-bell laugh of his rang out across the line. Liora pressed her lips together, the sound pulling her into a brief, heavy silence.
He had noticed.
Of course he had. All it took was one look at how his dorm mates were acting and the pieces clicked.
She had never planned to keep it hidden from him for long; that much had always been expected. What she hadn’t predicted was his reaction. She knew the boy wouldn’t care what his roommates thought of him—anger would have been normal. Gratitude was not.
Facing her continued silence, the corner of Elias’s mouth lifted in a small, private curve. He offered no explanation, just a soft chuckle. "Since you helped out, I can give you another reward. What do you want?"
Liora stayed quiet.
His tone softened further, coaxing like soone gentling a skittish child. "You have to tell what you want. Only then will you know if it’s possible, right?"
"Even if it’s sleeping with , just say it. I’ll consider it. I might even be able to satisfy you..."
His voice dropped lower, smooth and hypnotic, the kind of seductive pull that felt like an incubus wrapping around the listener.
Liora’s throat tightened with a tiny involuntary roll. She began, "I—"
He cut her off before the next word could form. "As if. Wanting to fuck ? One reward isn’t nearly enough. I’m your sister’s property now."
The faint restless heat that had stirred in Liora’s chest cooled instantly. She recognized the ploy. She had been about to say she didn’t need any reward, but he had known exactly what she would say and refused to let her finish.
Another little mind ga.
Liora thought it with neither anger nor ripple of disturbance. She simply wanted to see what other teasing tricks he still had left. If this was the extent of it, it held no real power over her anymore—she had grown far too used to his provocations.
Perhaps he had finally run out of moves?
Her lips curved in a small smile, yet a flicker of disappointnt flashed through her eyes.
As if reading the exact mont her thoughts turned that way, Elias’s voice returned to its normal register. "Even if one reward won’t get into bed with you, plenty of other things are still on the table."
"Want to put on cat ears for you?"
Liora instantly pictured the young man with delicate cat ears perched on his golden hair, owing up at her. She shook her head, the faint smile lingering. "It was unintentional, not my original intention. No reward needed."
"So honest?" Elias sounded almost surprised. "But even without rit there’s still the effort. Bring the phone closer to your ear."
Another ow?
He really had run out of tricks.
Still, after a brief pause she obeyed, lifting the phone until it rested right against her ear.
She heard him give a light laugh, followed by a stretch of silence. Then ca the soft, deliberate sound of breathing—warm, heavy exhales that sohow felt close enough to brush across her skin through the speaker.
"Master..."
Liora froze. A jolt of electricity shot straight down her spine, leaving her entire body trembling.
Until Elias spoke again, casual as ever. "By the way, you’re not my first master. Your sister is."
The words snapped her back to the present; the tremor eased by half. Her lips parted, the instinctive reply already rising.
"But you’re the first person I’ve ever kissed. Not even your sister has had that..."
He finished cheerfully, "So the reward is exactly like this. Bye-bye!"
The call ended with a clean, final beep.
Liora stared at the darkened screen for a long, motionless ten seconds before she finally lowered the phone.
She took back every earlier thought. Elias Kane never disappointed her. No matter the mont, he always delivered the precise spark of stimulation she craved.
She tilted her head back against the plush sofa cushion, eyes drifting to the high ceiling. The curve at the corner of her mouth was almost impossible to contain.
A mont later sothing occurred to her. She finally typed out the reply to Lila Morgan.
Liora Voss: No worries. Keep tailing him, but stay farther away from now on. As long as you keep your distance, he won’t pay any attention to you.
She added another line.
Liora Voss: If he gives you any orders, follow them exactly. Make sure to satisfy every request he makes. If anything feels truly off, report it to right away.
Liora Voss: And from this mont on, watch him even more closely. I want to know exactly what he’s planning to do.
She sent the ssages, then tossed the phone carelessly onto the cushion beside her. Those beautiful eyes of hers shimred with an unreadable, magnetic ripple.
She was gazing straight into the abyss.
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