Shera Black tilted her head to look at the building behind her. The huge words "The Qin Empire" stung her eyes.
A glint flickered in the depth of her eyes but only lasted half a second before it was replaced with indifference.
Hopping onto her MTT turbine superbike, she roared it into a start and rode away, disappearing into the night.
___
The next evening.
Boulevard Palace.
Banquets held by influential figures in the business world were usually regal.
For the nation's unrivaled leading business conglomerates like The Qin Empire, the banquet was even more lavish.
The decoration was mostly made of rare gems that were quite expensive in the current market.
Of course, the aristocratic figures in the banquet hall quite fit the theme. They were all renown businessmen and women and were all extravagantly dressed.
On the first floor, the young heiress of the Qin family, Cece Qin, held a middle aged man's arm as they gracefully descended the stairs.
Beside them was a beautiful, nobly dressed woman. Each move of hers exuded the gentleness and charisma of a queen. While she looked very young with no single flaw on her skin, that was actually Patriarch Qin's wife, Mrs. Qin.
They made their way to the guests, who instantly kept quiet as though a button had been pressed on them.
The host family was here.
In the dead silence, the middle aged man shot a look in a direction and instantly, Leo Qin and his brother rushed over.
The middle aged man did not look pleased. He lowered his tone to ask, "Where is Cedric?"
"I don't know." Leo Qin answered. Livian Qin shook his head too, to indicate that he didn't know either.
Patriarch Qin contained his displeasure and gave a speech to officially start the banquet.
The background music began to play, and for the opening dance, Patriarch Qin danced with his daughter.
Everyone admired the young heiress' gracefulness before choosing their own dance partners to join in the dance.
Leo Qin thought he saw a suspicious figure move some distance away.
Something flashed in his eyes, then he approached the calm and elegant Mrs. Qin, giving a respectful bow. "Shall I have this dance?"
"Of course."
Leo Qin spun circles with his mother as he looked around the hall. He didn't see anything out of place, and none of the people he had put in to tighten security alerted him of anything... neither did any of the alarms he had installed as a last resort go off.
The calm slowly returned to his face. That figure he saw earlier must have been his imagination. perhaps it was because of the nonsense she had spewed the previous night, making him believe that she would really be here.
Now that he thought about it, which thief would alert the target anyway? His brain must have been fried for him to believe such insanity.
The banquet rolled on smoothly, and the peak was the thing everyone had anticipated for weeks.
It was finally time to reveal the Heart of The Goddess.
Patriarch Qin walked onto the stage with his wife in tow and took the microphone.
"Honorable guests, it is now time to reveal the jewel that everyone has been looking foward to.
As reported before, this necklace was designed by my wife using one of the most rare diamonds, The Heart, which she won at a bid in Asia. Its chain is made of several gems that you will no longer find in the market including 'Teardrop'.
What you are about to see right now is the result of her several months worth of hard work."
As soon as he finished speaking, a buzz reverberated in the banquet hall.
So it was designed by Madam Qin? No wonder it was so valuable!
Not to mention the origin of all those gems she used. No wonder the Qin Empire was launching it in such an extravagant manner. Its price would be astronomical too, if they were to sell it.
Partriarch Qin made a signal and two men in black brought a display case to the center. It was covered in a white silk cloth.
Amid the guests' anticipation, Partriach Qin was about to lift the white cloth and reveal the long anticipated Heart of the Goddess to the world.
Yet at this very moment...
The light flickered and went off. The hall was suddenly shrouded in darkness.
At the same time, a motorcycle roared and came to a stop right at the entrance of Boulevard Palace, its full headlights beaming glaringly at the guests.
The lights flickered back on but everyone's attention was fixated on the newcomer.
They just shone their headlights onto them. How rude!
The figure jumped off the motorcycle and took off the helmet. Then waves of thick black hair fell onto her shoulders.
She was wearing a tight black leather rider's outfit, complete with black boots and a pair of black gloves.
In the distance, Livian Qin mumbled, "Such an alluring but arrogant woman, how cool..."
he earned a glare from his brother and shut up.
...
Shera Black entered the banquet hall like it was part of her territory and paid no heed to the stares around her.
She went right to the most conspicuous part of the banquet hall and looked around her. "Why did you stop? Let the banquet continue!"
Her voice brought the perplexed Patriarch Qin back to life. "Who are you? Who is this rude woman? Who let her in?!?!"
Shera Black smiled modestly at the middle aged man. "I'm just here to attend your lousy banquet. Are you saying that I need to be let in?"