The fallen body, ignited in embers, continued to show signs of burning as those around it first took a few steps back and then, making sure that it was safe, closed the gap once again.

They looked at the body, observing the build, the colour of the dress they could make out, and then wondered in a hushed murmur, as they asked each other who that person was, and if anyone could identify him.

From a distance, the host of the show, Miss Sapphire, also peeked at the body. Just like everyone else, she too wanted to get closer and take a better look, but her fiance, the quiet yet bulky man Morgan, stopped her.

Morgan? Alexandra paused, looked at her fiance, confused as to why he was stopping her from going there

"Something feels wrong," he said as he cautiously looked around, his senses telling him something was about to happen.

While many, or perhaps, in this party other than a selected few people, knew nothing about Morgan, Alexandra fully knew what kind of person he was. What kind of life he had lived through.

It was rare for him to get tense and cautious, but for some reason, he was now. Which also translated to the seriousness of the issue at hand.

Alexandra, even though she wanted to know about the person who was dead, decided to keep her curiosity in check. If her fiance said that there was something wrong, there was a great chance there was.

But still… Who is that man? Alexandra pondered from a distance, trying to recall the identity of the dead man from the bits of memory she had seen.

"Anderseen Maxilliam. Owner of Anderseen Corporation," the answer came from a distance, from the man wearing a crimson coat and a silver mask. His eyes focused, he continued," If I remember correctly, he was a leading figure in the upcoming telecom models and smartphones, also one of the members of the Inner Circle."

Inner circle was a group of people who shared their innovative ideas among each other and planned the timeline to introduce new technologies into the market. It was done in the hope of creating a maximum sales output without one product diminishing the effect of others.

So it was him, huh? I still remember meeting him last week. Alexandra recalled the meeting before wondering if he was going through some problems. Something that resulted in his fate turning out to be so gruesome.

She also recalled a few things she wanted to discuss with him in a follow-up meeting later, which meant that she needed to adjust her schedule, remove some plans and then add a few more. All in all, even though it was sad, Anderseen's death simply means an extra headache of work for Alexandra.

"I have heard…" Once again the voice continued, as Mr Anthony said,"… he was going through some internal struggles. Specifically, his new project collided with one of the other members'. Hmmm, he also got involved with the local goons in a case related to his daughter's. Lastly, I believe he was also getting blackmailed from a fling with whom he had a one-night stand two months ago."

Mr. Anthony had taken over the entire crowd, everyone of them listening to him. Some paid attention to his words, listening to his theory, while others, such as Alexandra, wondered exactly how he knew so much about Anderseen.

Is he someone close to him? That would make sense in a way. She thought as she realised that she was getting one step closer to his identity than before. It won't be too long before she figures out who he was.

But his next words broke her attention for a moment,

"What's troubling is that I don't think any of those reasons are enough for anyone to kill Mr. Anderseen. All the more at this party where one barely knows the other. I mean, there have to be better chances to kill him."

An obvious conclusion. One that many, especially Alexandra, had overlooked. There was simply no reason for anyone to kill him here of all the places.

Unless there is a hidden meaning to his death in this location. Alexandra thought, but her gears stopped when Mr. Anthony gave his final conclusion.

"I believe he was caught in the crossfire of something. Something that is going on, on the first floor," Mr. Anthony turned to Alexandra, and asked," Miss Sapphire. Is there anything or anyone up there that has a good amount of value? I think either a theft, kidnapping or an assassination is taking place there."

Once Mr. Anthony said that he looked at Alexandra, waiting for her to respond. His eyes seemingly calculated a few more things in hindsight.

The kids!

Alexandra's eyes shook as she recalled something very important she had forgotten. Her mind turned gears as she recalled all the details of this forgotten piece of information, which was a last-minute added detail that was too forced upon by her parents.

Amara. Samantha. I told them it was a bad idea!

The two kids were her twin sister and brother, who had come along with her on this trip. Their main purpose wasn't this party but her next destination, which is an old mansion where her great-grandmother stayed. But since this party could not be postponed, she decided to put them in one of the upper rooms where they can stay for the rest of the evening.

Why did Dad force me to take them along? She questioned as she was just about to take a step towards the stairs and reach the room where the kids were.

Morgan, however, raised his hand once again, stopping her movements as he traced the surroundings with the same serious expression on his face.

"Someone dangerous is here," he mumbled, slow enough for her to hear. Her eyes shook as, even though wanted to run to the first floor right now, couldn't afford to ignore Morgan's words.

Following his gaze, she paused and then looked around at the party. Analyzing everyone she could, trying to see if there was something odd about anyone around her.

There were a few confused faces, and a few people waiting for her to give Mr. Anthony's answer. Turning to the other side, she saw a man in white, average-built, almost a few meters away, running towards her.

An attempt?! She panicked a bit, but recalling the presence of her fiance, she calmed down the next second. There was never much to worry about. So she did the next best thing, that is, observe the man with even more focus.

With a Swiss army knife in his hand, and a look of desperation that seemed to have given up on his life, he shouted to the best of his ability,

"Die!"

Though before Morgan could move forward to neutralise this threat that was aimed at ending everything for Alexandra, someone moved in between. A brown-haired woman slowly redirected the direction of the knife, killing the momentum of the attacker as she pushed him down on the ground, making him trip and fall right in front of Alexandra.

Aurora, or Miss Angel, then swiftly took the Army knife from his hand before moving forward and ending it with a strong kick in his groin region.

Ignoring the agonising expression that white-suited guy was making, Aurora then reverse-gripped the army knife and looked around, preparing for anyone else to do a sudden assault.

Whoa!

Alexandra, and even Silva, looked at Aurora with amazed looks. Some of the guys around even fell for her crazy movements and the strong side she was showing right now.

-Clap! Clap! Clap!

However, before anyone can appreciate this beauty. A clapping sound caught the attention of those at the party

It came from the entrance, which was closed now for some reason, from a man with a slightly bulkier build than Morgan.

This blonde man, wearing a black suit, had a hideous scar creeping out of the black mask around his left eye. An ugly smile plastered on his face as he took slow steps, reaching the edge of the dance circle.

"So, plan A failed. Plan B also went down the drain. Hmmm… well, I guess it works in my favour," he spoke words that only he understood, and then continued with a slight chuckle,

"It's good. It might be a bit rough, but with this I can solve most of the problems at once."

He paused again before giving a slight bow as he spoke,

"Ladies and gentlemen. I hope you enjoyed the show, since, as it turns out, it is also going to be your last now. Blame the pitiful fate of yours that you had to be present at the wrong place at the wrong time."

Then…

"Kill them," he added in a cold tone as about a dozen men, mixed within the guests, took out small swords out of their sleeves and aimed at their nearest party member.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

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