The Thorne Heiress Unveiling Shadow novel Chapter 108

The sound of the shattering champagne flute was like a starting pistol. The cocktail party, which had been frozen in a state of shocked silence, erupted into a low, vicious buzz of gossip.

Seraphina Volkov stood paralyzed for a moment, the blood draining from her face as she became the object of a hundred pitying, scornful stares. Kaelen's public, possessive kiss had not only declared his loyalty to Evelyn; it had completely, brutally humiliated Seraphina in her own territory.

This was the opening Evelyn had been waiting for.

All evening, Kaelen's security team, disguised as guests, had been quietly mapping the clinic's internal security patterns. They had identified a brief, five-minute window during the shift change of the guards who monitored the sub-basement levels.

But that window wasn't enough time to get past the final, biometric-locked door to the archives.

Seraphina's emotional breakdown, however, was a wild card, a chaotic event that could create a new, bigger opportunity.

Kaelen, still holding Evelyn close, leaned in, his voice a low, urgent murmur in her ear. "This is it. I can use this. I'll keep her occupied. Go."

He released her, and their separation was as subtle and as perfectly timed as their kiss.

He turned, his face a mask of polite concern, and began to walk towards the now-flustered Seraphina. "Seraphina, are you alright?" he asked, his voice laced with a fake, condescending pity. "You seem to have had a bit of a shock."

His approach was a magnet for attention. Every guest on the terrace turned to watch the next act of the drama. The clinic's own head of security, a large, imposing man, began to move towards his boss, his attention completely focused on Kaelen.

No one was watching Evelyn.

She slipped away from the edge of the terrace, melting back into the clinic's main building like a ghost. She moved with a quiet, efficient speed, her simple gown flowing around her. She looked like any other guest heading for the powder room.

In her ear, a tiny, flesh-colored communication device came to life. "I'm clear," she whispered.

"Copy that," the voice of Kaelen's top security man replied. "We have eyes on Volkov and her security chief. They're both on the terrace. You are clear to proceed. You have a ten-minute window before the next patrol."

Evelyn didn't waste a second. She moved through the pristine, white corridors of the clinic, her path guided by the 3D schematic she had already memorized. She took a service elevator, bypassing the main guest areas.

She arrived at the sub-basement. The air was cold, sterile, and smelled of antiseptic. The corridors were empty.

She reached the final door. It was a single, seamless slab of polished steel. Beside it was the biometric scanner, a small, glowing blue panel.

It was keyed to Seraphina Volkov's unique genetic signature. It was impossible to hack. Impossible to bypass.

Evelyn didn't try.

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