A Dance of Fire and Silk

Chapter 4

The deep red liquid swirled slowly in the crystal glass as the delicate fingers holding it kept moving, turning the glass boredly. The scent of strong wine spread through the air, the sound of the wall clock was the only sound that accompanied Anna in the silent room.

The sudden chiming of the wall clock made the woman's head lift slightly. She turned her head, and when her gaze fell on the wall clock, where the long hand had passed nine, her rosy lips lifted into a small grin.

On this night, at this hour, Anna should not be in her room relaxing. She should have been at the hotel an hour ago as per her promise with Bastian yesterday. However, that only applied if she was an obedient person.

Anna didn't care about the trash meeting. She would never come. She would not allow herself to be dictated to. If Bastian thought he could control her, then he had misjudged.

Anna raised her glass, sipping her wine with a satisfied smile. She rested her head comfortably on her oversized chair, then closed her eyes for a moment.

However, the sound of knocking and someone's hurried steps disturbed her tranquility. She lazily opened her eyes. When Eva appeared with a worried look, Anna straightened up immediately, sensing that something was wrong with her assistant.

"Miss, there's a problem," Eva said urgently. "The shipment of our artwork to Shanghai is having problems at the port."

Anna slowly put down her glass. Her slender fingers stroked the rim of the glass briefly, then her chin lifted slightly to fully attend to Eva. "What kind of obstacle?"

Eva took a step closer to Anna. "Tonight's authorities suddenly made a surprise inspection. It seems they suspect something about us. Miss, that item-"

Anna's breath caught. That item...

Inside the container that was supposed to be on its way to a private collector in Shanghai, there was something far more valuable than just the paintings she usually auctioned off. The Weeping Dancer, a Renaissance masterpiece rumored to have disappeared from a European museum decades ago, whose value exceeded the eight-figure mark. In fact, it was one of the many items Anna had smuggled over the years. They flowed out of her gallery and were delivered seamlessly to clients without a trace and without a hitch all these years.

But tonight, somehow something that had never happened before happened.

Anna closed her eyes for a moment and then took a deep breath.

"Why is it like this?" she hissed in a low voice.

"There are two possibilities, Miss. Someone leaked this confidential information... or they found something they shouldn't have. If that's the case, the authorities must have already started connecting the dots. And if your name is involved..." Eva stopped her speech when she felt Anna's face darken.

"That won't happen," Anna replied with an unreadable look in her eyes.

Anna wanted to bury herself as the ugly images of her scandal exploding in the media, her reputation ruined, every asset frozen, and her name removed from the art world's elite list all played in her mind like a broken black and white movie tape.

No! That could not be allowed to happen. Even if she had to crawl, she had to make things right tonight.

Behind the calm face she tried to maintain, her fingers clenched at her sides. Her long fingernails almost tore the dress she was wearing. Who dared to leak this information? Who would dare mess up the delivery operation?!

"I have to check," she hissed. Her slender body slowly rose from its seat and, gracefully, reached for the Lady Dior bag at the end of the table. "I'll be there now."

Eva was stunned. "But, Miss, if you go alone-"

"I need to know who's behind this, Eva." Anna grinned faintly.

Her operation had never failed. If there was an opening, it meant that someone had dared to play behind it.

Funny, how much courage did that person have to want to mess with her?

Was he a traitor? Or is he something else?

No matter who was behind all this, Anna would find them. Then make that person regret his decision.

***

The sound of pointed heels hitting the marble floor created a regular echo that accompanied Luna's steps along the dimly lit basement corridor. The neon lights above her head flickered faintly, forming a sleek shadow that was so sexy. A shiny Aston Martin was waiting for her at the end, and her slender body smoothly stepped into it. The smooth roar of the luxury car's engine filled the room, then it sped impatiently away.

Among the twinkling city lights and towering buildings, the car Anna was driving cruised smoothly at high speed on the less congested streets, only a few luxury sedans and SUVs gliding gracefully in their respective lanes.

White flakes began to color every part of the city, dancing in the air, wrapping the city in its cold temperature. The first snow falls tonight. The signs warning that the roads were slippery didn't make Anna ease off the gas, she kept going, exceeding the average speed.

After a while, the car left the city, speeding towards the dark and silent streets. The air grew colder and the snow grew heavier in Anna's vision.

The road she traveled further and further turned slippery, resulting in a sharp screech from the tires rubbing against the asphalt that began to be dotted with snow.

In the distance, the harbor came into view, forming a faint flicker of lights.

Stacks of containers stood like high walls along the sides of the road, casting dark shadows along the docks.

As she stepped out of the car, the cold air began to creep onto her skin, piercing her until her body shivered under her dress and blezer.

But she didn't care, all she wanted was to find that person. She would make sure they paid for their actions.

The heavier the snow fell on her, the weaker Anna became. Anna's breathing was labored due to her cold allergy. But she pushed on, confident that she would find the person who set her up. If that person had deliberately steered her here, he or she would be here!

Some of the containers had rusted away. The harbor was like a dead town, uninhabited and dark. There were no ships docked there, no workers pacing back and forth loading goods onto ships like a normal day. And most importantly, there wasn't a single security guard there! Anna was overcome with confusion, what was going on?

Anna's hands clenched into fists, what did that man want from her?

A tightness began to hit her chest as she walked further. Her face began to turn pale, her body began to go numb, the burning sensation in her throat made it difficult for her to even open her mouth.

"Please hold on for a while," her voice sounded hoarse and shaky.

But Anna's body began to weaken. Occasionally she stopped her steps as her vision began to blur, each breath stinging in her chest.

Anna gripped her blezer tightly, resisting the cold that gripped her bones. She wanted to find that person, she had come this far. If she went back, she would lose that person. But... she was in pain, she felt unable... Her allergy had flared up. Her trembling hands began to fumble through her bag, hoping to find her medicines there.

Damn.

Anna clenched her fist when she didn't find any medicine, her allergy medicine was in the car!

Then, the sound of footsteps approaching made Anna freeze. It must be him!

Slowly, Anna turned her body around, and her nerves widened when she saw the figure of the man standing a few meters away from her. The man she knew, Bastian.

In his black suit, the man stood casually under the dim harbor lights. His lips were drawn into a lopsided smile as he slowly stepped in front of Anna.

"Surprise!" His voice sounded so cheerful, his smile so wide, yet that face was so grim in Anna's eyes.

Anna's jaw hardened at the sight of the man now standing before her. Anna's gaze sharpened. There was no mistaking it, Bastian was the mastermind of tonight's chaos!

"Bastian, what are you doing?" her voice trembled with anger.

"Would you like a little present from me, dear?" He chuckled.

What a cheap way to go about it... sneered Anna in a cold tone.

Bastian sighed dramatically. His feet stepped closer to Anna. He looked mockingly at the pale Anna.

"And the cheap way just now made you panic to death, didn't it?" She hissed. Then, he lowered his head, aligning his face with Anna's.

"I just wanted to make sure you saw me," she said casually, then glanced around the empty harbor. "But I never expected you to come this soon."

Anna's hands clenched even tighter, her lips trembling as she spoke again.

"What did you do to my ship? Where are my valuables?" Anna growled.

"Your ship? I didn't see anything when I arrived. Maybe your ship left a while ago," he replied with a light smile.

Anna's emotions were running high. Bastian was deceiving her! Had he gone this far to play her? Anna held back her movements. Emotions swirled in her head, waiting for the time to explode.

"Jerk... You're such an asshole..." Anna hissed. With her remaining strength, she tried to keep her body upright in front of him, despite the fact that every breath she took felt like a sharp intake of air that hurt her lungs.

Bastian tilted his head, his lips curling into a twitch.

"You broke our appointment yourself. I was just giving you a little lesson because you had the audacity to think of not coming."

Anna opened her mouth, but she closed it again when heat began to run through her body. Damn... Her body couldn't take any more of this...

"So, Anna," he said, widening his smile. "I want that gallery. I want to work there. It's a simple request, isn't it?" He said softly but piercingly.

Anna ground her teeth. She wanted to curse him and swear at him, but her mouth was completely rigid. She wanted to smash her bag into this man's face, but her body betrayed her.

Bastian frowned at the woman in front of him. He had hoped he would get some interesting entertainment by bringing her here. He wanted to see Anna explode in frustration, but why had she not reacted much tonight? He wanted to see Anna as wild as ever, then toy with her even further.

Bastian raises an eyebrow. His playful expression was replaced with a fine frown on his face.

"Anna... You look terrible," he murmured looking at Anna's very pale face.

Anna didn't answer. She couldn't. The rapid rise and fall of her chest. All sounds turned into a buzzing in her head.

Her vision began to blur, her surroundings spinning so fast. Then, darkness enveloped her.

Anna's body drooped helplessly at Bastian's feet. Her expensive dress spread out on the cold ground. Blood began to run down her lips from the excessive pressure on her lungs.

There was a strange, unusual glint in Bastian's eyes as he looked down at the helpless body. He let out a long breath, then crouched down slowly. His gaze fell completely on Anna. His hand reached out, touching Anna's frozen cheek.

" Poor woman..." He whispered as his hand began to wipe away the drops of blood coming from Anna's mouth.

The snowflakes that began to fall on Anna's face made her even paler. Slowly, Bastian pushed away the snow that covered her face.

"What a troublesome woman," he whispered, then slipped one arm behind Anna's back, then another under her knees. In a split second, Anna's slender body had moved into his arms.

The snow fell more heavily, framing the silhouette of the man in the black coat who was now striding towards his car with Anna's body in his arms. Behind his cold face, there was a faint smile on his face.

Upon arriving at the car, Bastian sets her down, sits her on the passenger seat, then looks at her with a look that is hard to decipher. His fingers slowly lifted, brushing away the fine hair that fell across Anna's face, then a thin curl rose on his lips.

"I don't know if you're lucky or unlucky right now..." he whispered softly.

His forefinger moved lightly along Anna's cheek and then stopped at her lips.

Bastian stared at those lips for a long time as if he was weighing something in his head.

"I should kill you..." his voice sounded cold and piercing, his fingers slowly tracing Anna's pale lips.

"Or not?"