EPISODE 5: THE DARK DRAGON’S EYES
1024 Words
**The Mafia Lord’s POV**
Dante, the man the world called the Dark Dragon was bored....
He sat in his massive leather chair, the city of Oakhaven spread out behind him like a toy set. In front of him, a wall of high-definition CCTV screens showed every corner of his inner office. Usually, he didn't watch the interviews, but today, he needed a distraction.
He watched the waiting room on the screen. It was the same old story. Women in dresses that were too tight, trying to look like models. Men in suits they couldn't afford, clutching pieces of paper they thought made them special. To Dante, they weren't people; they were just background noise.
Then, the elevator doors opened.
Dante leaned forward, his cigar smoke hanging in the air. A woman stepped out. She wasn't loud. She didn't have five friends with her. But the way she walked, slow, confident, like she already owned the floor caught his eye.
"Who is that?" he muttered to the empty room..
He watched her on the screen as she bypassed the entire line. She didn't look nervous. She didn't look at the other applicants with fear. When she smirked at the crowd, Dante felt a small spark of interest. He watched her barge into the HR office, ignoring his manager’s shouting. He watched her throw a file on the desk with an attitude that said, 'I’m the boss here.'
Most people trembled when they entered this building. This girl? She looked like she was bored..
"Bold," 😏 Dante whispered. He pressed the intercom button. He wanted to see if that confidence was real or just an act. "Send her up," he commanded..
Minutes later, the private elevator dinged. He had returned back to his main office and stayed turned away, staring at the city, listening to her footsteps. Most people walked softly, afraid to make noise. Her heels clicked firmly. She wasn't afraid.
"You have a lot of nerve, little girl," Dante said, his voice deep and rough...
He slowly spun the chair around. Up close, she was even more striking. But it wasn't just her face; it was the way she stood. She wasn't shaking....
"Give me the file," he ordered, holding out a hand.
She didn't hesitate. She stepped forward and handed it to him. Dante opened it, his eyes scanning the fake life the Night Owl had built for her. He looked at the photo, then back at her.
"Diana Willson," he said, the name rolling off his tongue. He looked at her dead in the eyes, trying to see if she would flinch. "You’ve worked for some big people. So tell me, Diana... why come to a place like this? You know what they say about me. People who work for me don't usually have long lives."
"I’m not 'people,' sir," she said, her voice steady. "And I don't plan on living a boring life."
Dante stared at her for a long minute. He was suspicious, nothing about this girl felt 'normal.' She was too perfect, too calm. But at the same time, he was impressed. He liked things that were dangerous.
"Go to the desk outside," Dante said, waving her off. "My head of security will give you the rules. If you break even one, you won't just be fired. You’ll be gone. Understand?"
"Perfectly," she said. She turned and walked out without another word.
Dante watched her go, a small, dangerous smile on his face. "Let's see what you’re really hiding, Diana Willson."
** Diana’s POV**
The second the elevator doors closed and she was alone, Diana let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding 😵. Her lungs felt like they were on fire.
"God," she whispered, leaning her head against the cold metal of the elevator wall.
Her hands were slightly trembling. It wasn't that she was scared of him—she had killed men twice his size—but the energy in that room was different. Dante wasn't just a boss; he felt like a predator. When he said her name, Diana Willson, for a split second, she almost forgot it was a lie.
She looked at her reflection in the shiny elevator doors. Her "Diana" glasses were slightly crooked. She straightened them and smoothed out her skirt.
"Get it together," she hissed at herself. "He’s just a target. A target with a nice suit and a scary voice. That’s all."
She thought about the way he looked at her. It wasn't the way the men in the Night Owl looked at her. They looked at her like a gun, a tool to be used. Dante looked at her like a puzzle he wanted to break apart. It made her skin crawl, but it also made her heart beat in a way she didn't like, but that didn't matter because she was still going to end him.
The elevator hit the ground floor. The doors opened to the lobby, where the other people were still waiting. They all looked at her, eyes wide, wondering why she was coming out of the private elevator.
Diana didn't look at them. She put her "smart and professional" mask back on. She walked past the woman in the pink lipstick and the men with the degrees, her heels clicking again.
She had done it. She was in.
She walked out of the building and into the busy street, blending into the crowd. She needed to report back to Antonio, but first, she needed a drink. Her first day on the job was tomorrow, and she knew one thing for sure:
Killing the Dark Dragon wasn't going to be as easy as she thought. He wasn't just a monster. He was a man who watched everything. And if she made even one tiny mistake, Diana Willson was going to die before the Blood Goddess could even finish the job. And she wouldn't let that happen.
TBC......
- Writer
