Two

CHAPTER 2

Bright Sun Club, New York.

The smartwatch on Cassandra's left-hand points to the number eight. The streets of New York City at night were filled with glittering lights. This city never dies. It's like the city has two sides opposite each other. Light and darkness. Day and night. Goodness and... badness.

Cassandra took off her formal-looking clothes. She left the top two buttons of her white shirt open to reveal a noticeable portion of cleavage. Cassandra took off the coat that covered the shirt, then applied makeup with red lipstick and orange blush. She looked at herself in the mirror in the car, Cassandra looked like a different woman.

Once she was confident enough, Cassandra got out of the car. She left her police identity on the dashboard, then entered the club like a different person.

Jessica, one of Cassandra's closest friends had just waved her hand in the air, signaling her not to get lost among the people on the dance floor.

Cassandra cut through the streets, overtaking people who were mostly drunk to get to Jessica.

"Where's Antonio?"

"Woah, you're so impatient!" Jessica grinned. The red-haired girl looked around, then told her. "Antonio's not here. He's in the VVIP room. It's on the other side. Come follow me!"

Jessica led Cassandra to the other side of the hall. There was a big party there. The smell of alcohol was strong. Striptease dancers swayed lithely on pole tables, half-naked. It was a wilder scene than the main side. This is the side that Jessica does not show to regular clients. Only VVIPs could enjoy all these facilities.

"This is... not what I expected," Cassandra murmured when Jessica finally stopped in front of her.

Jessica turned around, spread her arms, and smiled broadly. "Welcome to the VVIP side of the Sun Bright Club, Casey. You promised not to open your mouth to the police, right?"

Cassandra had no choice. She nodded her head.

And Jessica's face twisted with relief. She turned her body around again and pointed to one of the tables in the center of the VVIP side of the nightclub. "Over there! Antonio Franches! The handsome, evil man you're looking for."

Hearing Jessica's words, Cassandra was stunned. She followed the direction her best friend pointed and squinted. Carefully, Cassandra tried to look at Antonio Franches, trying to liken the man to the photos and videos Cassandra had seen on television.

"It's him."

"Sure." Jessica folded her arms across her chest, she raised her face arrogantly. "I'm an expert at remembering people's faces. But... what are you going to do now?"

Cassandra's blue eyes stared at Jessica. She seemed to be trapped in a confusing atmosphere for a moment, before in the next second, Cassandra muttered, "I'm going to sleep with him."

"What?"

Cassandra emphasized her sentence. "I have to sleep with him tonight. Can you do me a favor, Jessica?"

Jessica looked confused. She bent her forehead, then looked at the two people, Antonio and Cassandra in turn. Jessica shook her head and replied, "How? He's a VVIP guest, he's so popular, that he even brought a personal bodyguard. How can I get to him, Casey? That would be suicide!"

Cassandra sighed softly. She noticed Antonio again from a distance.

The man was sitting in the center of the table, with two men sitting nearby. From appearance, Cassandra judged that one of the men was Antonio's personal bodyguard, while the other man was Antonio's business colleague. They sat at the same table, watching the striptease dancers show off their sexy bodies.

"I need some wine," Cassandra said.

Jessica mumbled. "Um, well... alright. I'll get it for you. Wait here."

After waiting for a while, Jessica finally returned. The bottle of wine in Jessica's hand caught Cassandra's attention. And in the next second, Jessica immediately gave the bottle of wine to Cassandra.

"I'll pay for this later. OK?"

"Don't think about it," Jessica said, lifting her face. "Good luck to you. I'll leave you to it. Call me if you need anything."

"Thank you."

Cassandra messed up her long hair to make it look more fluffy. She deliberately unbuttoned her shirt wider and walked towards Antonio in the center of the table. It wasn't easy!

Because Antonio's personal bodyguard moved quickly to block Cassandra.

"You can't come any closer," Antonio's personal bodyguard said, much to Cassandra's surprise.

But Cassandra wasn't going to give up. This was one of the plans she had been preparing for ten years. She couldn't afford to fail. The girl brushed off Antonio's personal bodyguard's hand and said, "Hey! I want to talk to your boss," Cassandra said, then glanced at Antonio. Antonio had noticed Cassandra from the start, and Cassandra's demeanor made Antonio feel even more attracted. "Tell your boss that I want to challenge him to a game of billiards. I want to bet."

"You can't-"

"Wait, Ben!" Antonio suddenly cut off Ben, his personal bodyguard. Antonio stood up from his chair and approached Cassandra. "What did you say? Betting on the billiards table?"

Cassandra nodded.

"I accept your offer. But, what can you give me for the bet, young lady?"

"This," Cassandra said as she pulled out a classic watch from her pants pocket. "And this wine, of course."

Cassandra had looked up a lot of information about Antonio Franches on the internet, about his likes, food, belongings and all things Antonio. One of them was a classic watch. There was one brand of watch that Antonio really liked, and Cassandra was going to give it to him for a bet.

Antonio grinned. He looked at the watch in Cassandra's hand, then said, "I'm interested in your offer."

Without waiting long, Antonio and Cassandra were already standing in front of the billiard table on the VVIP side of the hall inside the Sun Bright Club. Antonio's personal bodyguard, Ben, stood in the corner of the room and watched Cassandra's movements. But the watchful gaze did not make Casandra lose her focus, she played well. She played the pool stick and put the colorful balls into the nearest hole, she scored a lot of points and made Antonio start to be curious about Cassandra's figure.

Until finally, the game ended and Cassandra won the bet.

"Well, you got a lot of numbers. What do you want as a prize?"

Cassandra then held out her hand, she moved it up and down. "Your cell phone?"

One of Antonio's eyebrows raised, and Ben got ready behind him. But Antonio quickly pulled out a cell phone from his pants pocket and handed it to Cassandra.

"This is my number, call me. I want to eat the best seafood in town."

Antonio looked at the cell phone Cassandra had just given him. Cassandra waved and left Antonio saying,

"It was nice playing with you."

And that gesture of Cassandra's... had caught Antonio Franches' attention.