Back in Sloane's SoHo loft, the atmosphere crackled with the nervous energy of a heist film.

Elba had changed into a form-fitting black athletic outfit, her long hair pulled back into a severe, practical ponytail. Her face was bare, her focus absolute.

Sloane paced the floor, clutching a tablet that displayed the security schematics for Landon's Upper East Side apartment building.

"This place uses the Stark-Net security system," Sloane said, her voice tight with anxiety. "They claim it's military-grade. Are you sure you can get past it?"

Elba took the tablet from her, her fingers gliding across the screen, pulling up lines of code. "Every system has a backdoor," she said, her voice low and confident.

She showed Sloane a small device that looked like an ordinary power bank.

"This is a signal jammer and a code injector," Elba explained calmly. "Once I get it close to the main server, it will trigger a three-minute loop on the security feed. Three minutes to get from the garage to the penthouse before the system runs a self-diagnostic."

Sloane’s fingers flew across her tablet, her MIT training kicking in. "I've pre-cleared the service elevator's logic board. The moment you trigger the jammer, the elevator will be waiting for you on the G-level."

Elba did a final check of the contents of her small backpack: The "USB gift" she’d shown Sloane earlier was now slotted into the base of a micro-camera, the whole unit expertly disguised as an aromatherapy diffuser, a universal keycard, and a set of miniature screwdrivers.

"I still think I should be the one going in," Sloane muttered, adjusting her headset.

"You're the only one who can stabilize the feed from the outside," Elba countered, pulling her hair into a ponytail. "And I know the layout of that penthouse better."

The clock on the wall ticked past 8:30 PM. Sloane's phone buzzed with a news alert. A photo of Landon Sterling, smiling and shaking hands with the mayor at the gala, flashed on the screen.

"He's the man of the hour," Sloane confirmed. "No way he's leaving that party early."

Elba took a deep breath, pulling on a black baseball cap and a face mask. She looked at Sloane, her eyes conveying a silent trust. "Keep an eye on the system for me. Let me know the second anything looks wrong."

Sloane drove her to the vicinity of Landon's building, dropping her off a block away. Elba slipped into the shadows, approaching the luxury high-rise from an inconspicuous service alley at the rear.

She moved with a fluid grace, staying clear of the visible security cameras, and made her way to a fire-access door in the underground parking garage.

She pulled out the universal keycard. She had cloned it weeks ago, using the data from a high-end club membership card Landon had given her as a gift. A small, foolish token he never imagined would be used against him. The light on the panel flashed green, and the lock clicked open.

Inside, she quickly located the building's electrical room. It was where the physical servers for the security system were housed.

She pressed the device that looked like a power bank against the main server cabinet and activated it. On Sloane's tablet miles away, every single camera feed froze on a static image.

"Loop active. You have one hundred and eighty seconds," Sloane's voice crackled with professional precision in Elba's ear.

Elba didn't waste a millisecond. She sprinted to the service elevator, using a second pre-programmed card to grant herself access to the penthouse floor.

The elevator doors opened directly into the apartment. The same apartment from Seraphina's taunting photo.

The air was stale, but underneath it, a faint, cloyingly sweet perfume lingered. Seraphina's scent. A wave of nausea washed over Elba, a visceral reaction to the betrayal. She forced it down, her jaw tight. There was no time for emotion.

Her eyes scanned the room, quickly identifying the perfect spot. The mantelpiece above the fireplace, directly across from the king-sized bed. A decorative, and completely superfluous, aromatherapy diffuser sat there.

With practiced efficiency, she swapped the original diffuser with her own, the one containing a high-definition, wide-angle camera.

She pulled out her phone and connected to the device's app. The screen immediately showed a crystal-clear, panoramic view of the bedroom. The audio pickup was perfect.

Just then, Sloane’s voice crackled in her ear.

"Elba, the diagnostic is running early. You have sixty seconds before the cameras go live. Exit now," Sloane commanded, her voice tight but steady.

Elba shoved the original diffuser into her backpack, her eyes darting around the room one last time to ensure she'd left no trace.

She moved to the door, her hand on the handle, when she heard a faint whirring sound. The private elevator was activating.

Her heart leaped into her throat, a frantic bird beating against her ribs. Had Landon come back early?

She ducked into the hall closet, pulling the door almost shut, and held her breath, every muscle in her body tensed.

The elevator doors slid open. Silence. No one stepped out.

After a few agonizing seconds that stretched into an eternity, Sloane's relieved voice came through the earpiece.

"False alarm. It was a neighbor on a different floor. They must have hit the wrong button and gone back down. You're clear."

A shaky breath escaped Elba's lips. She slipped out of the apartment, took the service elevator back down to the garage, and melted into the New York night.

The moment the door to Sloane's loft clicked shut behind them, Elba pulled out her phone.

She launched the discreet app, and the screen flickered to life, showing Landon's bedroom in real-time. It was empty, silent.

Sloane handed her a glass of warm milk. "Are you sure you want to watch this? It's going to hurt, El."

Elba's gaze was fixed on the screen, her eyes hard as diamonds. "I need to. I need this anger to burn away whatever's left of the past."

They didn't have to wait long. As the clock neared midnight, the bedroom door on the screen swung open. Landon and Seraphina stumbled in, wrapped around each other, their laughter loud and slurred with alcohol.

Sloane clapped a hand over her mouth, her face a mask of fury.

Landon pressed Seraphina against the door, his kisses sloppy. "I missed you," he mumbled into her neck.

Seraphina giggled, pushing him away playfully. "Not so fast. What if your fiancée, Elba, finds out? She'll be so angry."

A dismissive, ugly laugh escaped Landon's lips. "Her? That boring woman who's probably forgotten how to have fun in Europe? She doesn't know anything beyond what her family tells her to do."

The words were a physical blow. A fist of ice clenched in Elba's stomach. The hand holding her phone turned white at the knuckles.

"That ungrateful son of a bitch," Sloane growled under her breath.

On the screen, Seraphina wrapped her arms around Landon's neck, her voice a triumphant purr. "So when is she coming back? I'd hate for her to walk in on us."

"Who cares," Landon said with a careless shrug. "As long as she's back before the wedding. If it wasn't for the Knight family's shares, I would have ended things with her ages ago."

He leaned in closer, his voice dropping. "You're so much better, anyway. You know what a man wants. She's boring."

Hearing that, the last flicker of warmth in Elba's heart died. It was replaced by a cold, desolate emptiness.

The two on the screen began to undress each other. Sloane turned away, unable to watch. "This is disgusting. I can't."

But Elba didn't look away. Her face was a blank canvas, devoid of emotion. Her thumb moved with chilling precision, pressing the record button.

She needed this. The raw, undeniable proof.

They fell onto the bed, their vulgar words and movements broadcast live through the tiny speaker of her phone. Elba calmly adjusted the camera's digital zoom, ensuring the frame captured everything.

During their sordid encounter, Seraphina deliberately brought up Elba's name, making cruel comparisons, her voice dripping with contempt.

She even picked up the silver-framed engagement photo from the nightstand, laughing at the happy, oblivious woman smiling back from it.

Elba watched it all, feeling detached, as if her soul had floated out of her body. The pain was so immense it had transformed into something else entirely-pure, unadulterated hatred.

After recording ten minutes of the most damning footage, she stopped the recording. The video file was immediately encrypted and uploaded to her secure server.

She closed the app, tossed the phone onto the sofa, and walked into the bathroom. She turned on the faucet, splashing cold water on her face again and again, the shock of the cold a welcome distraction.

Sloane followed her, a look of deep concern on her face, and handed her a soft towel.

Elba looked up, meeting her own reflection in the mirror. Her face was pale, but her eyes burned with a terrifyingly bright light.

"Sloane," she said, her voice steady and clear. "I need a ticket to the Sterling Family Charity Auction."

Sloane froze for a second, then understanding dawned in her eyes. "You want to do it... there? In front of everyone?"

"Yes, I'm going to show them this footage.I want everyone to see what kind of man they admire so much," Elba said, each word laced with venom. "I want them to see the heir to the Sterling fortune for what he truly is."

Sloane nodded, her expression hardening with resolve. "No problem. I have a friend in the press. I can get you in on her press pass."

Elba walked back into the living room and picked up her phone. She wasn't looking at the camera feed anymore. She was researching every detail of the Sterling Charity Auction-the floor plan, the schedule, and, most importantly, the name of the tech support company handling the event.

Her finger scrolled through the list of vendors. It stopped on the names of the technicians responsible for the lighting and the main projection screens.

A plan began to form in her mind, intricate and ruthless. A plan that would not just end her engagement, but would bring the entire Sterling family to its knees in public humiliation.