THE PRICE OF SILK
The Breakfast
The dining table was a massive slab of mahogany that looked like it could seat thirty, its surface polished to a mirror shine that reflected the grim faces of the Vale family. Every seat was filled, yet the air felt colder than the night before. Crystal glasses caught the morning light, and silver silverware rested untouched beside plates of eggs and crepes that Runa couldn't imagine swallowing.
At the head, Roman and Althea spoke in hushed, clipped tones—discussing logistics, shipping routes, and "sanitation" with the casualness of people ordering groceries.
Jason stood abruptly, his chair scraping the floor with a jarring screech. "Car just arrived," he said lazily, checking a gold watch that likely cost more than Runa's education.
"So early?" Aurora asked, her vibrant red hair a stark, fiery contrast against her pale green silk robe.
"Business won't wait for coffee, Mother." Jason's gaze flicked briefly to Runa, a dark, hungry promise in his eyes that made her skin crawl, before he turned and strode out.
Runa exhaled a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. She sat stiffly between Althea and Eli, feeling like a mouse trapped between two mountain lions. Suddenly, Eli stood up. Without a word of explanation, she walked around the table and traded places with Toni.
Runa blinked. Now, she was sandwiched between the bubbly, red-haired Toni and the rigid, blonde Althea. Warmth and cold. While Eli sat across from her, her sapphire eyes creating a strange, watchful buffer. It didn't feel like a coincidence. It felt like a calculation.
"Hey," Toni leaned in, her voice a hushed conspiratorial whisper. She wore an easy, bright smile that felt like a sunbeam in a morgue. "Why aren't you eating? The chef makes the best crepes in the city. Truly, they're to die for."
Runa hesitated, her voice small and brittle. "Am I… allowed?"
"Of course," Eli answered from across the table. Her voice was even, devoid of the jagged edges the others carried. "There is food in front of you. It would be a waste of resources not to consume it."
Toni nodded vigorously, sliding a dish of glazed fruit toward Runa. "Eli's right! Eat up. We have a big day."
Aurora broke the rhythm, her voice smooth as glass. "Althea, dear. One of the boutiques in the Heights needs checking. There was a discrepancy in the ledger."
Althea frowned, her sharp features tightening. "Mother, I have the docks to oversee. I don't have time to chase pennies."
"Bring Runa," Aurora interrupted, her gaze never leaving her tea. "She needs to be useful. Besides, didn't you say you needed an assistant?"
"I need someone competent," Althea snapped, casting a dismissive look at Runa. "Not a burden."
"I'll go!" Toni chirped, raising her hand like an eager schoolgirl. "I can handle the boutique. Eli can come to keep me focused."
Althea sighed, the tension in her shoulders dropping an inch. "Fine. There you go."
Roman laughed softly, a low, guttural sound that made the hair on Runa's neck stand up. He looked at Eli—not casually, but with a deep, unsettling expectation. "Agreed. Let the twins handle it. Eli can manage the numbers. Right, Elizabeth?"
Eli met her father's gaze, her expression unreadable. She inclined her head a mere inch. "Yes, Father."
"I'll assign Albert to guard you," Althea added, her authority returning.
Toni laughed, a bright, melodic sound. "Silly. We don't need a guard."
"Not for you," Althea replied sharply, her eyes cutting to Runa. "For her. In case she tries to find an exit."
The boutique was a temple of glass and gold. The name VALE was etched into the frosted door in elegant, minimalist script. Inside, Runa felt like a ghost haunting a palace. Albert, a hulking guard with a permanent scowl and a suit that struggled to contain his muscles, stayed exactly three paces behind her.
The energy split the moment they crossed the threshold. Eli went straight for the manager, her face a mask of cold professionalism. "I'm Elizabeth Vale. Show me the logs for the last three shipments. Now."
Runa watched, stunned, as the quiet girl from the breakfast table transformed. Eli didn't just read the reports; she dissected them. Within ten minutes, her finger stopped on a line of text.
"You thought we wouldn't notice," Eli said, her voice terrifyingly flat. She didn't raise her tone, which made it worse. "Six silk blazers missing from the inventory, yet the sales haven't been logged. Fix the numbers and return the value by tomorrow, or I'll send Althea to do the audit. Personally."
The manager's face went the color of curdled milk. "Yes... yes, Miss Vale. I—I'll fix it immediately."
Meanwhile, Toni was a whirlwind of silk and laughter. "Oh my God, Runa! This deep red is your color. It matches the blood on the family crest!" She laughed at her own dark joke and pushed Runa into a fitting room with an armful of expensive fabric. "Okay, this one is for revenge, this one is for intimidation, and this one is just cute."
For a moment, in the privacy of the velvet-curtained stall, Runa looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a dress that cost more than her father's car. She looked like one of them. She let out a small, startled laugh—a sound of pure absurdity.
From across the store, Eli's eyes caught Runa's in the mirror. For just a second, the coldness in Eli's gaze flickered. She saw Runa smile, and her own lips almost twitched. Then, the mask slid back into place as she turned back to the trembling manager.
An hour later, Toni dragged her toward a small dessert shop down a side street. "We need sugar. Albert, wait with the car or stay with Eli while she finishes the paperwork."
"I need air," Toni said to Runa as they walked away. "Guards just ruin my mood. They're so... gray."
The shop smelled of vanilla and burnt sugar. Runa took a bite of a tart and felt a momentary, blissful disconnect from reality. "This is illegal," she murmured, the flavor exploding on her tongue.
Toni beamed. "Everything the Vales do is illegal, honey. Well, not everything, you know what I mean. Might as well enjoy the parts that taste good."
But as they stepped back out into the cooling afternoon air, the atmosphere shifted. Four men were lounging against the brick walls of the narrow street. They didn't look like Vale men; they looked like sharks who had smelled blood in the water.
"Hey," one called out, his voice thick with a sneer. "Pretty things like you shouldn't be out without a leash."
Toni's grip on Runa's hand became bone-crushing. "Keep walking. Eyes forward," she whispered, her bubbly voice replaced by a hard, metallic edge.
But the men were faster. They moved with a practiced coordination, blocking the exit to the main street. A hand grabbed Runa's arm—rough, calloused, and reeking of cheap beer. She screamed, the sound echoing sharply off the narrow walls.
Toni spun instantly. The "bubbly" persona didn't just fade; it evaporated. She didn't scream for help. Instead, she drove an elbow into the man's throat with a sickening thud.
"Touch her again and I'll break your fingers!" Toni hissed. She didn't wait for him to recover; she landed a palm strike to his chin, sending him stumbling back.
Toni fought like a cornered cat—fast, erratic, and surprisingly effective. She ducked a swing and delivered a kick to a second man's knee. For several minutes, she held her ground, a blur of red hair and fury, shielding Runa behind her. She was a Vale, after all; the training was in her bones.
But there were four of them, and they were twice her size. One man managed to circle behind her, grabbing a fistful of Toni's red curls and jerking her head back. His other hand tightened around her throat, cutting off her breath. "You little bitch—"
Runa froze, her heart stopping in her chest. Then, a shadow fell over the mouth of the alley.
Eli didn't scream. She didn't issue a warning. She simply moved.
The man holding Toni went down as Eli's fist collided with his jaw in a perfect, surgical strike. He hit the pavement like a sack of stones, unconscious before his head even bounced.
"Don't," Eli said, her voice a low, vibrating growl that seemed to vibrate through the brick walls. "Touch. My. Sister."
She didn't stop. As the man tried to groan, Eli stomped her heel into his face with a sickening crack of bone. The second attacker lunged with a roar, and Eli caught his momentum, driving him into the brick wall. She used her forearm to crush his windpipe, holding it there until his eyes rolled back and his knees buckled.
The third pulled a knife. Eli disarmed him in one fluid motion—a blur of silver and shadow. There was the sound of a wrist snapping like a dry twig, followed by the man's howl of agony.
The fourth man, seeing his friends dismantled in seconds, turned to run.
Eli didn't chase him. She reached into her blazer, pulled a sleek, silenced pistol from a hidden holster, and fired.
One shot. The man collapsed in the mouth of the alley, skidding across the concrete. Clean. Final.
Silence swallowed the street. Toni was breathing hard, a thin trail of blood running from her split lip, her hands shaking as the adrenaline began to crash. "Okay," she whispered shakily, looking at the bodies. "That was... a bit excessive, Eli."
Runa's knees buckled, and she hit the ground, her lungs burning. Eli was there instantly, catching her with firm, steady hands.
"You're safe," Eli said. Her voice was quiet now, but it held a strange, grounding weight. "Look at me, Runa."
Runa looked. She expected to see the cold judge from the portraits or the monster who had just broken three men. Instead, she saw a protector. Someone who stood in the dark so others didn't have to.
Sirens wailed in the distance—the Vales' clean-up crew, alerted by a silent signal. Three men, including Albert, arrived seconds later. Eli released Runa gently and turned to Toni, cupping her sister's face.
"Your lip is broken," Eli murmured, her thumb brushing the blood away. "We need to get you home and treat that before Father sees. You know how he feels about 'messy' work."
Toni's composure finally shattered, and she burst into tears, clinging to Eli's neck. Eli didn't pull away; she just shook her head softly, her expression softening into something almost human.
As they walked back to the SUV, Runa looked at Eli's retreating back. She realized then that Eli wasn't just "The Sniper" because she was good with a gun. She was the sniper because she stayed hidden, waited for the right moment, and hit exactly where it mattered most.
And for the first time, Runa thought: If I survive this house... it's going to be because of her.