Tatiana shook her head slowly as she looked at the screen again.

"That’s too risky."

Her voice carried firm doubt as she straightened up from behind the chair and crossed her arms. The images of the Shadow Lounge hotel were still glowing on the laptop screen while the quiet hum of the room surrounded them.

"We can’t just break in and steal a card," she continued while pacing a few steps across the living room. "Even if we somehow get a card they would still need to identify our faces before letting us inside."

She turned around to face him again.

The security of a place like that would not be simple. A criminal hub like the one she described would definitely have layers of protection. Cards, cameras, recognition systems, guards everywhere. The idea of casually stealing access was almost laughable.

Then she stopped mid step.

Her expression changed slightly.

"Unless..."

Liam raised his eyebrows.

He leaned back in the chair and looked at her curiously.

"Unless what?"

Tatiana tilted her head slightly as she thought through the idea forming in her mind.

"Well," she said slowly, "if there is a party tonight then there will be supplies arriving."

Liam watched her carefully.

"Alcohol. Wine. Drinks. That kind of thing."

The moment she said that Liam’s eyes lit up slightly.

He immediately finished the thought.

"So if we find a way to sneak in with the alcohol delivery we won’t need a card or face recognition to enter."

Tatiana pointed at him.

"Exactly."

She nodded as she continued thinking out loud.

"Those supply trucks move in and out all the time. Workers unload crates, staff carry boxes inside. In a busy moment nobody is checking every single face."

Liam nodded slowly.

"That could work."

Tatiana walked closer again while resting one hand on the table beside the laptop.

"I might actually be able to help with that," she said.

Then her expression shifted again as another problem appeared in her mind.

"But how do we get into the truck undetected?"

She looked directly at him now.

Sneaking into a delivery vehicle heading into a criminal stronghold was not exactly easy.

There would be drivers, workers, guards watching the loading process.

Tatiana expected Liam to start explaining a complicated plan.

Instead he simply smiled.

"Leave that part to me."

Tatiana stared at him for a moment.

She had no idea what he was planning.

But strangely enough she felt confident he would pull it off.

She had already seen enough strange things from him tonight to stop doubting too much.

Liam then closed the laptop and stood up from the chair.

"So the only thing we need now is clothes."

Tatiana blinked.

"Clothes?"

"Yes."

He extended his hand slightly.

"Your phone."

Tatiana raised an eyebrow but still reached into her pocket and handed it to him.

Liam took the phone and immediately unlocked the screen.

Tatiana noticed it instantly.

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Wait."

She stepped closer.

"I didn’t even give you the password."

Liam didn’t look bothered at all.

He finished checking something quickly before handing the phone back to her.

"I just guessed."

Tatiana stared at him.

For a moment she simply stood there holding the phone while her brain tried to process that answer.

Guessed?

Her password was not something random like 1234.

There was absolutely no way someone could casually guess it on the first try.

She looked at him again with a mixture of disbelief and suspicion.

"This guy is unbelievable," she muttered under her breath.

Then suddenly the phone vibrated in her hand.

The screen lit up with a notification.

Tatiana glanced down casually.

Then her eyes widened instantly.

Her entire body froze.

For a second she thought she was seeing something wrong.

Then she looked again carefully.

The alert was from her banking application.

A transfer notification.

Her throat went dry.

She looked back up at Liam slowly.

"Wait..."

Her voice almost caught in her throat.

"Did you just..."

She swallowed.

"Send money to my account?"

Liam nodded casually as if it was nothing important.

Tatiana looked down at the number again.

Her brain struggled to accept it.

The amount was so large it almost felt unreal.

She looked back at him with wide eyes.

"Hundred thousand?"

Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Liam nodded again.

"Yes."

He walked toward the door calmly as he spoke.

"Get a nice gown."

He paused near the entrance and glanced back at her.

"Get me some decent clothes too."

Then he added casually.

"Keep the rest."

Tatiana stared at him in complete shock.

Keep the rest?

He just casually gave her a hundred thousand dollars and spoke about it like he was handing her grocery money.

Before she could even react Liam had already reached the door.

He grabbed his jacket from the hanger and slipped it over his shoulders.

Then he opened the door.

"I’m coming back soon," he said calmly.

"I just need to get a few things done."

Then he stepped outside and closed the door behind him.

The house became quiet again.

Tatiana remained standing in the middle of the living room.

Her phone was still in her hand.

The notification remained glowing on the screen.

One hundred thousand dollars.

Her mind felt completely scrambled.

She looked at the door Liam had just walked through.

Then she looked back at the phone again.

Her thoughts slowly began to rearrange themselves.

Something suddenly felt very strange.

Her eyebrows slowly furrowed.

"Wait..."

She replayed the last minute in her head carefully.

Liam had taken her phone.

He opened it.

Then he gave it back.

That was it.

He never touched his own phone.

He never opened any banking app in front of her.

He never even typed anything after returning the device.

Yet somehow the money had appeared in her account.

Tatiana slowly lifted her head.

Her brows pulled together in confusion.

"How did he transfer the money... without touching his own phone?"

****

2hours later

Liam stepped back into Tatiana’s house and quietly closed the door behind him. The night air that followed him inside disappeared as the warmth of the apartment wrapped around him again.

He had been gone for almost two hours.

For a moment he simply stood there near the entrance while his eyes adjusted to the soft lighting inside the living room.

Then he noticed something.

On one of the chairs near the center of the room a neatly arranged suit had been placed carefully across the backrest. A pair of polished shoes sat directly beneath it on the floor.

Liam walked a few steps closer.

Tatiana had actually bought the clothes he told her to get.

His eyes moved slightly to the side.

Tatiana herself was sitting on the chair next to the suit.

Both of her legs were pulled up onto the seat as she leaned back comfortably, clearly relaxed. She had changed out of the clothes she wore earlier and now wore something far more casual.

A pair of soft pajamas covered her legs while a thin white round neck shirt rested lightly against her upper body.

The fabric was light and simple, but on her it didn’t look simple at all.

From Liam’s perspective the sight made him pause for a brief second.

Her red hair was slightly messy as if she had run her fingers through it multiple times while waiting for him. The loose shirt clung gently to her frame, outlining the natural curves of her body without trying too hard.

Her posture didn’t hide anything either.

With both knees pulled up on the chair her shape naturally showed itself. Her waist looked slim even through the loose shirt and the soft curve of her hips rested comfortably against the seat.

The thin fabric shifted slightly whenever she moved which only made it harder not to notice the shape of her chest beneath it.

Her skin looked smooth in the warm light of the room and the relaxed way she sat there made the whole scene feel strangely domestic.

For a brief moment Liam forgot what he was doing.

Then the sound of the door closing pulled Tatiana’s attention away from whatever she had been thinking.

She turned her head and looked directly at him.

"Oh."

Her eyes lit up slightly.

"You’re back."

Liam immediately forced his gaze upward and away from her body as if he had just been caught staring.

Tatiana tilted her head slightly while watching him.

"So," she said casually, "how was whatever you went out to do?"

Liam cleared his throat quietly.

"Yeah."

He walked further inside the room while speaking.

"It went well."

His tone sounded calm again.

"I’ve done everything."

Tatiana nodded slightly while listening.

Then Liam added something that immediately caught her attention.

"And we won’t need to enter the truck anymore."

Tatiana blinked.

"Huh?"

Her brows furrowed as she lowered her legs from the chair slightly.

"What do you mean we won’t need the truck?"

Liam walked over to the hanger near the door and slipped off his jacket.

A small smile appeared on his face.

"We’ll just drive in."

Tatiana stared at him.

Then she suddenly laughed.

Not a small laugh.

A full laugh of disbelief.

"You’re out of your mind."

She leaned back against the chair again while shaking her head.

"For a second there I almost thought you actually had a real plan."

Her voice carried playful sarcasm now.

"Driving into a place like that without access?"

She waved her hand dismissively.

"Yeah right."

But something strange happened.

Liam’s smile didn’t disappear.

In fact it only grew slightly wider.

Tatiana slowly stopped laughing.

Her eyes narrowed a little.

He removed his jacket fully and hung it on the hanger before turning back toward her.

"I paid for both of us to attend the party tonight."

Tatiana blinked again.

For a moment she simply looked at him.

Then she shook her head slowly.

"You’re joking."

Liam didn’t answer with words.

Instead he reached into his pocket and pulled something out.

A card.

It was small and rectangular.

The color immediately caught Tatiana’s attention.

Green.

The moment she saw it her body straightened slightly.

Her eyes widened.

"Don’t tell me..."

Liam casually held the card between his fingers.

"Yeah."

"I got the card."

Tatiana stood up from the chair slowly and walked closer.

Her eyes never left the card in his hand.

She knew exactly what it was.

Those access cards were not something you could just find lying around.

"How did you even get that?" she asked honestly.

There was real curiosity in her voice now.

Liam looked at the card for a moment.

Then he smiled.

"They gave it to me."

He looked back at her.

"With a smile."