The Heiress's Comeback-Chapter 108: [Volume 1] - - Planned .

The guard didn’t blink, her expression cold and detached as she stepped over the bodies. Her target now was the pendant. She aimed her gun at the glass case and fired once more. The glass shattered instantly, sharp fragments flying in every direction. The pendant, which had once seemed indestructible, lay in shattered pieces along with the glass, the bullet having torn through its heart.

With her task complete, the guard holstered her weapon and pulled out her phone. She dialed a number, her fingers steady, and waited only a moment before the line connected.

"Boss, the work is done," she said flatly, her voice devoid of any emotion.

But before she could finish her report, a single shot rang out from behind her. The sound reverberated through the small room, and for a split second, the guard’s eyes widened in shock. A bullet pierced the center of her forehead, and her body crumpled to the ground, lifeless. Blood began to pool around her, mingling with that of the two women she had just killed.

From the phone, still clutched in her limp hand, a soft voice spoke, calm and almost chillingly casual.

"Now the work is done."

As the voice faded, the phone disintegrated in her grip, leaving nothing but dust.

....

After half an hour..

As Esme stopped outside the auction house, she slowly dismounted from her bike, her heart racing at the unexpected sight before her. This place was too small to even be called an auction house. Nestled in a back alley, it looked like a facade for something much darker. The absence of a security camera at the door sent a shiver down her spine; it was as if they wanted to ensure no trace of what happened inside would ever reach the outside world.

Pushing the door open, a metallic scent flooded her senses, overwhelming her with the unmistakable smell of blood. Thanks to Beom, her heightened senses honed in on the stench, intensifying her urgency. She shot a glance at Helga, and without exchanging a word, they sprinted towards the office at the end of the dim corridor.

The moment they opened the door, a horrifying tableau unfolded before them. Helga instinctively raised her phone, snapping pictures of the carnage, while Esme stepped further inside, her eyes darting around the room.

The scene was grotesque: women sat in various positions, their eyes vacant, as if they had just witnessed a nightmare they could never escape. A shiver ran down Esme’s spine as she noticed a shattered pendant on the floor, its glass pieces glistening ominously in the low light. It had been displayed on a dummy neck, now a pitiful remnant of what once was. The dummy remained intact, a stark contrast to the devastation surrounding it.

Her gaze shifted to the lifeless guard sprawled on the ground, his face frozen in an expression of horror. Helga continued to capture the scene with her phone, and as Esme knelt beside the ashes of a burned phone, a wave of frustration washed over her. She pulled out her handkerchief and gingerly placed it over the charred remnants before lifting it carefully.

"Maybe there’s something useful left," she muttered to herself, trying to mask the growing dread inside her.

She asked Helga if there was anyone alive in the building. Helga nodded, her expression shifting from concern to disbelief as she ventured deeper into the chaos. "No one," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "Except for these women. There’s no one else here—not even a security guard."

Esme’s gaze flickered to the guards sprawled on the floor, and a calmness settled over her as she replied, "Because all the security guards are here." The weight of her words hung heavily in the air, sending a chill through Helga.

Helga’s eyes widened in shock as she absorbed the scene around them. The women sat frozen, their eyes wide open yet devoid of life. In contrast, the guards lay with expressions of sheer terror etched on their faces, as if they had witnessed something unspeakable. It was a grotesque tableau, highlighting the stark difference between the calm that had overtaken the woman with a gunshot wound to her head and the horror displayed by the others.

"What... what does it mean?" Helga stammered, stepping back slightly, her instincts screaming for her to flee.

Esme knelt beside the woman who had been shot, examining her tranquil expression.

"Because she was shot without knowing she was going to die," Esme said, her voice barely a whisper as she tried to comprehend the chilling scene before them. Helga, visibly shaken, stepped closer, urging her to calm down.

"What do you mean? It’s not like this. People don’t know when they’re dying," Helga replied, her brow furrowing with confusion. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Esme shook her head, determination sparking in her eyes. "No. Look." She walked back toward the area where Helga stood beside the fallen security guards. She raised her hand, forming a gun with her fingers, then pointed it toward the floor where the guards lay. "See? They must have been talking to someone when it happened."

Both women examined the scene. "There’s only one bullet wound in each of them. This wasn’t random; it was done by a professional." Esme pointed to the angle of the bodies. "This angle indicates that someone shot them from here."

Helga’s confusion deepened. "But if all the security guards are here, and the women are there, then why is this woman standing so far from both of them? Her face is turned toward the wall—or should I say, the window? It’s like she was looking at something or someone."

Esme nodded, her mind racing. "Exactly. And look at this." She pointed to a broken phone scattered on the ground nearby.

Helga stared at the debris, trying to piece together the information. "So you mean this woman killed all of them here and then just died?"

Esme smiled gently, shaking her head. "No, that’s not it. Look." She pointed to the slightly open window.