Page 28 of Stars in Halo

She shot him a dazzling smile to whisk away his concern.

It worked when he beamed a grin at her. ‘Welcome back. Are you dining with us this evening?’

‘I think that’s a good idea,’ she confirmed and strode into the lobby, back straight, head held high.

Katya made her way through the opulent foyer, her steps quick as she headed towards the hotel restaurant.

Inside, the rich aroma of gourmet food filled the air, mingling with the soft notes of classical music playing in the background.

She wandered the bar and ordered a fine wine, hoping to calm her nerves and gather her thoughts.

She brought it to a corner table and sat, trying to shake off the unease that had settled over her like a dark cloud.

Her eyes scanned the room with discretion, noting the other diners and the waitstaff moving between tables.

After just a few sips of the ambrosia, she was engulfed with raw loneliness and an aching vulnerability.

She aimed her eyes at the bright radiance of the metropolis she knew so well and assessed her life so far.

Enia was where she’d fled after her rift with her kinfolk, in particular, an argument with her father, who had tried to force her to continue the family business.

Using collateral from past heists to pay her way, The Grande had become her new home in the city of lights.

Utilising the Sys-ID of Bella Blaise, a purported heiress daughter of a famous mineral magnate, she always ensured she showed up with a polished demeanour.

She was well-received by the hotel staff, who all adored her. This was because she acknowledged them and paid them a pretty schill for their discretion.

In time, and after some scouting, she realised that the wealthy establishments of Enia City’s northern districts were the perfect mark.

Many of them were owned by the same criminals who did business with her family. So, in the spirit of fairness, she put her years of burgling experience to work, bringing about some equity.

She’d engaged in heists that bagged her art and gems worth millions of schills, which she’d then sold to secretive collectors and jewellery re-fitters in Galicia.

Katya always booked a room in a resort or near the venue she was robbing.

She bought a new wardrobe of designer threads and face-altering software before each job to blend in with the latest trendsetters.

Looking the part, she’d waltz incognito into gem shops, casinos, betting salons, exclusive parties and hotel lobbies across the city of lights.

From where she pinched jewels, furs and artworks.

As a card shark for hire, she’d slip into restricted homes and gambling premises from where she’d enact her side hustle.

Once, during a private poker game at a black hat hacker’s home, she stole a 40 million schill necklace from his lover, an exiled Falasian princess with a genocide charge. The scandal was lauded as the foremost significant jewellery theft in Pegasi history but remained out of the news.

She’d also been involved in the anonymous heist of a rare painting. Plus, the larceny of a couple of artefacts from a secret museum belonging to an eccentric but debauched entrepreneur.

Her profits were ploughed into her cause of choice, a small one run by her mother doing saintly work in LeCythi.

She kept her missions low-key and under the radar to keep her charity recipients and mother clothed and fed.

None of the burglaries were ever reported to the authorities.

Most often, the valuables were acquired to launder money due to bad deals or even as reparation for unpaid debts or sins.

Which was why she rarely gave a fokk about her actions.

Until now.

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