MY SUGAR MUMMY IS A BEAUTIFUL VAMPIRE

Chapter 54: Eye for an eye

A blood red moon dipped below the horizon as Rose accompanied by her trusted guards; Reggie, Randal, and Gunther pulled up to Elena's sprawling seaport company.

Rose's once beloved sister clearly enjoyed the fruits of slandering Shelley Tech's reputation in her poisonous tabloid exposes. Lush landscaped plants and tinkling marble fountains mocked Rose's seething fury.

Twin panther statues flanked the gated entrance but Rose barely spared them a glance, intent on her personal mission. Elena's thuggish security detail materialized from the shadowy pillars, brandishing semi-automatics warily. How quickly they recognized the glinting menace in Rose's expression despite her diminutive stature and designer heels.

Rose smiled thinly, relishing their growing unease as she and her guards strode forward. Raw bloodlust crackled in Rose's veins and shimmered from her skin in a crimson haze. These muscled brutes were used to inspiring fear, not confronting an apex predator wearing Valentino and vengeance like lethal couture.

"Hey, stop there!!"

They postured aggressively, barking demands for identification and approved entry permissions. Fools. Rose had neither time nor patience for pointless obstructive displays tonight.

Ruthlessly, Reggie and the two other guards unleashed their hypnotic vampire thrall, staggering their simple minds into sluggish compliance.

Jaws slackened and gazes turned glassy while they filled their heads with lulling static. Parting before Rose's diamond-hard resolve, the armed lackeys cleared an unobstructed path meekly. Stronger men than they had crumbled into whimpering submission under the supernatural might before.

Rose breezed past them contemptuously, and headed straight towards Elena's executive office. Without wasting her precious time, she looked around the place with distaste and unleashed a wave of power, like an aura blast colored red that resounded like thunder and sparked like lightening, it struck the entire building to burning flames.

She passed through the fire in a flash and left the building in one piece.

Reggie and the others were waiting for her outside the building already and she met up with them in the car. They all watched with satisfaction as the whole building collapsed to the ground.

"Randal, Gunther, you can head home now. I intend to pay a surprise visit to someone tonight" instructed Rose with an evil smirk on her face.

While Randal and Gunther alighted from the car and practically disappeared out of sight, Reggie drove Rose to Elena's mansion.

High heels clicking on polished travertine. The massive wrought iron doors swung open at her approach, silent servants anticipating their mistress's whim.

Inside, vaulted ceilings and lavish antiques assaulted Rose's senses - all obnoxiously expensive but lacking warmth or taste. Fitting decor for Elena's avaricious personality.

"Rose darling, what an unexpected treat!"

A familiarly cloying voice rang out as Elena herself appeared on the imperial staircase. Despite the saccharine welcome, Elena sized Rose up like a circling shark through eyes hard and cutting as flint. Of course it didn't go unnoticed by Rose. Shelley's knew better than to trust any honeyed words between them.

Ignoring her less than sincere pleasantries, Rose took in the entourage of shirtless Adonises clustered around the indoor infinity pool with distaste. Vapid young men draped themselves across lounge chairs, all gleaming muscles and empty gazes.

Half naked and loose limbed with overpriced champagne, they practically reeked of well maintained pets serving Elena's voracious appetites. These men in the natural world were supermodels but to Elena, they were nothing more than pets.

"Quite the harem you've acquired," Rose remarked acidly. "Quantity over quality seems more your speed than ever lately."

Elena's lips thinned at Rose's pointed barbs but she hitched her translucent robe tighter, covering her exposed body.

Elena began descending regally until they stood toe to toe. From this close Rose smelled expensive liquor and cheap sex wafting from her. What a wasteful, indulgent life she led on the dirty profits of tearing her down.

"Come now sis," Elena cooed. "Let's not bicker over trivialities. Why ruin a perfectly delightful family reunion trading petty insults?"

The mocking laughter glinting behind her cold eyes ignited Rose's temper further. As if anything about them qualified as functional familial bonding.

Rose flexed her manicured fingers idly, imagining sinking razor sharp nails into her lying throat until blood stained her Italian marble. See how smugly superior Elena acted choking on her own blood.

"You nearly murdered Blake," Rose hissed instead, accusation whipping between them. A nearby pool boy flinched at Rose's icy tone but neither Shelley women paid him any mind, locked in their ancient battle of wills.

Elena examined her flawless cuticles boredly. "Who, that strapping secretary you're tupping? Really Rose, I expected more scintillating pillow talk than HR mediocrity. The great ice queen, lowering herself for the help these days!"

Red filmed Rose's vision at her cavalier dismissal of the man who held her heart.

Elena wielded cruelty as casually as her designer wardrobe, cutting with precise strokes. But Rose refused to satisfy her goading games.

"Arson goes beyond even your usual spiteful tricks," Rose pressed relentlessly. "Quite the killer instinct you've developed. What's next, dear sister - putting out literal hits on my loved ones?"

Finally a crack slithered through Elena's unflappable veneer. She slammed her wineglass down with a jarring clink, pale beneath the layers of bronzer and highlighter.

"Don't act so high and mighty! You're the one who abandoned FAMILY chasing empty capitalist dreams!" Elena spat venomously. "Shelley Tech is nothing but a house of cards propped up by LIES."

Her voice rose shrilly amidst stunned silence from the pool boy peanut gallery. Rose merely stared Elena down with hooded eyes though, savoring how quickly self-righteous anger dissolved into petulant defensiveness. Always needing to feel wronged even when holding every advantage.

Elena's phone buzzed on the counter table at her luxurious bar to her hearing but she ignored it. This altercation was more precious to her. Cutting Rose where it hurt was all she lived for.

"Are you mad because a few replaceable chairs and fancy printers got burnt?" Elena taunted breathlessly. "Or just that your little damsel was nearly slain exposing your hypocrisy?"

Rose's hand shot out cobra-quick, talons digging crescents into her sister's pale skin. Elena stood trapped between fight or flight instincts, recognizing the lethal energy radiating from Rose yet foolishly determined not to cower. Rose leaned in slowly, predator savoring cornered prey.

"Oh sis," she crooned with saccharine venom, "we both know you lack the wits to mastermind that blaze solo. I'm here, warning you and whatever two-bit arsonists you contracted to stay clear moving forward."

Elena's phone began buzzing insistently but she made no move to answer, locked in her sister's mesmerizing thrall.

Distant crashes and piercing sirens reached Rose's preternaturally attuned ears, as Elena's company wasn't too far from her home. Her little object lesson was proceeding nicely then, she thought.

Comprehension dawned in Elena's wild staring eyes. Triumph surged through Rose basking in her shock morphing to horror. The bully never expected her victim to hit back definitively.

"You see, dear sister," Rose purred silkily, "Shelley Tech is more than glass and concrete. It's a global famille rising above the ashes stronger each time. And I protect my own."

Shoving Elena back roughly, Rose turned on her heel while Elena stood rooted still processing Rose's whispered promise. She could hear from her house what had gone down at her port. No need picking the calls coming into her phone, she knew what Rose had done.

Rose had razed her precious shipping docks to smoldering cinders tonight. An eye for an eye, a family legacy for a family legacy. The message would not be lost on Elena.

And as for her shadowy collaborators orchestrating these vicious campaigns against Rose? Now they too tasted her vengeful wrath and would think twice before threatening her tight circle again.

Blake's unwavering loyalty and Reggie's formidable skills proved this Shelley queen was anything but alone facing enemies on all sides.

Rose could handle treacherous sisters, business rivals, or even anonymous players manipulating from the shadows.

With a final imperious backward glance, Rose strode out once more beneath velvet night skies illuminated with victory. Let Elena rebuild her small-minded kingdom from the rubble. Rose had an empire to defend.

Nobody crossed Rose Shelley without reckoning. And those who dared stood no chance surviving her beautiful red thorns.

*****

Reggie skillfully guided the car through the night, leaving behind the flaming wreckage of Elena's seaport company. The air hummed with the echoes of power as Rose, accompanied by her loyal guards, journeyed toward the next chapter of her intricate vendetta.

Upon arrival at Blake's house, Reggie brought the car to a halt. Rose stepped out, the aura of determination still lingering around her. As she entered the familiar abode, the transition from chaos to relative calm was palpable.

In the soft glow of Blake's living room, Rose sought solace in the embrace of the man who had weathered the storm alongside her. With a gentle yet resolute step, she approached Blake, ready to share the weight of the night's events. Arms outstretched, she went in for a hug.

However, a peculiar stillness enveloped Blake. His gaze, usually warm, held an unusual intensity as he stared at Rose. The anticipated reciprocation of the embrace was conspicuously absent.

Confusion flickered across Rose's face as she withdrew slightly, meeting Blake's enigmatic gaze. In the charged silence, she sensed something amiss, a shift in the equilibrium of their connection.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there," Rose apologized with regret in her voice.

Yet, Blake's gaze remained fixed, a silent storm brewing in his eyes. The unspoken words hung heavy in the air, creating an uncharted territory between them.