Mel

Prologue

The night was cold and starless, the moon hidden behind a thick veil of clouds. The city lay still under the shadowy blanket, all its bustle and chaos lulled into a restless sleep. Somewhere in the city's heart, in a penthouse that overlooked the darkened skyline, Mel sat at a polished mahogany desk, her piercing green eyes burning brightly against the soft glow of her computer screen.

Mel wasn't your ordinary girl next door. Her beauty was that of a chilling winter night, breathtaking yet frightful, her mind a complex maze of darkness and intelligence. Yet, it was her wickedness that truly set her apart, a wickedness that thrived on the pain and destruction of others.

Her target was a man named Alexander Thorne. A man of affluence and power, who, to the rest of the world, was a self-made entrepreneur, a philanthropist, and a loving father. But Mel knew the truth. She knew of the skeletons in his closet, of the lives he had trampled to get to where he was now. And she would make sure the world knew it too.

Mel had met Alexander years ago, at a time when she was a different person, innocent and naive. A chance encounter that had led to a whirlwind romance, only to leave her heartbroken and betrayed. Alexander Thorne had taken everything from her, leaving her with a gaping void filled with hatred and a thirst for revenge.

The plan she had meticulously crafted for months was coming together like the final pieces of a nefarious puzzle. Every move, every step calculated with cold precision, pointing towards a cataclysmic finale. She had spent countless nights studying, researching, and planning, and now the time for action was drawing near.

Mel swivelled her chair towards the expansive window that framed the city below. A twisted smile played on her lips as she watched the world in its ignorant slumber. Alexander Thorne, she thought, you have no idea what's coming for you. She would destroy him, not by a sudden strike, but by a slow, tormenting downfall, the kind that leaves one wishing for a swift end. She would tarnish his name, his reputation and take away everything he held dear.

As the clock chimed the midnight hour, Mel's wicked plan was set in motion. A plan so superficially immaculate it would take a genius to see through and yet so deadly it was destined to leave a path of destruction in its wake.

From that night forward, the city that slept beneath her became a grand chessboard, and Mel, the wicked puppet master, was ready to make her first move. Alexander Thorne, the unsuspecting king, was about to be dethroned in the most devastating way possible, forever altering the lives of everyone entangled in this deadly game of vengeance.