The Beginning of The End.

The man and the woman were looking at each other without taking their eyes off.

"Don't you think it's a bit improper to look daggers at a strange woman?" Lina asked.

"My life experience has deprived me of a sense of modesty and embarrassment, Miss Jones. As you can see, I know your name. Doesn't it bother you that you yourself are looking daggers at an unfamiliar man?" Armand asked a counter-question.

The girl smirked, but the direction of her gaze did not move an inch, "Oh, if you thought your comment would make me blush, then you are utterly mistaken, little boy." She took a step forward; the couple was at arm's length from each other. "Decided to play peepers with me to get my attention? Well, you succeeded, but I'm afraid that I am a bit hard nut to crack, so I suggest you save your pretty teeth. If you decide to go on, all I can do is to suggest you a good dentist, only he has a lineup of men like you, who overestimated their strength and eventually broke their teeth."

The girl raised her hand and touched Armand's chest, but her seductive movements up and down his shirt did not have the desired effect, the man remained unmoved and his gaze was still focused on her eyes only.

Such a reaction took the girl off guard, but she showed no surprise on her face. Being an extremely stubborn lady, Lina did not want to be a loser in this game.

Armand intercepted her hand and raised the girl's palm to his mouth; the man's warm lips touched her skin. He noticed that her pupils immediately expanded and at that moment he was sure that a blush appeared on Lina's cheeks. But he did not check whether he was right or not, because otherwise, he would have to stop looking into her eyes, and he was not going to lose to this crazy girl.

No matter what this lady said, she absolutely had no clue that his life experience has exceeded the experience of all those she had met before for decades and such provocations from her seemed to Armand like some childish tricks performed in a sandbox.

"Miss Jones, I'm afraid you are rushing things a little. I did not say a word that I want to do something with you. You just seemed an interesting person to me. And I once read a study in which they said that if you looked into a stranger's eyes for three minutes, then you would be able to communicate like old friends." Armand took a step forward and leaned over, their eyes became on the same level and if the girl moved forward a bit, then the tip of her nose would touch his nose.

The man grinned and whispered in a low, velvety voice, "I just wanted to know you better, but if you prefer to skip the friendship stage, I can think about your proposal."

"An arrogant, stubborn fair-haired boy! Don't get cocky," the girl hissed back. She has encountered such a situation for the first time, usually her provocative and bold actions forced men to lose self-control, but this guy was not so simple. Now she began to doubt which one of them was a tough nut to crack. His gaze, confident and unshakable, never leaving her eyes for a second, caused sensations in the lower part of her belly that she would really want to avoid.

"For some reason, it seems to me that you are enjoying this, Miss. Lina. Jones." Armand replied, clearly pronouncing every syllable of her name, and the girl barely refrained from looking at his lips.

Well, this fair-haired boy really deserves a little attention.

"Your name?"

"Armand."

"I hear such a name for the first time in my life," she replied.

"How about hearing it more often?"

"Tsk, your arrogance has no limits," the girl sighed, "But I'm afraid it's time for us to interrupt our sweet game. So be it, today I give in as a sign of respect for your perseverance. Do you agree, Mrs. Anderson?" Lina looked from Armand to Elena. Elena finished talking on the phone at least a couple of minutes ago and was just standing there, not knowing whether it was worth wedging into this eyes battle when Armand and Lina were so focused on each other.

"Your friend amused me well, but I should go. My manager will contact you and tell you the time and place for the meeting. Then you will be able to ask all your questions," Lina took one last look at Armand, "You can also bring the fair-haired boy with you," the girl added, got into the car and drove away.

As soon as Lina slammed the door of the SUV, a man's laughter shuttered an entire car.

"Ahaha, that was unbelievable! Was there anyone who made the cold-blooded Lina Jones blush? Haha, I saw your ruddy cheeks!"

"Either you will shut up now, or my spike heel will be between your eyes!" Lina shouted at the man, taking off her shoes and unzipping the dress to take it off.

"Ahaha. Come on! If you make a cripple of me, you will have to provide treatment to me too. By the way, he is quite something. Did he get on your hook already?"

"It doesn't matter. We now have other tasks. And yes, could you turn away? I need to change."

"It's not like I wanted to look or something," the man muttered in response and turned away to the window.

"And how is she to you?" Lina asked him, pulling on the trousers instead of the dress.

The man fell silent, he looked out the window, as if he was thinking about something. His palm squeezed the medallion hanging on his chest, after which he hid it back under his clothes, "She ... looks exactly how I remembered her. Very beautiful," he answered quietly, and his eyes filled with sadness.

. . .

Armand watched the van go and felt that someone nearby was not taking her eyes off him.

Elena pushed the man to the side with her elbow and asked with a sly smile on her face, "And what was it now?"

"Khem, I do not understand what you mean, dear," he replied, making him look like an innocent lamb.

"I can think of your proposal. How about hearing my name more often," Elena repeated Armand's words, imitating his voice, "Hmmm, and you turn out to be quite a dangerous man," Elena's eyes narrowed, the naughty lights were asking for details.

The man noticed her interest, but instead of satisfying it, he put his hand on her shoulder and pinched the girl by the nose, "They don't tell that to little girls," he answered, and stuck out his tongue.

Elena poked him in the side with her fist, "Hey, I thought I asked not to treat me like a child! Armand Taubert, you are a big wretch!"

The man did not answer, but on his face was a smile of one hundred megawatts. Elena has not seen him so happy for a long time.

It seems that David just had a reason to tease his friend. Although, in the case of Armand, this is hardly possible.

"By the way, who called you?"

"Aah, that was Corey. She and Ashley came to the exhibition but did not find us, so she called," Elena answered, "I told her that we had a conversation, and she said that we cannot hurry. Armand, can you please hear me out? I want to tell you about a dream I had recently."

"Of course, dear. No problem, what's the dream? "

. . .

Ashley was happily running from picture to picture, looking at each of them. She tried to repeat the posture of the girl that was depicted on the canvas, and her childhood attempts caused tenderness to all those around who stood nearby. Corey decided not to stop her daughter and made sure that she did not accidentally damage other people's property. Because, knowing the naughty character of her baby girl, it was quite possible.

About ten minutes later, the girl ran to her mother, shifting from one foot to the other. She waved at Corey with her hand, and the latter knelt down to be level with her daughter, "Mom, I want to go to the toilet," Ashley whispered in her ear.

"Oh my God, dear, why haven't you said that before? What a habit to hold on to the last?!" Corey shook her head and looked around to find one of the gallery employees. Noticing a familiar girl, she approached her, "Marie, hello! Can you tell me where the toilet is?"

"Oh, Miss Williams, hello!" Marie immediately recognized Corey, as she came to the gallery with Elena several times, "You need to go up to the second floor and turn left. The third door on the right side will be just the toilet. Just be careful, the doorknob seems to get stuck sometimes, and the master will come only after the end of the event, so don't slam it."

"Understood, no problem," Corey thanked the woman, and she and Ashley went upstairs. Having passed in the indicated direction, they found the necessary door and went inside. "Do you need help or you can do it by yourself?" Corey asked her daughter, to which she answered with great importance, "Of course by myself, mom!"

"Well said!" Corey turned to the mirror and pulled a makeup bag from her bag to fix her makeup. Ashley was going to go to the toilet stall, first looked at her mother, and then looked at the open door.

"Oh, mom! We forgot to close the door!"

"No, Ashley, wait!" Corey shouted, but the girl was faster and slammed it.

The woman walked to the door, pulled the doorknob and, as one would expect, the door did not open. Corey sighed fatefully, "And why am I not surprised?" She had long been accustomed to different situations if Ashley was involved. And getting stuck in a public toilet because of a broken doorknob no longer seemed such a surprise.

"Mom, did I do something wrong?" The girl looked at her mom with the look of a guilty child.

"No, dear, you have nothing to do with it," Corey stroked her daughter's head. In the end, it was not her fault that the lock on the door was broken. "So go ahead, do your stuff. And then we'll figure it out."

Ashley nodded her head.

. . .

A man slowly walked down the stairs and entered the hall. He was wearing a black formal suit that best emphasized his figure. Black glasses hid his eyes and forced everyone around him to look at him, wanting to know what was hidden behind these dark glasses.

No doubt he was incredibly attractive.

He was moving from picture to picture slowly until he stopped in front of the largest of them. In his hands was a glass in which the bubbles of champagne were playing.

"Amelia."

He looked at the woman depicted in the picture, studying every dash of her. She was as alive as if it had not been twenty years since he had last seen her.

What you are looking for is right before your eyes.

His gaze slid from her eyes down to the girl's lips, then went down her neck and froze on her chest. A small pendant of unusual shape caught his attention.

"What you are looking for is right before your eyes," the man repeated the phrase aloud, which was a message encrypted in the pictures, and understood what that message meant.

Loud laughter echoed throughout the gallery. People flinched, not knowing how to react and began to whisper among themselves. The man laughed like a madman and could not stop until tears appeared in his eyes.

He took off his glasses and brushed away the tear that ran down his cheek, "Ahh, damn it. Fool, I am such a fool." He raised a glass of champagne in the direction of the picture, mentally greeting the girl. "Well done, Amelia. What can I say, you have outwitted me, congratulations!"

His voice was like the voice of a drunken madman. The thing he had been looking for for many years could have been in his hands a long time ago, but he himself did not notice it.

Her words that night, "This is the beginning of your end, Marcus," echoed in his head. The smile instantly disappeared from his face, his eyes were filled with hatred and anger. He squeezed a glass of champagne, and the shattered glass broke in flinders in different directions.

"Winning a fight does not mean winning a war. You should have agreed then, Amelia, maybe I would now have shown some leniency, but you yourself chose that path. So I am choosing my own. Now no one will be spared."

The man put on his black glasses and walked away.

"Richard."

"Yes, Master," Rick responded to his master's mental request.

"Burn it all to hell. I want you to wipe these damn pictures out. All of them."

"Yes, sir. Will be done."