"Naturally," Diana smirked with absolute dominance. "And it’s starting to drizzle outside. A delicate masterpiece like you shouldn't be walking in the damp air. My private luxury limousine is waiting right outside the curb. Let me give you a personal ride back to your residence, darling. We can discuss your runway styling on the way."
Down the hallway, Luke and Dedrick froze. They were still clutching their car keys, their jaws completely dropped to the floor as they overheard their older sister smoothly steal their dream guy right out from under their noses without even trying.
A short while later, the luxury limousine pulled up outside Le Chic Artisan bakery. The door chimes musically as Diana pushed it open, gliding inside with supermodel confidence, followed closely by Felix who cheerfully carried high-fashion lookbooks.
Miya was standing behind the counter polishing a glass display shelf. The moment she looks up and locks eyes with Diana, her elite assassin breath completely caught in her throat. Her heart did a violent, chaotic backflip. Looking at Diana’s long, flowing platinum-blonde hair and the powerful luxury radiating from her designer pantsuit, the tough, ruthless Alpha assassin fell **head-over-heels in love** on the spot, her cheeks bursting into a deep, heavy blush.
"Oh... oh my god," Miya whispered to herself, completely whipped. "She is... magnificent."
"Hello. You must be Miya, the brilliant artisan baker," Diana stepped up to the counter, flashing a brilliant, commanding smile. "I am Diana Destiano. I just drove your brother home because I am officially scouting him to be the face of my Fall Luxury Line."
Miya quickly shook her hand, trying to maintain her cover while blushing frantically. "D-Diana Destiano! It is an honor. But... regarding Felix's modeling, he must continue his university studies fully. He can only do this as a part-time model. His education comes first."
"That is perfectly fine," Diana nodded gracefully, leaning against the counter. "But, for garment sizing, fabric scent-trapping, and runway line-ups... I must ask. What is his subgender? Is he an Alpha, a Beta, or an Omega?"
Miya’s assassin reflexes instantly spiked. She knew Felix's hidden Omega nature and high-tech scent patch were classified secrets. She smoothly stepped closer to Diana, her voice dropping into a deeply protective, serious tone to completely cover up the truth.
"Does his subgender truly matter, Ms. Destiano?" Miya looked directly into Diana's eyes, initiating a dramatic cover story. "Felix completely loathes talking about his rank. He has been deeply traumatized ever since we lost our parents over—"
Before Miya could even finish the sentence, Diana’s regal expression completely melted. Her sharp eyes suddenly grew heavily watery, shimmering with deep sympathy and genuine, caring emotion. She cut Miya off, gently placing a hand over her heart, completely heartbroken for them.
"Oh... no, please, say no more," Diana’s voice trembled slightly, deeply moved. "It doesn’t matter at all! Forgive me for asking. Visual perfection has no subgender, and your family's privacy is sacred. I will ensure my team treats him with the absolute highest level of sensitivity."
Felix stood in the background, chewing on a leftover macaroon with a cute, deadpan pout as he watched his tough older sister blush like crazy in front of the fashion mogul. "Wow," Felix muttered comically to himself. "First the three boyband brothers, and now the fashion sister? This family really cries a lot. Miya, change the sign on the door, we are officially running a high-society drama club, not a bakery."
***
Later that night, the scene cut directly back to the grand dining room of the Destiano mansion for the nightly family dinner.
Richard sat at the head of the table, looking like a cold, untouchable tycoon, entirely silent as he cut his steak with ruthless precision. Suddenly, he set his fork down with a slow, deliberate click. "Emily. I have made an executive decision regarding your university's upcoming Arts and Music Festival. Destiano Enterprises has officially decided to fully **sponsor the entire festival**. I will be personally attending the front-row VIP section."
Emily gasped, dropping her fork into her mashed potatoes. "Oh my god! For real?!"
Suddenly, Dedrick cleared his throat aggressively, forcing a completely fake, casual grin onto his golden-boy face. "So, uh, Emily... about that festival this weekend. I just realized something. I actually already fully qualified and signed my advance contract with the Real Madrid football team! My schedule is completely free! And since there will be a ton of talented art students there... I figured I can go and ask around for someone to design a cool new personal brand logo for me! So, yeah, I’m attending the festival."
Emily blinked her wide Omega eyes in complete, deadpan disbelief. "A... a personal logo? Dedrick, you literally draw stick figures with a crayon."
Before Dedrick could panic, Luke smoothly took a sip of his red wine, setting the crystal glass down with a slow click. "Actually, Emily, I have also reassigned my choreography masterclasses for that weekend. The PTTS Talent Industry requires fresh, unpolished university dancers to secure our next global pipeline. I will be attending the festival to personally scout the campus talent from the front rows."
"Luke, you said my band was a 'garage band' yesterday! Now you're scouting?!" Emily turned her head slowly, her face twisting into pure, comical bewilderment.
"I will also be present, Emily," Diana set her tablet down, her sharp Alpha features melting into a deeply serious, intense expression, her eyes still shimmering with a trace of lingering sympathy for Felix. "The Destiano Fashion Group has just officially locked in a brand-new, part-time visual muse. I am personally deploying my entire design team to the festival backstage to oversee his runway aesthetic and security layout. It is a matter of extreme artistic priority."
Emily looked around the table. Richard was hiding a highly smug, triumphant smirk because he *already* sponsored the entire event. Luke and Dedrick were aggressively glaring at each other, their inner Alphas locking horns over who gets to find Felix first. And Diana was looking fiercely protective.
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH ALL OF YOU?!" Emily screamed comically, throwing her hands in the air, utterly and completely baffled. "Yesterday you all treated me like trash and refused to come! Now my football brother needs a logo, my dancer brother needs to scout, my fashion sister is bringing a runway crew, and Richard is sponsoring the whole thing?! Are you guys secretly playing a prank on me?!"
The four older siblings all let out a synchronized, perfectly smooth chuckle, completely brushing off her shouting as they returned to their meals. They sat in absolute, tense silence, every single one of them aggressively planning how they were going to corner Felix at the festival—completely oblivious to the fact that their dream "pretty baker boy" was actually Velvet Trigger, an international elite assassin who was about to turn that exact music festival into a highly dangerous, blood-soaked biochemical drug bust!
***
**THE END OF CHAPTER 8**
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