Revenge on Thorne required a more delicate approach. Ren used his remaining Vengeance Points on a high-risk, single-use item from the System shop: a [Optical Camouflage Device]. For one hour, he could become a ghost.
He pressed the cool metal disk to his chest in an alleyway and shimmered out of sight. He followed Thorne's luxury sedan home, slipping into the lavish penthouse apartment right behind him. The place was immaculate, cold, and sterile, more like a modern art gallery than a home. And waiting there was Eleanor Thorne, a woman of stunning, sad beauty.
Their interaction was as cold as the marble floors. "You're late," she said, her voice flat. "Had to deal with the incompetents at the office," Thorne grunted, walking straight to the wet bar without a single glance in her direction.
Later, Thorne was in his home office, his voice a low growl as he barked orders on an international call. Ren, a silent, invisible wraith, moved through the vast, empty penthouse. He heard a soft, choked sob coming from a guest bedroom and followed the sound. Eleanor was curled on a chaise lounge, speaking quietly into her phone.
"...he promised, Sarah," she whispered, her voice breaking with a pain so profound it was almost palpable. "He said after the merger, we'd finally start trying for a baby. Now... now he won't even talk about it. He looks right through me. It's like I'm just another one of his assets, something to be managed and polished."
A notification pinged silently in Ren's mind.
[CRITICAL VULNERABILITY IDENTIFIED: Unfulfilled Maternal Desire]
Ren felt no pity. Only the cold, sharp thrill of a predator who has found the perfect bait. His hour of invisibility was almost up. He slipped out of the penthouse, his mission a complete and total success. He had found the key to her soul.