At Imperial hotel in the capital, He Mufeng, the personal assistant of Lu Ye Ze, knocks hastily on the door of the presidential suite, his master was accompanying important guests for dinner this evening and he arrived ahead of time. 

''Come in "

"Master!!!'' after catching his breath He Mufeng starts his report "there seems to be something going on at the Phoenix estate". The Phoenix estate is the main residence of Lu Ye Ze, although he rarely stays there, its the place where all the formal events of the Lu family are taking place. Aside from his maintenance staff and a team of security guards, nobody else lived there. Attacking Lu Ye Ze through Phoenix Estate was merely a blow to his image, but not strong enough to affect his position in the country.

''Continue...'' 

''We have lost all communications... an intruder must have seized the house and changed the password on the security system"

Lu Ye Ze was wearing a formal suit, his hair was styled and at the moment he was applying his cufflinks. His allure was breaking through the roof top, he was already handsome enough, but when he dressed himself up, he looked like a God has descended from the Heavens. With aloofness and a calm demeanour addressed his assistant, who was frantic beyond any recovering point.

"What about the external security system'' 

''It didn't detect anything Master" replied He Mufeng with sweat covering his forehead. 

''Prepare the car"

A lot of people knew Lu Ye Ze, he is the head of the Lu family clan and the owner of LT Corporation, the leader in China's economy. His tremendous power stretched outside the country's borders, he was ruthless and many feared him. He had a lot of enemies waiting around the corner for a misfortune, so that they can stomp on his head and climb higher. Also many have tried, but dissappeared without a trace. So one must have a thousand guts to step on his tail and touch something that belongs to him. That is simple and stupid suicide. 

Somehow this has happened, an intruder managed to brake the security system and seize the mansion. Not to mention that the security system has been put in place, by the secret intelligence team at LT Corporation. Besides, crossing the river and 

getting into the mountain was also a difficult task, as it was heavily guarded. A handful of people lived on Mount Belleville, they were the most important and powerful entities in China, which made the task of getting in, impossible. 

That is why, to Lu Ye Ze, something seemed rather off, so going there personally was the only way to solve the mystery. Also he would like to see for himself the idiots that dared to do something as atrocious as to provoke him directly. 

After a 40 minutes drive the black Maybach stopped in front of the stoic grand gates of the Phoenix mansion. He Mufeng opened the back door and a pair of long slender legs stepped outside. 

The aloof Lu Ye Ze stood in front of the gates with a complicated look on his face, emanating an aura that can shatter glaciers in a gazillion pieces. He was a demon that surfaced from the deepest Hell into the common world and his thirst of collecting souls for his harem has intesified abrubtly. Many thought that this man was heartless and unapproachable. Only a few people that were closely working under him knew, that in fact, he was much more ruthless than what he portrayed on the outside. He despised everyone and anyone.

When he was a child his parents gifted him a tiger pet, intending to appease his emotional side, but he snapped the poor cub's neck with cold blood and not even a flint of emotion. His parents were terrified, they brought into the world a demon not a child. They have tried everything and anything in teaching him love and kindness. It was all fruitless, the child had neither a heart nor a conscience. His parents have questioned themselves many times, what position did they held in his heart, did it matter at all if they existed or not? Was he even born with a heart? 

The two men stood outside the entrance looking beyond the grand gates in to the darkness. There was absolutely no sound or soul in sight, it was only darkness and a deafening silence.

Lu Ye Ze made a hand gesture to his assistant to ring the intercom by the gate. The piercing buzz made one shiver. Complete silence, there was no answer from the other end of the intercom. 

Lu Ye Ze's gaze had become sharper and colder, the sweet beads on He Mufeng's forehead froze instantly. Out of fright, his fingers that were still lingering on the buzzer, suddenly straightened and the movement activated the buzzer again. Another piercing sound was echoed through the meticulously landscaped forest behind the closed gates. 

Silence... A few seconds have passed and before the call got disconnected, the lean man addresses the intercom in english. 

''Let me in"

He Mufeng was puzzled and terrified, who are they, what do they want and why have they done this atrocious thing. Why has his master addressed them in English? Does he suspect anyone?

A second before the call got disconnected, the light of the intercom flashed amber, indicating that somebody has answered the call at the other end. As soon as it got connected a hushed breathing was heard, as though the other person wanted to say something but stopped before it can utter a single word. In the next moment the button was released and the call got disconnected. 

He Mufeng was speechless. He took a deep breath and before he managed to say something, Lu Ye Ze interrupted him. 

''Pass me the laptop"

He Mufeng hastily opened the door of the passenger seat of the limousine and extracted a limited edition leather briefcase that held Master's personal laptop. He passed the laptop and took two steps back. The tall man opened the laptop with his long slender fingers and started typing various codes in to a program. Five minutes later a loud clang was heard, the dormant birds shoot out in the dark sky from the trees beneath, their rushed wing flapping creating an unsettling noise . 

Lu Ye Ze, logged on to the mansion's Wi-Fi signal and managed to hack the security system, allowing him to open the large, firmly shut gates, of the estate. 

''Start the car"

The nervous He Mufeng woke up from his daze, he opened the back door for his Master and drove the car through the gates, marching ahead towards the mansion. A few minutes later he parked the car at the entrance and lead his Master through the double doors of the mansion.

To his surprise the doors were unlocked and as soon as they were opened wide, he froze in his spot. A red figure was trapping him with her sharp gaze. His souls was engulfed in an instant by a tormenting fire, which was emanated from the presence a the top of the stairs. Her slender back was slightly turned away from them, but her fierce big black eyes, were gazing down, fixating in their steps, the two intruders by the entrance. Her eyes were blazing an excruciating fire that could turn any living being into complete ashes. A fair delicate arm was resting on the balustrade, her long black hair was leisurely pinned back, revealing a long and fair neck, her presence and mannerism emanated a royal like presence, fit for a Queen in her Palace. 

Lu Ye Ze, was momentarily stunned by the girl's appearance, she was breathtakingly beautiful and she looked like she held a royal like aura. He quickly regained his composure and addressed the girl. 

''l see you have settled well in my house"

"Ha..." A joyous chuckle disturbed the sombre and profound silence of the manor. 

''Insolence?!'' The melodious voice surprised both men. They wouldn't have imagined that a gentile and calm voice, would come out from such a fiery and domineering presence. She turned around and started to descend the stairs in her delicate high heels. Her movements were as fluid as water, she seemed like she was floating, approaching rapidly the tall man standing by the door. 

When she was three steps away from the man, his nostrils were enveloped in a fresh flowery subtle perfume. Her scent made his fine hair stand up on his hands and his spine unconsciously straightened. Her nonchalance amazed the icy man, who has never met anyone, who would dare to stand so righteously and confidently in front of him.

When he bought this red dress, he hadn't thought much, it casually spiked his interest momentarily and decided on buying it. Although there was no woman beside him that could wear it, nor he thought there would be one in the future, the way she donned it, alerted all his senses and an indescribable feeling, suddenly woke up from the bottom of his soul. She brought the dress to life and gave it an identity. It looked like it was especially made for her and for this moment. He was blown away, but he didn't realised it, as these were foreign feelings for him. He tried to suppress his unidentified emotions and opened his mouth to speak, but the girls sudden voice stopped him midway. 

''Your house?!... You dared to take my life and toy with it as you please, so I am taking your house. Now it belongs to me and you have trespassed my territory. An uninvited quest, is never welcomed so if I may please ask you to leave now!'' Her tone delicate and calm, was more powerful and frightening than a tiger's roar. Her words made He Mufeng question his life. Who I am, where I am, what am I doing here! 

"Uninvited guest!?'' the man quietly replied. 

''Madam Lu, you are quite daring"

Two months ago in London, England in the conference room of the Foster & Partner architecture practice, a meeting was coming to an end. The senior designer was shacking hands with her client Mr Sun and his translator, while her assistant Millie was passing down the signed contracts.

After the client left, in the hallway of the office.

"Jo, are you attending the dinner this evening?"

"Yes"

"Oh..."

Joanne Muller was one of the senior designers of the international architecture practice, Foster and Partners. She has been with the company for two years now and she has started to create her own group of private clients. Mr Sun, was a Chinese business man who has invested in a number of proprieties in London and around, so this was their second time collaborating on a project.

He has bought a villa in the exclusive residential area in the outskirts of London. St George's Hills in Surrey, was the place where a lot of important figures in London, called home. The cost of a mansion with a few acres of land, could reach a few tens of million of pounds, so working on a project like this, was rather exciting.

It was lunch break and Millie with a few other co-workers, were having lunch at the coffee shop around the corner.

"I asked Jo if she is going to the dinner organised by Knox Group this evening" Millie mentions casually. Alex, a junior designer, who works under Jo asks.

"Is she going?"

"Yes"

"I wonder if there will be something more to it. Hannah told us that this client made her an indecent proposal, while she was working at her previous company" Mark jumps in the conversation.

"I don't know what to say, Hannah seems a bit full of her self, so I wonder if she is telling the truth" Millie replied. "Jo is very professional, she never talks casually with clients, so I wonder why she is going to this dinner party. It doesn't match her character. Also Mr. Barrowman wasn't her client, I don't know how she got invited"

"Director Barrowman has a high status, I don't think he will involve himself with a mere designer from our company, so she might have gotten the invitation from somewhere else" Mark adds on.

"Well... then she has high hopes, she is overestimating herself, although I think her pretty face is rather suitable for a one night stand... nobody said she'll become his mistress" Alex piped in.

"Alex, don't say that..." Millie shouts at her. "I don't know the reason of her going, but it can't be what you are implying. He is in his 70's and she is just 28, I don't think she is blind!"

"How many times, money have blinded young girls, isn't this actually a trend nowadays?!"

"Alex, you don't seem to like Jo" Mark retorts.

"When have I ever said that I don't like her!" Alex replied.

Alex was two years older than Jo and she felt completely repulsive to work under someone younger than her. It takes at least five years of experience to become a senior in this field and although Alex was aware that she was a late graduate and entered the work field much later than Jo, she still couldn't stop her jealousy. If she would have listened to her heart and started the design college after graduating highschool, rather than follow her parents wishes of becoming a nurse, she would have been sitting on a pile of money by now.

Anyway she had to hold it in, the company where they were working at, was one of the largest and most prestigious in the UK, with international projects, so it offered a lot of opportunities. Also she had to admit that being under Jo was quite convenient, she learned a lot in these six months working together and Jo always have taken her ideas in consideration, gave her the credit and freehand to do the small tasks in their projects. So her position was considered to be rather lucky.

Mark had it the worse, he was in line of being promoted to a mid-weight position for a long time. He was overly qualified, had a unique talent and the years of experience that were backing him. This new position would have allowed him to take under his belt some small projects that the company was offering, but the senior he was under, hasn't sucked up all his talent yet and didn't want to submit his file for promotion to the higher ups.

Paul Pinner was the sly fox of the company, he had a flock of juniors under him. He was like a dictator, he made all his subordinates work till late at night, used their work and designs all for himself, working under him was the worst. Mark couldn't find a way to escape, but he didn't want to give up either, he had invested to many years in this company.

Jo came across Mark a few moths ago, at the Greenlife Park project presentation where she had to fill in for Paul's leave of absence. She merely had to attend as a senior, all the work has been carried out by Mark and the speech held by him in the presentation scored them a signed contract on the spot.

After the meeting, the two of them went to a nearby pub to celebrate and after a few pints, Jo found out from Mark, although he didn't said it openly, that this was his hard work. Paul didn't even glance at the presentation before he went on holiday. Mark has poured his life and soul into it and gave an outstanding battle that day. He had a vast knowledge of what this project implied and made a lot of research on it. Jo has heard the rumours in the company regarding Paul and she attested that these rumours were true, when she had to work along side him, on a few other occasions.

Paul considered this small project beneath him as it had a small budget and they had to use unconventional, sustainable materials. Mark was in charge of delivering the design to the client, but obviously the credit went to Paul.

Jo had a very good impression of Mark and she wanted to pull him under her wing, to work together on the next project that she was planning to steal tonight.

At Rosewood Gentleman Club in Covent Garden the atmosphere was very lively and gallant. The Ladies and Gentlemen of the society were happily socialising when Jo has arrived. She paid the taxi fare and strode in.

The hosted at the entrance asked for her invitation, after she handed in her invitation the waiter offered her a glass of Laurent Perrier. She took the glass and entered the venue looking for two familiar faces.

Chris Newman the design director and shareholder of her company, along side Adele Sanders the lead Architect, were invited to the event as well. In fact Jo had snatched the invitation from Chris, she wanted to be involved in the grand project that their company has landed long time ago, Astoria Park. This project hasn't been assigned to a designer yet. The architects were drawing the final revisions and the next step was the tender package (the specification of the finishes and materials of the construction) and FF&E (the furniture, fixings and electrics selection). It took the architects four years to complete the structure layout, this project was one of the largest of the company, whit a very consistent budget and also it's location was in the scenic Grindelwald of Switzerland.

Tonight Mr. Barrowman one of the investors was celebrating the anniversary event of 30 years since Knox Group of Companies has been founded. When he started the business he was at the lowest point in his life, after six long years of negotiations, he had finally completed the life draining divorce from the woman he loved the most. On top of that, a year after, the company where he held a director position, dissolved because of bankruptcy.

He started Knox with his long time childhood friend and the two of them rose into the top business world at lightning speed. In just short five years their business was soaring, also the headquarters being located in the Isle of Man, the tax heaven of the UK, gave them an unbeatable place in the competition to success.

Tonight looked promising. After a few spins and turns, Jo spotted Adele in the distance. She was heading towards her when from the corner of her eye she has spotted a familiar face. Mr Sun.

She stopped in her tracks and mulled over going to acknowledge him or not. She found herself in a tight spot. She usually didn't approach her clients in a friendly manner, but this specific client-designer relationship was quite amiable and relaxed, so she didn't want to offend him by ignoring him. After a few seconds, seeing that they haven't noticed her, she decided to leave it be and go meet Adele.

Jo was wearing a dark blue, long shimmery dress that resembled the dark sky covered by sparkling stars, with her relaxed curls hugging her shoulders. The natural makeup applied on her pale complexion, gave her a vibe of young innocence, making her look like a little lamb, lost between a pack of wolves. All the guests tonight were important socialites of London, they were close family, friends and business partners of Mr. Barrowman. Jo was wondering what was his relation with Mr. Sun.

"Adele!"

"Joanne? What are you doing here?" Adele turned around and saw Jo standing behind her.

"I wanted to get acquainted, with the client of the Astoria Park project"

Adele was shocked by the bluntness of Joanne, has she realised that her words sounded indiscreet. Although they have never worked together, the two women have socialised a few times at the company gatherings and realised that Jo's way of speaking was very direct, with no hidden meanings. So after that thought dissipated in her mind, she replied.

"This project hasn't been assigned yet to a design team, are you making a step forward?"

"You know I like your structure layouts the most, I believe you were a designer in your previous life and know where to place a radiator and a door in a given space" There has always been a silent battle between architects and designers. A designer thinks meticulously of where the objects should sit in a space and their relation with windows, doors and other structural partitions. It aims to create a fluent and harmonious movement, between the object and the user, in the same time emphasising the importance of the natural light. While for an architect the prime factors that thrive in their creations will always be innovation, the square meter count and the structural resistance. For them it didn't matter that a king size bed and two bedsides are a must for any master bedroom, as long as it meets the square meter count, its good as gold.

"Stop buttering up the wrong person, Chris will decide which design team, shall take over from me"

"I know! I know... but I want you to be happy as well. How do you think I've got the extra invitation?! Through two months of buttering up, buying coffee and snacks for Chris. My bank account is running dry"

"Shush! He is coming over!"

"Jo, you're here! Good, good... later on I will introduce you to Mr. Barrowman. Its good for him to know more members of the design team."

"Chris, have you decided which design team will take over?"

"Its still being discussed. Adele... do you have any suggestions?"

"I don't want to get involved..." Before Adele could continue her trail of thoughts, Jo piped in.

"I do! I do!... pick me!" Jo asked Chris, with sparkling eyes.

"Jo... you really are something..."

The music resounded in every corner of the ballroom. The canapés were very pleasing to the eye, making ones mouth salivate. Jo and Adele, being two big foodies, headed over to the gorgeously arranged buffet, to indulge themselves with the exquisitely displayed delicacies.

"Ah!... my goodness, they have mini burgers as well, I had them before, they are may fav!" Jo pounced on the platter with mini burgers, while Adele was hovering over the fruits area.

"Adele! Don't tell me you are on a diet?!"

"Why can't I be?!" Adele retorted. "My nutritionist has made a very detailed plan for me, its very easy to follow and the meals are all under 15 minutes preparation time. Also, I can have a 500 calories desert every day. He is closely monitoring me, so I need to send him photos of the meals I am having every day"

"Really! That sounds very... interesting..." Jo didn't want to say something rude and blurted interesting instead. She was intrigued, who in their right mind will allow someone to control every piece of bread that enters their mouth. Some people were a bit too much sometimes.

Adele took a plate skimmed over with some fruit and veggies and started snapping photos of it, like the ultimate paparazzi. After a few minutes she put the plate down and gobbled down two mini burgers in an instant.

Jo was rendered speechless.

"Huh! What are you doing?!"

"What!... Do you think I'll let a man control me? If I was fine with that, I wouldn't have been single till now..." Adele replied.

Jo was speechless again. Didn't that defied the point of her nutritional plan? Some people were feeding money to the dogs.

The girls were happily chatting away and enjoying the food, when they saw Chris approaching them.

"Ladies, let's go and pay our respects to Mr Barrowman" The three of them crossed through the crowd and a approached a petite man in his late 70's with a full head of white hair, by the bar.

"Sir Barrowman! What a great evening, I hope you are enjoying yourself" Chris addressed the man.

"Mr Newman, I happy you were able to attend, I hope you find the event satisfactory" Mr Barrowman politely replied.

"It is very enjoyable as always. You already know Miss Sanders..." Chris gestured towards Adele. She faced the man with a gentile smile and a cold air.

"The other lovely lady next to me, is Miss Muller my colleague in the design department, I think you will be working together in the future" Chris introduced Jo to Mr. Barrowman with a large smile.

Chris was quite fond of Jo, she was very hardworking and always was oblivious at the politics happening in the office. Never complained and nobody complained about her. She was the easiest to work with in his department and on top of that, Jo was quite talented too, she was able to produce always great designs packages.

He hoped that this project went to her team. It was sitting or their desk for too long now and they wanted a clean and outstanding way out.

"Mr. Barrowman its a pleasure to meet you, congratulations on the anniversary of your company and I am looking forward to our collaboration" Jo replied politely.

Before Mr. Barrowman could reply, two figures approached them. It was Mr. Sun and his translator Harry.

"Mr. Barrowman, congratulations" Mr. Sun addressed the businessman.

"Mr. Sun, thank you! You arrived at the right time, I wanted to introduce Mr. Chris Newman to you. They are from Foster & Partners, the architecture company that manages Astoria Park in Switzerland, I think we should get their opinion on Fenteng"

"Ha! ha!..." Mr. Sun chuckled politely, saying a short phrase in Chinese to his translator.

"Mr. Sun is very well acquainted with Fosters & Partners. We are working closely with Miss Muller present here" Harry reiterated Mr. Sun's thoughts to the group. Seeing the pleasant smile on their lips Mr. Barrowman relaxed slightly. He thought to himself earlier that this young lass might not be fit to carry on this tremendous amount of work. Seeing now that his business partner Mr. Sun had a quite good impression about her, it made him look forward to their collaboration. She was quite beautiful too and he was known to have a fondness for pretty young girls.

"That is great then, Fenteng its a skyscraper we have submitted planning applications to in China. We aim to mediate the European and Chinese financial disputes through this partnership. We hope we can meet in the near future and draw some conclusions together Mr. Newman" Mr. Barrowman addressed Chris.

"We hope to see you in China" Mr. Sun added.

"It's a pleasure to be invited in the discussions of this partnership Mr. Barrowman, I look forward in visiting China in the near future Mr. Sun" Chris replied both business men with a grin on his face. He didn't expect this anniversary event to land him another project with these big shots.