Paradise Lost

"Sister, I'm not much a poet, but a criminal, and you never had a chance...If this is what you want, then fire at will." - My Chemical Romance

Seven years later...

The building in front of her was a grand marble thing, and the importance of those attending the even was made clear by the red velvet carpet leading up the stairs, the line of limousines, and - of course - the ever-flashing lights of paparazzi cameras.

She turned her head to her "escort", whose strawberry-blonde hair was slicked with gel, and the black tuxedo was tight on his muscular arms. He was only her date there because, quite frankly, someone of her status couldn't show up alone.

The limousine they were in made its final stop, and the door on her side was suddenly yanked open, and she was immediately assaulted by lights. A hand was held out for her, and she immediately took it. Even after years under cover, she still couldn't deal with wearing heels for too long.

But the pretty outfits were a plus. Her form-fitting dress was a royal blue, ending just under her knees, and the semi-low neckline sweeped into off the shoulder straps. Her necklace was silver with oval topaz stones, matching her earrings, stark white gloves that ended above her elbows, and a glittering bracelet.

She gratefully took her partner's arm when he got out of the limo, and gave all the cameras a fake smile.

"Miss Snow," A gentleman with a white and black tuxedo held out his arm at the entrance to the grand hall, and she handed him her jacket gratefully. Her escort didn't even look at the man as he walked by, playing up the typical persona that was contained in 'Amelia Snow's' dates, and was already making his way to a waitor holding a tray of scotch.

Amelia was left to stand alone in the middle of the hall, fake green eyes scanning the room. Her red lips curled into a smirk as she found who she was looking for, a stunted, skinny man with high cheeks, large squinting eyes, close-cut black hair, and permanently flanked by his three blonde whores.

Leroy Ramsey.

She also recognized a woman sitting at his table as a business associate of hers, Cynthia Wilcox, and began to make her way to the circular table, formulating every possible piece of conversation that might come up.

She stopped behind the only empty seat, causing all eyes to raise to her - except Leroy's - and all the men gave her appreciative smirks. "I think you're at the wrong table, girlie," One of the fat men snorted, immediately jumping to the wrong conclusion.

Cynthia glared at him for his ignorance, before jumping to her feet - her sagging face jumping with her movements was magnified by how tightly her gray streaked blonde hair was pulled back into a pointy up-do - and clasped her hands over Amelia's.

"Amelia, darling! Pleasure to see you again!" She turned to her constituents, and cleared her voice, introducing her as the sole owner of her own oil company. This caused Leroy's eyes to finally lift to her, not even bothering to hide his leering. Amelia inwardly shuddered.

"I believe our companies have done some business together, Miss Snow, but we were never properly acquainted. But, believe me, if I had heard of your beauty prior to this meeting, we would have been acquainted long ago." He stuck out his hand for her gloved one to shake, and he kissed the top of it before pulling away.

Amelia immediately turned to the others, directing her attention to them. After all, she didn't want to seem interested. She needed him to come to her, so it could be easier to lure him.

It was at that moment that the lights began to dim, and, as if on cue, everyone sat down in their seats. Amelia sat beside Cynthia, and her date shortly joined her, alcohol on his breath. Cynthia gave her a look, but it was short-lived as the woman's daughter took the stage.

Elsie, Cynthia's pride and joy, stood with a mic in hand, other hand on her hip. Her golden hair was in glamourous curls and her short dress was a muted red.

"We have a special treat tonight for you folks. I present to you, the rising star Natalia Drovko!" Elsie stepped off stage just as the curtain was being drawn.

The back of a fair-skinned woman was exposed and facing the audience, the back of the glittering black dress pooling right at the small of her back. Her hair was still its natural silky texture and dark color, but it was streaked with blues.

When the music began to play, her hips slowly began to roll with the piano, instantly casting a spell on all the men, including Leroy. He nearly pushed his girls off him in order to sit up and lean in as means to see 'Natalia' better, and he was one of the many men giving her cat calls.

Once her velvety voice rang through the room, no one was spared the gooseflesh that covered their skin, including Amelia who had not only heard her a million times but huffed and turned away from her friend's display.

Natalia only smirked at her - she knew her friend all too well - before looking all over the room in order to advert suspicion.

Leroy could, disgustingly, barely contain his...well, excitement and was nearly leaping out of his seat. The blondes behind him tried pushing themselves onto him in order to regain his attention.

"Leroy, please," Cynthia sneered, her own gloved hands swatting an imaginary fly at him. Natalia suddenly hit a high note, and time seemed to stand still for a moment. Once she went back into the bridge, Cynthia turned to Amelia, clasping their hands together.

"Amelia, darling, I'm having my own party in a few nights and I'd just adore it to have you. I think I'll have this Natalia sing, her voice is quite divine." Amelia smiled fakely, but Cynthia couldn't tell the difference.

"Oh Cynthia, I'd be honored to-" She was cut off by Natalia, who hit another note. Her back was arched and her microphone was held up as she belted out the lyrics.

Up on stage, Natalia saw everything. The hungry eyes on her, calculating stares of the staff, those leaving the room to "take a smoke", items exhanged under tables, girls under tables...it was quite entertaining, really.

But she also noticed a particular guest who had their eyes trained on Amelia's back. The girl had turned her back to Natalia enough - the girl was jealous, what could she say? - to see that the cover-up was still in place, so it couldn't be that...

Her song ended rather quickly, and she swayed off-stage, sending a saucy smile over her shoulder. Amelia turned back to Cynthia and purposefully raised her voice. "Natalia is actually an old friend of mine. In fact, I could go and ask her about your party right now. She's a doll; there's no way she'll pass it up." The older woman gave her a grateful, wrinkly smile as she stood up.

She caught Leroy's gaze - as he immediately perked up when she said her friend's name - and he blatantly followed her as she made her way to the back. Once they were a respectable distance from the table, he slipped an arm around her.

"Miss Snow, I kindly ask that you introduce me to this Natalia. I also find her...talent incredible." Amelia turned to him, and slowly removed his hand from him. To prevent him from running, though, she grinned.

"I'm sure you'll find that singing isn't her only talent." Leroy was frozen while Amelia was nearly out of sight, and then he tried hard to catch up to her. And when he did, she was already in front of Natalia's door.

She gracefully knocked, calling out, "Natalia? It's Amelia." Seconds later, Natalia opened the door and threw her arms around her.

"Amelia! Oh my, I didn't even see you in the crowd!" Leroy cleared his throat, and Natalia pulled away to look at him. She made herself blush, because, in all honesty, there was no physical benefit of being with him.

"But I definitely saw you in the crowd. Come in," He quickly stepped into the room, and Amelia soundlessly shut and locked it, making it seem as if she had left them alone. "I'm pretty sure you didn't come for an autogra-"

He forcefully pressed his lips to hers and slammed her against the wall. Natalia ran her fingers through his hair, feeling him press against her. 'Keep your food down, girlie,' she kept telling herself until the pressure suddenly stopped, and his body dropping to the floor was accompanied by a 'thud'.

Amelia quickly covered his mouth with a napkin - just a precaution, seeing as she easily punctured his heart - until his breathing completely stopped. Natalia shuddered, before giving Amelia a look. The girl nodded. "He's taking care of it,"

And, leaving no trace, they were gone.