Staring at the red envelope with my name printed on it, I couldn't help but smirk. This was exactly what I needed – my way into Mr. Abad's mansion and a chance to get that phone.
Inside the red envelope was an invitation to Mr. Abad's birthday celebration, a private gathering to which all the country's leaders, especially the Emperor, were invited.
---
The day of the event finally arrived.
The big gates of Mr. Abad's mansion swung open wide, welcoming the leaders, the Emperor, and the important people of Veilhaven Country.
Inside, the mansion looked like a fairy tale. There were lots of flowers and fancy decorations everywhere. Music filled the air, creating a magical atmosphere.
Mr. Abad greeted everyone with a smile and shook hands. As I walked towards him, he smiled at me and extended his hand for a handshake.
While shaking hands, "Mr. Castro, welcome to my party. I'm happy to have you here," he said.
"Thank you, Mr. Abad. I was grateful for your invitation. It was my honor to be here tonight," I replied.
Together with the Emperor and the leaders, he then led us inside the event hall, guiding us toward the seats that were reserved for us.
Around the dining table, Emperor Leon sat at the head table, flanked by Mr. Abad on his right side and me on his left side. All the other leaders were also seated around this dining table.
Beside Mr. Abad, seated next to him were the following leaders...
* 2nd in Rank, Leader Mr. Banjo Peralta from Yopa City
* 3rd in Rank, Leader Mr. Damian Garcia from Sonar City
* 4th in Rank, Leader Mr. Raul Lao from Erif City
* 5th in Rank, Leader Mrs. Luz Yap from Ember City
* 6th in Rank, Leader Mrs. Andrea Uy from Pyra City
While the people seated beside me were the following leaders...
* 7th in Rank, Leader Mr. Reynaldo Lim from Scorchville City
* 8th in Rank, Leader Mr. Ricardo Matias from Ignisia City
* 9th in Rank, Leader Mr. Luis Salud from Incendria City
* 10th in Rank, Leader Mr. Nestor Siapno from Conflagro City
* 11th in Rank, Leader Mr. Eliseo Lagman from Scintervale City
* 12th in Rank, Leader Mr. Porfirio Beltran from Sparkridge City
They nodded at me as a sign that they acknowledged my presence being seated together with them.
Looking at their appearance once again, the blood inside me boiled with rage, but my outer appearance showed a calm and grateful look.
As I looked around, I saw Detective Ashley Cruz seated at the guest table.
As the guests gathered in Mr. Abad's event hall, everyone felt excited. The fancy lights made everything look beautiful, and Mr. Abad stood at the front and began his speech.
"Hello, everyone!" he said with a smile. "I'm so happy to see you all here tonight to celebrate my birthday. Thank you for coming!"
Everyone clapped and smiled back at Mr. Abad, feeling happy to be part of the celebration.
"I want to say how grateful I am for all of you," he continued. "Your friendship and support meant a lot to me, and I'm really thankful for that."
"Let's enjoy this special evening together," Mr. Abad said, ending his speech with a big smile. "I hope we made wonderful memories that we'll always cherish."
With that, Mr. Abad stepped back, and the room filled with cheers and applause, marking the start of the birthday party.
As the night went on, people chatted and laughed, enjoying the celebration. Glasses clinked, and there was lots of delicious food to eat.
Not forgetting about my goal for that night, I slipped out while they were busy chatting. Holding my phone near my ear as if I received a call and needed to get out of the noisy atmosphere.
When no one was looking at me, I hurriedly entered another room, which was restricted for the guests to enter.
I hacked all the CCTVs there, so I was quite knowledgeable about the location of where the phone was located.
Luckily, most of the security guards were at the front of the mansion or outside. Just a few were lurking around inside.
"Where do we put all these documents?" a man's voice echoed inside my ears, shocking me when I was about to finally enter the office inside the mansion where the phone was currently located.
"The Leader said to put it inside the office. Let's hurry now," another man's voice rang out.
I hurriedly hid the moment I heard those voices. Luckily, they didn't notice me.
They opened the door to that particular room where I was just supposed to open now but didn't manage to because they interrupted me.
They had some papers and envelopes on them, and they brought them inside.
I looked around first, making sure no one saw me. Luckily, they didn't close the door after they stepped inside. I hurriedly sneaked in and hid behind the cabinets near the door, just a few distances away from them, while they were busy putting the papers.
After a few minutes, they were now prepared to go out.
I held my breath when they passed near me, then breathed a sigh of relief after they left.
I directly went to the place where the phone was located inside a vault.
Tapping the earphone at my right ear, it directly connected me to Vince's computer at home. "Vince, go and hack it now. Are there still guards lurking around?"
"Got it. No one's around right now," Vince answered on the other side.
Luckily, Mr. Abad's vault was one of the products of my company that used advanced technology. Opening it was kind of easy.
"You can open it now," Vince told me with a hint of smugness in his voice.
"You took five minutes, you improved," I paused, then continued, "But if it was me, two minutes were enough."
After opening the vault, what was inside was really just the phone I was looking for. Just how important was it to Mr. Abad?
The phone looked pretty old, more like it was more than 13 years old because it had physical keyboards and the screen was smaller compared to today's standard.
I picked it up, opened it, input some codes, and finally connected it to the computers at my home.
"Pretty fast, huh," Vince's voice echoed in my earphone.
"Of course, I am your Master."
"I'll be faster than you in the future," Vince retorted.
"Then, I'll be looking forward to it."
That was a good thing for me if he improved. I could let him do the job. Hehe.
After all the files had been copied, I put the phone back in the vault and closed it.
I was done, time to get out of there.
But before I could reach for the knob, suddenly the door swung open, and Detective Ashley Cruz entered.