We find LIANA at the door of her new house. It had been LIANA's dream since she was very young: a house of such magnitude. With a smile, she opened the doors. The house exhaled a selfish silence and calm.
—"Come in," whispered the wind. "Sweet and selfish was your heart, sweet and selfish was your heart… LIANA, LIANA, sweet was your heart… LIANA, LIANA, selfish was your heart… LIANA, LIANA, sweet and selfish was your heart. Sweet words, full of poison, with sweet feelings… but selfish. I am LIANA, and you, my servant. I am LIANA… and you belong to me."
LIANA, with a smile, walked elegantly through her house, which had a beautiful brightness. Thinking to herself, she said:
—"At last I've closed the gap between the past and the present. Now I am me, LIANA, the wicked one, the poisonous ivy… and I still have more to climb. This is the beginning of my cruelty. More prey awaits, more power."
Lucas, without a trace of emotion, thought: "It seems to her this is a great achievement—so much that it gives me chills. She's intriguing… and I love that. I find her more and more interesting. It makes me want to stay with her… even die with her," he thought with a slight smile of satisfaction.
Meanwhile, LIANA went upstairs. Her luggage was already there.
—"AURORA brought it. She's a good girl. I wonder how her relationship with that guy is going... I'm in too bad a mood to bring him up. Truthfully, he was never in my plans. And I'm not willing to hurt AURORA, but he better stay out of my plans. And you... don't betray me, or I'll turn your miserable life into hell," she said with a sadistic smile.
While she smiled, Lucas asked:
—"Do you have any plans for today, besides this?"
—"I have none. And you?" LIANA replied with a sigh.
Lucas took out his phone and said:
—"Of course. We've got the dismissal of several people, job announcements, reviewing the balance sheets, and lastly, to end the day, a reservation I just made. Since today… you graduated."
LIANA, tired, said:
—"Is that necessary? Seems like something I'd have done before… Oh right, I remember, when I met you I was planning it. Well… what does it matter. I'll change, and let's go play with those rats."
—"As you command," said Lucas without emotion.
Seconds later, LIANA came down. I won't describe her appearance, because, as always, she's beautiful and lovely as the lotus itself — for that is the flower that represents LIANA. With a serious, emotionless face, yet exuding incorruptible confidence, she said:
—"Let's go."
—"As you wish," Lucas replied.
They headed to the company. Half an hour later, they arrived. The employees looked at LIANA. The fierce aura she radiated made even the air feel dense. Meanwhile, in Lucas's thoughts:
"Hmm… so that's why she said she wanted to fire many. Even though they look at her with fear, they're hypocrites. I'll make sure to hire allies and keep useful people at her side," he thought with a smile.
—"Looks like you understood everything," said LIANA.
—"Of course, I got it… though there's not much to say. By the way, where's my office?"
—"You can work in the same office as me. There are others, but I need you by my side."
—"Sure," Lucas answered with his cold expression.
They arrived at the office, where LIANA pulled out some papers.
—"This is the blacklist," she said coldly.
Lucas took them and commented:
—"But this is more than half the staff. Are you going to fire them? If that's what you want… although I think it should be done in parts. If too many positions are vacant, who'll handle all that work?"
—"It doesn't matter. Besides, this is to show that, with or without workers, this company runs. A group of employees will not have the right to say: 'The company isn't the building, it's us.' This is a warning, before they even think of rebelling. It's also to show the other companies that they've got competition coming."
—"First, we'll take over the tech field. Let's look for the best engineers in robotics and security. Doesn't matter if they're young or newly graduated, even if no company wants them due to lack of experience — we'll make them ours. That way, we'll have employees for life."
"How wicked and self-assured… I've only been with her a short time, but she seems like someone charming. She inspires respect. I'll stay with her. I've decided," thought Lucas.
—"You find me so beautiful that you're not paying attention," LIANA interrupted his thoughts with a smile.
—"How narcissistic…" Lucas replied, expressionless. "But oh well, I've decided to stay with her," he thought.
—"Go give them the good news," LIANA ordered with a smile. "Tell them I'm sending this smile from me," she added coldly. "And have them bring the account records."
Before Lucas left, she said:
—"Hey, we're changing the name."
—"And what name did you come up with?"
—"Infinite Dawn. It's a silly name, but it sounds better in English."
—"As long as it's not registered under another company…"
Without more words, Lucas went to do his job. First, he asked for the account records to be brought to LIANA. Then he gathered the workers who would be fired. With a cunning smile, he said:
—"The boss sends her best smile, and asked me to deliver it like this," and he showed them an oddly kind smile. "And she said that those I'll name on this list will get something… spectacular."
Even the hypocrites looked excited. Lucas called them one by one. They all went… all but one, who fancied himself a boss and took a vacation.
Once they were all gathered, Lucas said, his smile intact:
—"In case you didn't notice… you're all fired."
A deep silence fell over the place.
—"That was the good news my boss sent. Please head to HR for your severance," he said, turning his back on them.
While they complained and muttered that the previous owner was better, Lucas thought without guilt:
"This job is tough. Hope they don't take it personally. But my boss told me to smile…"
He returned to the office.
LIANA had a flirty smile.
—"All done," she said.
—"Don't show me that smile. I already told you: that doesn't work on me."
—"I know. That's why you're my secretary. But I love annoying you."
Lucas, trying to change the topic:
—"So, how were the balance sheets?"
—"Everything's fine… though there's evidence that large sums of money were withdrawn. They tried to recover it. I'm sure Alejandro used it on women… or gambling."
—"Who knows what they used it for," Lucas replied.
—"And how did the ones on the list react to the smile I sent?"
—"Well… I feel bad for them. I hope they don't take it personally," Lucas said heroically.
LIANA burst into laughter.
—"So they're already at HR."
Before they could continue, her phone rang. Immediately, her expression shifted to complete seriousness.
—"What do you want?" she said coldly.
It was LEONARD, who replied with his usual flirty tone:
—"Your voice sounds so beautiful when you talk to me…"
—"Don't flirt with me. After all, you already have one of my flowers in your garden. And if it's for parties, I'm not in the mood."
—"This is a classy party for beauties and powerful people. And you are a beauty… Besides, I sent the invitation along with a necklace worth half a million dollars."
—"What makes you think I'll accept a gift you're trying to buy me with? That gift should've gone to my flower."
—"I already gave her one valued at four hundred fifty tho—"