Sloane's hand shot out.
Elease didn't block it. She simply shifted her weight. It was a micro-movement.
Sloane pushed empty air, stumbled, and crashed into a rack of silk scarves. The rack tipped over with a loud, clattering crash.
"Assault," Elease stated calmly. "There are cameras, Sarah."
Sarah froze, terrified of a lawsuit.
Fannye rushed to help Sloane up. "You pushed her!"
"Physics disagrees," Elease said.
Fannye let out a sound of pure rage. "You scarred monster! No wonder Kason vomited when he looked at you!"
The store went quiet.
Elease raised her hand and touched the scar on her cheek.
"This?" she said softly. "This is a reminder of a lab fire I saved my husband from five years ago. A sacrifice he conveniently forgot."
She locked eyes with Fannye. Her gaze was intense, unblinking.
"But the scars you can't see, Fannye? Those are a reminder of the year I lost because of you. Because of a child's cruel jealousy that went too far. Isn't that right?"
Fannye paled. "You... you can't prove that," she whispered.
"I don't need to prove it to know you're rot," Elease said.
She turned her back on them and looked at Sarah.
"The suit. Now."
Sarah hesitated. "I... I can't serve you. Miss Finch is a VVIP here. You need to leave."
Fannye smirked. "That's right. Kick her out."
Elease pulled out her phone.
"Call your father," she said to Fannye. "Ask him about the SEC audit notification he received this morning for Finch Solutions."
Fannye froze. "What?"
"You didn't know?" Elease raised an eyebrow. "His little company is under investigation. Spending daddy's money right now might be considered... evidence tampering."
Fannye saw her friends take a subtle step away from her.
Elease walked to the counter. She tapped her phone against the contactless payment terminal, bypassing Sarah.
The terminal beeped. But it wasn't a soft chime. It was a loud, distinct, warbling alert sound.
The screen flashed a brilliant, crimson red, followed by a pulse of gold.
AUTH_OVERRIDE: PROTOCOL-ZERO.
Sarah gasped. She had been trained for five years. She had seen Centurion cards.
She had never seen a Level 0 Authorization. It was a myth. It meant the buyer owned the bank.
"Who... who are you?" Sarah whispered.
