Painted in Red (SPIN-OFF)

Chapter 31- Rare Encounters

--Maria POV--

Reporters are like hungry predators thirsting for interesting news to feed the public, whether it be something good or something bad, they don't care. But if you watch them closely enough, you'll learn how to play them, and that's exactly what I did.

Giana's reputation depended on the reporters. More often than not, she herself would be the one to give them a heads up about an upcoming debacle, they gave life to the spark which fuelled her reputation, and they spread that information, either unaware or uncaring that they were nothing more than pawns in her game. But I'm sure that even Giana knew her reputation was a ticking time bomb. She's aware of the things she's done, and she knows that if those things come to light, then her reputation is going down the drain.

Reporters don't see their subjects as people, especially Giana. Just as they had made her who she is now, those very same reporters will be the ones to ruin her. And now that they had gotten a taste of who she truly is, the pristine reputation she had created wasn't enough to quench their thirst; They wanted the dirt.

I was simply the mastermind pulling a few strings, they were destroying each other without me having to do much.

"Checkmate."

"Damn it! Again!" Lev exasperatedly groaned, falling back on his seat as his eyes went to look at the chessboard, retracing his moves to see how he had lost.

"How are you so good at this?" He complained, falling forward with a grumpy pout as his hands went to tidy up all the chess pieces, putting them away into the box he had brought over to my house to play. 

He had suddenly developed an appetite for board games, and chess was one of them amongst many, and lucky for him, chess was a game that I grew up playing a lot in the orphanage.

"Practice makes perfect. While you're still nowhere near good enough to beat me, you are slowly improving. You seem to keep forgetting that chess is a game about strategy, and your problem is that you're not strategizing; Stop going headfirst into everything."

"Well, I know that. At least, I think I do, but it's easier said than done." He sighed, flabbergasted as I chuckled, going to help him tidy up.

"You can't save everyone; You'll need to sacrifice some people to save others. At the end of the day, you, the mastermind, must come to realise that some lives matter more than others, equality is a foreign concept that has no space on this board." My nail hit against the chequered board as I spoke, my words seeming to hit him deeper than intended as he fell silent for a moment, lost in thought.

"I guess just like how some people are better than others at chess, some people are also better suited for revenge planning than others." He smiled, half-amused as he picked his gaze up to meet mine.

"Yes, I can't say you're wrong. But at the end of the day, it's not about talent. It's about dedication." I corrected his assumption, poking his forehead gently while he chuckled, nodding along to my words.

"You're the mastermind in this game, Maria. And as you've proven a number of times, it would seem that I'm best suited to be the executioner; One of your puppets to do your bidding." He smiled, not a hint of malice in his eyes, but his words left me unsettled, and I didn't want to agree to them.

"No. You're not a puppet; You're a partner. We're on the same side of the board, and your value to me is of much higher importance than any other pawn, I won't sacrifice you, Lev. Ever." My words may have delved too deep into emotions, but he understood, eyes lighting up with pride as he nodded, happy.

"I won't say anything against that." He chuckled, turning his attention to the television where the news channel was switched on, showcasing Giana leaving the police station with a fowl scowl on her face, ignoring all the reporters that were throwing their questions.