Speaking of impressive homes...

The three-story mansion - not counting the attic and basement - had at least 22 rooms and a dozen of those had their own full bathrooms with bathtubs or hot tub, while the rest just had the basic shower and toilet. However, those still had the johns that flushed automatically, faucets that flowed on their own when your hands were underneath them and high-end hot showers with rainfall shower heads.

Yes, those were actually just the bathrooms…

The whole house was mostly automated, ran by a central computerized system that could be activated by voice commands, and a security system that was the best money can buy. 

And, as expected, the owner truly had a lot of money to buy everything and anything he wanted…

Well, almost anything.

Because right now, as he was lounging beside his humongous rooftop infinity pool with black tiles and strong jets of water that doubled as fountains at the flip of a switch, he was intently thinking of a special “someone” that he recently lost.

Unfortunately, he knew that all the money in the world could not replace him. And he wanted him back desperately.

“Are you thinking about The Right Hand, again?” a shrill, trying-hard-to-be-cute female voice said beside him, as a small, almost childlike hand landed on his slim and thin pale chest. 

"What if I am, Chin?” the governor asked dismissively, as he removed his thick glasses from his face, laying it on the circular marble side table beside him. “You’re missing the way he would directly reject your blatant advances to him?”

“Oh please, he’s just doing that because he knows I belong to you,” the dark-skinned, curly-haired woman with an almost non-existent waist semi-squealed. “His fear for you is greater than his passions for me.”

The man snorted derisively, his bony shoulders rising with the sound. He didn’t want to have his wife with him today, but he needed her today. 

Of course, not in a matrimonial or reproductive way. They have already agreed years before that they should live independently of each other but not have a divorce. He was the one who made the request, and she agreed to it as long as he provided her with a big, fat monthly allowance and not ask for her “services” out of the blue.

So far, they have both kept to the conditions of their present marital arrangement, since they did enjoy the benefits of their partnership…

Besides, they never really did marry because of anything as ridiculous as true love, which they don’t believe that existed. Oh no, it was all a political, economic and even tactical arrangement that had both given them advantages beyond most people’s imagination.

Well, most people did question their union since even their physical features seemed to be total opposites…

He was tall and almost skeletal slim. His skin was pale and his hair was thin and straight, lying flat on top of his head as if it was glued to his scalp. His dark gray eyes were large, almost like an owl, his nose straight and narrow and his lips were thick, almost feminine in shape. And to hide his almost-non-existent chin, he had grown a mustache and a beard, which were as gray as his hair.

Meanwhile, his wife was short, darkly tanned, with less-than-average breast and hip sizes. The older woman’s hair could have been an afro if it wasn’t treated regularly in her favorite famous salon. Her amber eyes were almond-shaped and her formerly rounded nose was now narrower and slightly upturned due to a recent surgery she’s gotten. Her lips were thin and narrow and her chin was still a bit prominent despite it already being chiseled off during her latest operation, and it was a running joke that she should have donated that chipped part to her husband's face.

Yes, indeed, they were so different, but they did have one thing in common…

They both craved power like a drug.

And that was the reason he had asked her to visit. He needed her power so he could finally find out more about his missing Right Hand, since she did confirm his beliefs about his renegade assassin.

"So, when did you ‘see’ that he was still alive, Chin?” he asked while a waiter, dressed in a bow tie and speedo shorts of matching colors, served him a new glass of wine and a glass of champagne to her. “And do you know where he is right now?”

The woman laughed shrilly, obviously reveling in the fact that she was actually searching for the missing man secretly due to her own personal agenda. “Darling, my ‘skills’ don’t work that way. Yes, I did see him alive and well somewhere - although he seemed to have not shaved within the past week and is very scruffy looking - but the place where I saw him could have been anywhere mountainous and forest-filled. That could be anywhere in the world!”

"Well, I still would like to see him, so start preparing for your ritual. If you are successful in this, I will double your allowance for this month.”

Chin’s amber eyes glittered even more. Not only was she going to get a chance to see her-soon-to-be lover boy without putting too much effort, she would also get paid handsomely for it.

“Alright, let’s get to his room then. I would want to choose my ingredients wisely,” the lustful female said as she stood up from the elegant rattan deckchair, her mind already thinking of The Assassin's underwear drawer.

“You can take all the clothes he left there for all I care. I’m not interested in his clothing. I want their owner back here in my mansion and my army like before. No one takes what’s mine, not even the very people who think they own their lives!”

Chin’s thoughts: “Well, that’s what you think, husband dearest. Neither one of you may not know it yet but it’s only a matter of time before he becomes mine and mine alone.”

Just then, the governor immediately got on his feet and briskly walked back to the rooftop’s elevator, while the waiter placed a silk robe around his shoulders. Chin, on the other hand, winked at the waiter and gave him an inviting smile after he had done his task. She was so glad that she had worn a swimsuit that showed off her legs and hid a multitude of sins underneath.

“I really should be getting a liposuction session ASAP. Thanks to my bonus later, I will be ready to find and face The Charmer Aaron pretty soon,” she thought with a smirk as she and her husband entered the elevator, the doors sliding closed. "By that time, he wouldn't be able to say no to what I will offer him."

When they entered Aaron's room, she found everything exactly as she requested them to be: the scrawls on the floor with black chalk, the chalice in the middle of the drawing and the black candles, too.

Her eyes narrowed as Chin's lips stretched into a maniacal grin... 

"Perfect!"