CHAPTER SIXTY TWO – THE GAME’S OVER

"Everybody down on the floor NOW if you wanna keep breathin'!" One of the intruders roared out, waving a sawed-off shotgun towards the cowering guests for emphasis. "This here's our own little private auction we're runnin' tonight!" Jasmine felt her heart thundering despite the endless hours of preparation for this exact moment. Two of the heavily armed men seized her by the arms, jolting her forward into the center of the room while more accomplices fanned out to cover the entrances. "Where is it, you little two-bit grifter?" The first thug growled into her face, spittle flecking his scarred lips. "The real goods you've been braggin' up and hoarding from us for weeks now!" On cue, the ballroom's central double doors swept inward once more - and Jasmine felt her chest seize as Sylvia strode in flanked by a few more hardened bodyguards. The criminal mastermind looked utterly in her element, draped in slinky designer casual wear and surveying the chaos with hooded amusement. "Well,