“Do you have yesterday’s bread? It’s cheaper?” Her voice trembled, capturing the exact, heartbreaking pitch of a cornered animal.
The baker smoothed his pristine white uniform, his lip curling in utter disgust. “We don’t sell leftovers here. Leave.”
A single, crystalline tear tracked through the heavy dirt on her cheek. She bowed her head in perfect defeat, pressing a tender kiss to the wailing infant’s forehead.
Right on cue.
From the shadows of the aisle stepped an elderly man in an immaculate, charcoal three-piece suit. He exuded old money and quiet danger. Placing a heavy, manicured hand on the girl’s shoulder, he fixed the baker with a lethal, unblinking stare.
“Pack everything on this counter,” he commanded, his voice freezing the air in the room. He looked down at the girl, his tone softening to velvet. “Come with me, child.”
They walked out into the freezing gray evening, leaving the baker scrambling in terrified obedience. They approached a sleek, black Bentley idling at the curb.
The moment the heavy, armored doors clicked shut, the heartbreaking illusion vanished.
With a sharp mechanical click, the baby’s crying ceased instantly. The girl casually tossed the hyper-realistic animatronic doll onto the plush leather seat and wiped the theatrical dirt from her cheek. Her terrified innocence melted into a razor-sharp, predatory smirk.
The old man didn’t look at her with pity anymore. He respectfully bowed his head. “Did you get it, Madam?”
“Of course I did, Arthur,” the eight-year-old replied, her voice now crisp, icy, and dripping with authority.
She reached into the fake baby’s sweater, extracting a glowing silver flash drive. “While the fool was distracted by my tears, the proximity siphon downloaded his entire hidden ledger. His bakery is the biggest cartel laundering front in Europe—and now, we own all his accounts.”
“Shall I initiate the hostile takeover, Miss?” Arthur asked, tapping the glass partition.
“Do it,” the little girl smiled, her eyes gleaming like shattered glass in the dark. “Let’s steal an empire.”