"Angie, you've made sure this is safe to drink, I assume?" Lex asks the question on everyone's mind, it pays to be careful in their field. Typically they would just politely decline to drink, but all of them know better than to disrespect Angel just as well as they know they can trust her word. Reputation is important and so are their little rules, a major one of course prohibiting interference between council members. 

"It's safe, silly. These are my personal girls, I've taken every precaution and you've watched them pour each and every glass. Come, this is time for celebration! I know it's a surprise, but we should be wishing her the best and what better way is there than champagne?" Angel lifts her glass as the others tentatively grip theirs. 

Jessica goes pale, realising an obvious contradiction here. If this news is really such a surprise, then why did Angel have champagne ready at the snap of her fingers? Something's wrong... but how? Jess was sure that she had taken the necessary steps to avoid information leaking when downsizing her operation and laying low with Elle. Besides, would Angel really react that badly? Jess squeezes Elle's hand as the stress of suspense has her heavy and unsure. Elle smiles sweetly and kisses her girlfriend's jaw, placating her calmly. 

"To my sister!" Angel declares heartily, eyes scanning the room to ensure that her fellow dominators aren't going to abstain from such a thoughtful toast. Fortunately for her, they wouldn't dare. Besides, they're all blinded with excitement at the severance gift on offer. The girls are nice, but Jess pulled family strings to have an entire city to play with, that's enticing territory. Flutes touch lips and play a tune of deference, each member of the annual meeting letting the champagne pass their lips only when they see it exit Angel's glass. Jessica holds the drink in her mouth as sudden paranoia takes her, spitting it over the side of the table as Angel does the same, smirking at her younger sister from a few feet away. Eyes widening at the realisation that her sister tried to drug her, let alone on safe territory, Jessica is too distracted to react when Elle grabs her cheeks and pushes their lips together. Laced liquid transfers from one mouth to the other and in her startlement, Jess swallows. The former Queen of Paradise stares in shock at its new monarch as the girl gives a guilty smile. 

Lex pushes two fingers into the back of their throat once they notice that Angel never really drank, but the drug is too fast acting for anything to be done. Being the ordinary humans that they are, Lex and Tilley fall fast and sit limply in their seats like appliances set to standby. The vampire, Talia, puts up more of a fight. In one moment she's in a fierce rage, eyes burning scarlet discs that tell of her dissatisfaction and teeth ready to bear down on her wrist to suck out the poison in her veins. 

In the next, Talia is drooling through gritted teeth, claw-like nails splintering the wooden table's rounded edge. The moment after that, she's slumped alongside her mortal peers. 

"Angie... y-you..." Mila droops, her eyes rolling back while her limbs become nice and loose. Suddenly, the host blinks and the parasitic queen assumes full control in a wrath to compete with dear Talia's. Mila's thrashing is basic survival instinct, the queen calling out to her drones but finding that her voice won't reach. Angel shoots the girl an apologetic glance, but seems confident that she can fix this later, nobody should remember this little incident. It isn't even the first time Angel has had to drop her council into secret trance, in fact the entire group was originally formed for that very purpose. When the queen parasite realises that she cannot call for help, her fight soon fades. Another lovely slump. 

Jessica joins them, the fingers gripping Elle's arms last to loosen. Elle herself is a little dazed, that laced concoction still tingling on her tongue even if she never swallowed any. Angel snaps and the girl finds that haze lift almost instantly, standing at attention with her clipboard in hand. 

"That's a good girl, Elle. You've performed admirably... been taking lots of notes for your takeover, I see!" Angel beckons the girl over while the rest of the room drops deeper under the drug that Angie developed herself. Naturally she's affected too, but she's built up a tolerance to it during the R&D stage. Elle steps close to her true owner and Angel ruffles the puppy's hair with a look of relief present on her dolled up face. Glitter gloss lips paint Elle's cheek and the traitorous assistant blushes helplessly, having been turned by Angel on the night of her call with Jess. She had left the phone on to enjoy the show, but felt like chatting with the spontaneous puppy a while before letting her return to sleep. "Still... I was really hoping that your reports on my sister's newfound conscience were simple misunderstandings, that she was just young and in love, wanting to impress you or justify her romance. Ah, she's really screwed it!"

Elle glances back at Jessica, who finds herself lost in distant dream. "I... I really like her, so I'll take good care of her. I know I've only been learning this stuff for a few months, but I think I can handle it miss! With a third of her slaves left I can start a little steadier until I'm confident. I'll keep Jessica as a proxy queen and rule like you said, nobody will ever know."

Angel smirks, her long nails dragging up and down Elle's arm like she's wont to do with her property, investments too. "And you won't grow soft, too?"

The submissive queen shakes her head confidently, her recent meekness was only to keep Jessica fooled. Elle has been receiving instructions on her new role for months now in the case of this happening, ironically it's the only reason why she was able to ask for that kiss that freed Jess's heart fully. "I-I love Paradise, it's my home. It's where I belong. I love Jess too, but she tried to destroy our home. Like you said, miss, she's just confused and uhm... misguided."

"My sister is a good ship in need of firm steering, I thought she'd overcome that but it seems we don't change who we are. I'm placing a lot of faith in you, but then, I am an angel!" 

Elle giggles and nods, suddenly hugging her girlfriend's older sister and mentor. Angel seems surprised, but isn't offended. "Thanks for everything, Miss Angel, b-but... I've been taking lots of notes and well, Paradise needed to expand into territory blocked off by everyone in this room. Jessica wasn't happy about this, you see... so she insisted you hold this conference..."

"Wait... what? Ah!" Angel tries to push Elle away, but the girl holds her in a tight hug as she uses the pressure to set off her vest. The damn thing took so long to prime in the bathroom earlier that Jessica started to panic, worrying that their lateness might raise suspicion and ruin their plan. Jessica had wondered if the operation would even be able to go ahead as intended, though felt confident when it hinged on her sister's petty possessive pride. If Angel actually respected her wishes, Jess would have been unable to achieve her ambitions, she really was taught by the best. 

Gas rapidly fills the air between Elle and Angie, the former feeling one of the most dangerous people she could ever know growing weak and pliable in her very arms. Softening into cloud, the foundation of the heavens she saw fit to walk upon. The two slump onto Angie's throne and sleep with touching foreheads, their eyes still as open as their waiting minds.

Jessica stands and yawns, removing her sweater, soaked at the shoulder from where Elle had spat the champagne in Angel's blind spot before kissing her beloved queen and miming the transfer. Fortunately, the other prying eyes with better angles were all too busy falling under liquid lethargy themselves to say anything. "I can't say I'm surprised, sister... you always think too little of me. I think it's time to restore the old ways of this cute little club of yours." Blinking emeralds set upon Angel and Jess sits atop her and Elle, stroking the latter's face affectionately while sneering at her expressionless sister's. "Your specialty is chemicals, right? Like the drug you put in the champagne, very impressive. Here's a new one for you, I can see you haven't tried it before." Fingers slip under Elle's clothes and retrieve one of the sleek gas cannisters, holding it up to Angel's face smugly. "Faster acting than even your celebratory toast, but such a close proximity required. It's a tricky one, isn't it?" With a light giggle, Jess takes Angel's chin and turns the girl's head to the side, then back again. "Oh you're right, as always, it was surprisingly simple in the end."

After moving to lock the doors, Jessica has the entranced council form a neat line in front of her and explains to them the new territory agreements, making sure each and every one agrees as though they had proposed the change themselves. Her plan is to have each member enforce the other's suggestion to keep them stupid and distracted, only Angel is too difficult to manipulate. Unfortunately, Jess sees no other choice but to keep her sister in waking trance indefinitely. What was it that her sister suggested about a proxy leader? That'll work nicely, Angie will lead this conference annually as always and for the rest of the year... well, with Elle getting promoted her old role needs filling~

"Elle! Mwah. I'm all sweaty, going to take a quick shower and then I'll be checking in with Tilley cause she's struggling again with resistant subjects. Can you be a dear and feed Angie?" Jessica pecks her girlfriend on the cheek before hanging up her jacket and running upstairs, the girl having been busy over the past month establishing more concrete hierarchy in her operation now that it's expanding beyond her reach. 

Elle nods eagerly, adjusting her glasses and heading into the kitchen with a carefree smile. "Ah there you are, cutie." Angel sits kneeling on the fluffy bed by her cage near the back door, chewing idly on the gag in her mouth and starting to wag eagerly when she sees her owner approaching. Angel's a smart girl, so she knows that it's dinner time already, the hungry mutt still gives pleading eyes that melts Elle's heart. Limbs chained to the wall just in case, Angel has to obediently wait for her owner to cross through the room, around the dining table and finally meeting this soft corner of heaven. Leaning down to remove the muzzle gag and tilting her head up with firm hands, Elle admires the collar around the naked girl's neck that has a bone shaped tag reading 'Angie', lovingly engraved. Fingers tighten in Angel's blonde hair and push her up straight against the wall, Elle's skirt dropping down beside her knees as she lurches forward to feed the needy slut. 

Another taste of Paradise.

Lex dismisses their wives from the office and watches them return to work with a slight grin before asking them to close the door. It's not like Lex to ruminate alone in their office, so the floor whispers while the slicked back blonde leans in their chair and stares up at the ceiling. 

They remember the annual meeting well enough, Angel's strongarming of everyone to move territory lines and the agreements by all. It's all there in Lex's head, but something troubles the overly cautious middle-manger. 

While you could easily mistake them for a chemical based controller like Angie based on their distracting cologne that tends to draw their new acquisitions' focus... Lex specialises in technology, which is why they based themselves in a bleeding edge tech company. Those rings that keep wives controlled and happy are just one of many devices employed by Lex, who takes pleasure in rewiring those who work under them. 

As their operation grew, so too did their trust dwindle. Paranoia was on full display from beginning to end in that last conference, but there was also more subtle instances of Lex's caution. It's the ring sitting on their desk now, that troubles Lex greatly. On the underside of the ring is a button that, when pressed, sends a signal to their phone with a timestamp. Throughout their meeting Lex had been sending the signal frequently and still remembers doing as such. 

"So tell me, Angie... what's with this huge fucking gap? Heh..."

To be continued... in 2025!