Chapter 1: The Assignment
Rain hammered the city that night, turning the streets into a blur of lights and shadows. In a tall glass building that looked perfectly legal from the outside, Daniel King stood in front of the man everyone in the underworld feared.
To the public, he was Mr. Clark, a quiet businessman.
To Daniel, he was simply Boss—leader of The Circle, an organization that did the dirty work rich people didn't want their names on.
"Sit," Clark said.
Daniel obeyed. He never showed weakness in front of this man. No shaking hands, no nervous eyes. Just calm.
Clark slid a tablet across the table.
A girl's picture filled the screen.
Big brown eyes. Soft, warm smile. Long hair flowing over her shoulders. She wore a simple dress, but she still looked like the kind of girl the world wanted to protect.
Amara Williams.
"Daughter of Senator Richard Williams," Clark said. "He's leading in the upcoming election. Clean image. Too clean."
Daniel kept his voice even.
"What's the job?
Clark leaned back, watching him carefully.
"Our client is Senator Williams' opponent. He doesn't just want to win. He wants Williams destroyed. He wants his image broken. His family broken. His life broken."
Clark pointed at the girl on the screen.
"She is the key. You will meet her by accident. You will make her fall in love with you. You will enter her life, enter her home, get close to her father. You will find their secrets. And we," Clark smiled coldly, "will leak them to the world."
Daniel's jaw tightened slightly.
"And when it's done?" he asked.
"You walk away. We get paid. The client wins." Clark's eyes hardened. "One more thing."
"Yes, boss."
"No attachments," Clark said quietly. "This girl is not your friend. Not your woman. Not your savior. She is a door. You are the key. Betray me, or forget who you work for…" His voice dropped. "You know what happens to traitors in The Circle."
Daniel remembered the last man who had tried to leave.
They never found the body. Only the blood.
"I understand," Daniel said.
Clark smiled.
"Good," he replied. "Your assignment starts in two weeks. Study her. Study her father. Learn their routines. I want this done smoothly."
Daniel picked up the tablet and stared at Amara's face.
To him, she was just another target.
For now.
He didn't know yet that this was the assignment that would change everything.
The one that would make him fight his own people.
The one that would turn a hired gangster…
…into the man who would one day stand beside a senator and call him father-in-law.