"You want to hear a story?" Lara, who had remained silent the entire time, finally spoke.
The room fell quiet.
No one interrupted.
Lara took their silence as permission to continue.
"There was once a little girl," she began softly. "The daughter of a major in the army."
Her gaze drifted somewhere far away, as though she was no longer seeing the room before her.
She was seeing the past.
[Flashback]
"How many times have I told you not to lose focus?"
The roar exploded through the gym like a cannon blast.
Twelve-year-old Lara flinched.
Standing before her was Rocky—a former professional boxer with fists like sledgehammers and a body carved from stone. Sweat glistened on his broad shoulders as he towered over her small frame.
He wasn't just her trainer. He was her nightmare.
Her father had personally hired him.
And he had given only one instruction.
No mercy.
At twelve years old, Lara barely reached the man's chest.
Her cheek was swollen.
