I woke up to an ordinary morning—the kind that smelled like routine. Pale light slipped through the curtains, my phone buzzed softly on the nightstand, and for a few seconds I lay there, staring at the ceiling, reminding myself who I was supposed to be today. Not a shadow. Not a weapon. Just… me. An office girl with deadlines and coffee breaks.
I got up and moved through my usual rhythm. Shower. Lotion. Light makeup. Today I chose an office dress—simple, fitted, professional. It hugged me just enough to look put together without trying too hard. I let my long hair fall the way it always did, familiar and safe, like armor disguised as normalcy. If anyone looked at me today, they'd see nothing but a woman going to work.
That was the point.
I'd been skipping work too often lately. Disappearing, coming back with vague excuses and tired eyes. Suspicion grows quietly, and I couldn't afford that. So I went in—not just to reduce questions, but to create space. I needed time off. Real time. Enough to finish Operation Quinn without someone asking why my desk kept going cold.
The office smelled like paper and coffee when I walked in. Screens hummed. Chairs rolled. And then Angela spotted me.
"Oh my God—Evie!" she exclaimed, practically rushing over. Her eyes scanned my face like she was checking for injuries. "Where have you been? You've been vanishing lately. I was this close to filing a missing person report."
I laughed, soft and a little exaggerated, and held up my hands. "Relax, drama queen. I'm alive. Just… life stuff."
She frowned, still unconvinced, then sighed and pulled me into a quick hug. Angela had always been like that—warm, expressive, worried out loud. Charismatic in a way that made people gravitate toward her without realizing why.
"Promise me you're okay," she said.
"I promise," I replied. It wasn't entirely a lie. I was still standing. That counted for something.
The morning passed quietly. Emails. Files. Typing. During the mid-morning break, I walked straight to the manager's office with a neat stack of documents in my arms—everything they'd need from me for the next three months. Prepared. Organized. Responsible.
I sat down and delivered the story smoothly.
"My mom needs me," I said. "She's going to have surgery, and I can't miss it. I'll be away for a while."
The words left my mouth easily—but something twisted in my chest anyway. A flicker. A memory I didn't allow to bloom. My real mother belonged to a long-ago life, and I'd learned the hard way that lingering on ghosts only slowed you down. I pushed the thought away before it could take shape.
The manager nodded sympathetically. Approved the leave. Wished me well.
Just like that, the door opened.
Later, during coffee, Angela was practically glowing. She leaned in conspiratorially, stirring her cup like it held secrets.
"I think I met the man of my dreams," she said, breathless. "He's everything—kind, attentive, listens to me, remembers small things. Evie, he makes me feel… chosen."
I smiled, genuinely this time. "That sounds amazing."
"But," she added quickly, worry slipping into her voice, "what if he doesn't love me as much as I love him? What if I'm just… convenient?"
I reached across the table and squeezed her hand. "Hey. If he's still calling, still showing up, still trying—then you matter to him. And besides," I added with a teasing tilt of my head, "have you looked in a mirror lately? You're beautiful. You could have anyone you want."
She laughed, a little shy now. "You really think so?"
"I know so."
By the time evening rolled around, I was back in motion. I left the office and headed downtown to the shopping hall—the one always crowded, always loud enough to swallow secrets. Daniel was waiting near the center, blending in like he always did. We didn't greet each other like friends. Just a nod. A shift of weight.
He handed me a slim folder.
"This family," he said quietly, "they're worse than you think."
I read as he spoke. Gambling. Casinos. Bribes. Human trafficking. Influence buried so deep in the system it didn't even need to hide anymore. They weren't just corrupt—they were untouchable. Walls within walls.
"Every path I traced for you leads to a dead end," Daniel continued. "Or worse. If you come at them smart, they'll see it. If you come at them strong, they'll crush you."
I looked up. "So what's left?"
He met my gaze. "Play dumb. Push yourself into their orbit. Make them underestimate you."
The idea settled heavy in my chest.
"Get close," he added. "Let them think you're harmless. That's the only way in."
I left the shopping hall with the folder tucked under my arm and a question burning in my mind.
How?
Back home, I paced once, then twice, then stopped and called Liam. The line rang only once before he answered.
"Talk to me," he said.
I told him everything—what Daniel found, what the files revealed, how every clean approach led straight into a trap. When I finished, there was a pause on the line.
"Okay," Liam said finally. Calm. Focused. "I'll see what I can do. We'll figure out a way."
I exhaled slowly, tension easing just a fraction. "Thanks."
"Evie," he added, softer now. "Don't do anything reckless until we talk again."
I almost smiled. "No promises," I said, then gentler, "But I'll wait."
When the call ended, I stood by the window, city lights flickering below. Operation Quinn wasn't going to be clean. Or easy. But it was moving again.
And so was I.
And l really think like maybe it's not going to well,ever since that night in the gala,where he got so close to me that l could hear my lungs build up almost about to burst. What's so different about him than the other men l have been with?
He isn't even all that really,but l guess thet is more to the book that what is shows.
And l kinda feel like l want to loosen some air tonight,maybe l should go outside for a walk .
I thought to myself and then took my jacket and then went outside my apartment and gout down , leaving through the large gate which guarded the big apartment l lived in.
There were about to twenty apartments there so it is always peacefully because people there too are not there most of the time .
The city flickered with lights lightening up the sky like as if the night was now in the daylight. And the cold which was brushing on my cheeks and sent chills down my body. I started thinking about how and when l got this point.
It all started ouf of nowhere that it even surprises me how l got here. I was so lost in my thoughts that l didn't pay attention to the environment around me. Even though it was in a car free zone. At night.
It came from nowhere.
I felt my body hit the ground,with a loud thud, and mu head bumping something hard,even though the impact wasn't that much, my head started to bleed because l felt the blood flowing down to my eyes broking my view.
And the car hones honing so loud.
"What...." I could only whisper on what the hell was happening to me, because it can't be true, right?
"Are you okay?" A voice asked kneeling down to my side and getting me up from the ground.