Fragments of the PastFire explodes behind my eyes.I stagger, breath ripping from my lungs as the device floods my brain with memories long buried, long erased. It’s like a dam breaking inside me, years of forgotten moments crashing over me in violent waves.Gunfire.Blood.Screams.My body jerks as images slam into me one after the other—too fast, too sharp, cutting through my mind like shattered glass. My heart pounds, my knees buckle, and for a terrifying second, I don’t know where I am.A rooftop, rain slamming against my skin. The acrid smell of gunpowder thick in the air.A dark alley, my hands covered in something warm.A face—blurred, just out of reach—eyes wide, lips parting to speak.Then—A body.On the ground.And me. Standing over it.My stomach twists violently. I stumble backward, barely aware of Riley’s voice calling my name. The floor beneath me tilts, and I crash against the wall, gasping for air.No. No, this can’t be real.“Nathan.”Julian’s voice is smooth, delib

The Puppet MasterJulian’s words landed like a blade slicing through my gut. The Oath’s top assassin. Me.I staggered back, my breath shallow, my pulse pounding so hard it drowned out everything else. No. It couldn’t be.“I told you, Nathan. The truth would break you.” Julian’s voice was eerily calm, a contrast to the storm raging inside me. “You were their finest weapon. Precise. Unstoppable. And when they realized you were hesitating—when they knew you cared for Evelyn—they took that choice away.”I wanted to deny it, to rip apart his words before they could take root, but something dark and terrible clawed its way into my mind. Flickers of memory. A cold, sterile room. Restraints biting into my wrists. A voice, flat and emotionless. Obey.The whisper coiled around me like a snake. I clenched my fists, nails digging into my palms.“They reprogrammed you, Nathan,” Julian continued, watching me like a scientist studying a volatile experiment. “They forced you to complete the mission.

The Final TriggerJulian coughs, a wet, gurgling sound, as blood trickles from the corner of his mouth. His body slumps against the cold brick wall, the dim alleyway barely illuminating the mess I’ve left him in. His breaths are ragged, shallow, but his grin—his damn grin—stays in place. Even bleeding out, he looks at me like he holds the final card in a game I thought I had already won.“You think… killing me… will change anything?” He wheezes, his fingers twitching at his side. “You think it’ll bring her back?”The knife in my grip trembles. His words coil around me like a vice, squeezing, pressing against a wound that has never quite healed.“You talk too much.” My voice is ice. Detached. Controlled. But my hands say otherwise. They want to finish the job, to silence him, to finally put an end to the years of bloodshed, deceit, and the pain he's caused.Julian chuckles, a twisted, bitter sound. “That’s where you’re wrong, Nathan. I haven’t talked enough.” His eyes flicker with some

Breaking ChainsThe scent of damp concrete and burnt metal filled my lungs as Riley and I moved through the dimly lit corridors. The Oath facility was buried beneath a nondescript warehouse, hidden from the world like the secrets it kept. My pulse hammered in my throat, every step calculated, every breath measured.Riley was a shadow beside me, her presence steady. She scanned the hall ahead, her sharp green eyes flickering in the low light. “Security’s light,” she murmured. “Too light.”She was right. This was a facility belonging to the Oath—the organization that had taken everything from me. The same organization I’d spent years tearing apart piece by piece. And yet, we had waltzed in with minimal resistance.Something wasn’t right.We reached the archive room, a reinforced steel door standing between us and whatever they were hiding. I crouched by the keypad, my fingers flying over the small screen as I worked through the encryption. Riley kept watch, her pistol raised, finger hov

The Ultimate BetrayalThe gunshot cracked through the air.I barely had time to move before Riley tackled me, both of us hitting the ground hard. The bullet buried itself in the metal panel behind us, sending a shower of sparks into the room.Emily had fired at me.My daughter.My chest tightened, but there was no time to process it. I rolled to my feet, my eyes locking onto her as she took a calculated step forward, gun still raised, her face an unreadable mask."Emily," I said, forcing my voice to stay steady. "You don't want to do this."Her head tilted as if studying me as if trying to place the name I had just spoken. But there was nothing in her expression—no flicker of recognition, no hesitation, just cold, ruthless focus.Behind her, Julian leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watching the scene unfold like a man who had already won. "She doesn’t know you, Nathan," he said, his voice almost mocking. "She thinks you're the enemy."The words felt like a blade to my gut.Emily’