Chapter 1
It was a game. You either killed or you got killed.
Ziva Allen learned that far too early.
At six years old, she stood in front of a grave that felt too big for her small body. Her eyes were fixed on the names carved into the stone.
Mr. and Mrs. Allen.
She did not scream. She did not collapse.
She only stared.
Tears slipped down her cheeks quietly, one after the other, her small hands clenched at her sides as if holding herself together was the only thing she had left. Her chest rose and fell unevenly, each breath heavier than the last.
She did not fully understand death.
But she understood absence.
She understood that no matter how long she stood there, no matter how hard she waited, her parents were not coming back.
A soft movement nearby pulled her attention away.
A boy.
He looked about her age, standing a few feet away from another grave. He was too still, too quiet. Something about him felt... wrong.
Maybe he lost his parents too.
Ziva hesitated for a moment before walking toward him, drawn by something she could not explain. Maybe broken things recognized each other.
“Hey,” she said softly, her childish voice barely steady.
No response.
The boy did not even blink.
He turned slowly, and when their eyes met, Ziva froze.
His eyes were empty.
Not the kind of empty that came from crying. Not the kind that came from fear.
Cold. Distant. Like he had already left this world behind.
For a second, it unsettled her.
But Ziva had already lost everything.
There was nothing left to be afraid of.
She sat beside him quietly.
Sometimes silence said more than words ever could.
They stayed like that as the evening stretched into night, the air growing colder, the cemetery slowly emptying. Still, the boy did not move.
Ziva’s chest tightened.
“Hey…” she tried again, softer this time. “You can come with me. I live with my aunt. She makes really good food.”
No answer.
She looked at him, then sighed in her small, stubborn way.
“Okay. You’re coming anyway.”
She stood up, grabbed his hand, and gently pulled him along.
He did not resist.
---
Rowena sat stiffly on the couch, her fingers intertwined so tightly they hurt. Something was wrong.
Dinner had ended hours ago. Ziva should have been upstairs, asleep.
But something would not let her rest.
A quiet, persistent feeling.
And now Ziva was gone.
Her thoughts spiraled quickly, each one worse than the last. Kidnapping. Revenge. Enemies she knew still existed.
She was already reaching for her phone when the door creaked open.
Rowena turned sharply.
Two small figures stepped in.
Relief hit first, fast and overwhelming.
“Ziva!” She rushed forward, dropping to her knees and pulling the girl into her arms. “Where have you been? I’ve been looking everywhere!”
Her hands moved quickly over Ziva’s shoulders, her arms, checking for injuries.
“I’m sorry,” Ziva muttered, her head lowered. “I went to see Mom and Dad. I missed them.”
Rowena’s expression softened instantly. She pulled her closer, pressing a gentle kiss to her hair.
“It’s okay… I’m here.”
Then she noticed him.
The boy.
Standing quietly behind Ziva.
Rowena’s body stiffened.
Her eyes sharpened immediately as she took him in. His posture. His silence. The way he stood too still, too aware.
Something about him did not sit right.
“Ziva…” her tone changed slightly, more cautious now. “Who is this?”
Ziva turned, reaching for his hand without hesitation.
“He’s my friend. I brought him home.”
Rowena frowned. “From where?”
“The cemetery.”
That answer alone was enough to set off alarms in her head.
Rowena’s gaze returned to the boy, studying him more carefully now.
“Does he have a name?”
Ziva shook her head. “He hasn’t said anything yet. But it’s okay. I’ll take care of him.”
Rowena almost laughed, but it did not come out right.
“Ziva, we cannot just bring strangers into the house.”
“He’s not a stranger,” Ziva insisted, tightening her grip on his hand. “He lost his parents too.”
That made Rowena pause.
Her expression shifted, but the unease remained.
“I’m sorry,” she said gently, though her eyes never left the boy. “But he has a family. We need to find them.”
Ziva shook her head quickly. “No. He doesn’t want to go back.”
Rowena exhaled slowly.
This was not normal.
Nothing about this situation was normal.
Still, she looked at Ziva, at the determination in her small face, and her resistance weakened.
“…Fine. He can stay for tonight.”
Ziva’s face lit up instantly.
“But,” Rowena added firmly, “he does not sleep in your room.”
Ziva pouted.
“He’s scared.”
Rowena glanced at the boy again.
He did not look scared.
If anything, he looked like he was watching everything.
Calculating.
That made her even more uneasy.
After a long pause, she sighed.
“Fine. But I want a guard posted outside your door.”
Ziva nodded happily, already pulling the boy along.
Rowena watched them go, her expression darkening the moment they disappeared upstairs.
Something was off.
Very off.
And she intended to find out what.
---
Later that night, Rowena remained in the living room, her thoughts heavy.
Allen and Veronica were dead.
And she knew it was not an accident.
Ziva was next in line.
Which meant danger was already closer than it seemed.
The Agency would arrive in the morning.
Training would begin.
There was no time to waste.
But as she thought of Ziva, of her small hands and innocent smile, something inside her tightened.
She would not have a normal childhood.
Rowena already knew that.
And now, with a strange boy appearing out of nowhere…
Her instincts told her one thing.
This was not coincidence.
---
Upstairs, inside Ziva’s room, the lights were dim.
Ziva sat cross-legged on the bed, watching the boy carefully.
“Will you at least tell me your name?” she asked softly.
For a moment, she thought he would ignore her again.
Then—
“My name… is Kendrick.”
His voice was quiet. Uncertain.
But it was real.
Ziva smiled, relieved.
“See? I knew you could talk.”
For the first time, his expression shifted slightly.
Just slightly.
Ziva laid down, pulling the blanket over both of them.
“Don’t worry,” she whispered. “You’re safe now.”
Kendrick said nothing.
But his eyes remained open long after she fell asleep.
---
Somewhere far away—
“We did it,” the woman said with a satisfied smile. “Allen is gone.”
The man beside her nodded slowly.
“Now we wait.”
“Our son will take everything.”
He smiled.
“It is only a matter of time.”
