Chapter 1: Prologue: The Asset
WARNING: This story is a dark action-thriller. It contains depictions of domestic violence, child abuse, and attempted suicide, as well as scenes of graphic, professional violence. Reader discretion is strongly advised.
Author’s Note: Welcome to the world of the Shadow. This story explores the grey areas of morality and the heavy cost of protection. New chapters updated weekly.
Dedicated to those who know that true mercy is earned in the dark.
The rain in Zurich didn’t wash away the copper tang of blood; it only made it smear across the pavement. Ekita stepped over the informant’s body, her movements fluid and devoid of hesitation. She didn’t look back at the penthouse suite, where the silence was now absolute.
She reached into her coat, pulling out a silk handkerchief to wipe a stray crimson drop from her cheek. Her pulse was a steady sixty beats per minute. In her world, empathy was a fatal flaw, and she had long since cut it out of her system.
Her encrypted phone buzzed. A single message from Dante glowed on the screen: Extraction complete. Kaelum is waiting.
Ekita stared at the name of her home country. She was supposed to be going back to play the part of a wealthy, idle socialite—a mask she wore to hide the ghost she had become. But as she caught her reflection in the darkened window of a passing car, she saw the truth. The “Shadow” didn’t stay in the dark. It followed her everywhere.
She pocketed the phone and headed for the airport. The mission was over, but the war was just beginning.
