The sack falls.
It’s my father. Blood pours from his chest, and I fall with it.
“Daddy,” I choke, crawling to him. “No, no, I didn’t mean—please—”
I touch his face. It’s warm. Real. Dying.
He looks at me with nothing left — no rage, no pride, just emptiness.
“You finished the mission,” he whispers. “We don’t need you anymore.”
I look up.
My mother’s standing there. Smiling. She raises her gun and points it at me.
“Mom?”
Her eyes are ice.
“You were just the prototype.”
She fires. The world shatters.
Elizabeth
“NO!”
I shot up in bed, heart racing, and my shirt stuck to me with sweat. Rolling over, I fumbled for my phone. 3 a.m. flashed on the screen, and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes, knowing I had class soon. The nightmares were getting worse—same dream on endless repeat, like a broken record I couldn’t stop. I sat up, my nerves screaming for some kind of calm.
It’s been rough since my dad passed. I still see that moment, pulling the trigger and watching the light fade from his eyes. He didn’t look shocked, not at all.No, he wore a proud expression, just like they raised me, to be a cold-hearted killer. My mom was a legend in her own right. She worked for one of my best friends’ dads, handling all the messy problems that needed fixing. We were the fixers, solving issues at any cost. And I mean any cost.
Now, my mom traded her fixer life for a spokesperson gig at Corales Corporation here in Glenrich. She stepped up when Lillian took over as the sole heir. With her husband Adonis by her side, they got everything in line. Of course, Adonis and I made sure to keep her in the dark; the fewer incriminating details she knew, the better. We didn’t want her wrapped up in our mess.
Out of nowhere, my phone buzzed. I glanced at the caller ID and knew only one person would call me at this hour.
“Sir.”
“We’ve got a job for you. Be ready in 15.”
Silence hung heavy on the line after he said that. I sighed, bracing myself for a long night ahead. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and started getting ready. Hair up, Ops uniform on. My phone buzzed again.
“I’m ready.”
“Good. Sending location now.”
I checked the location and recognized it instantly. It belonged to one of the many corrupt cops who used to pocket cash from Corales Corporation back when Lilly’s dad was in charge. Now, she’s trying to run an honest business, but Adonis and I have been tying up loose ends behind her back. It seemed like this one was about to spill the beans on their shady dealings, putting Lillian’s company at risk. That won’t do. I grabbed my bag and headed out.
---- ??? ----
Gravel crunched beneath my tires as I pulled up to the site — a rundown warehouse on the outskirts of a city that hadn’t seen hope in a decade. The sun had just dipped low, painting everything in bruised gold and shadows. I cut the engine and let the silence settle before stepping out, the weight of the job anchoring me in place.
I scanned the perimeter, slow and precise. No guards. No posted lookouts. Not even the usual crackheads loitering nearby.
That was the first red flag.
Either this guy was a complete idiot, or he believed himself invincible.
Untouchable.
