bChapter /bb302 /b

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The hotel staff barely looked up when Miguel dragged a bound woman through the lobby. One front desk clerk nced our way, but his eyes quickly returned to hisputer screen when he caught my gaze.

I held the door open as Miguel shoved Selene into my room. Her wrists were zip–tied behind her back, and a makeshift gag had been fashioned from what looked like Miguel’s bandana. Despite her predicament, her eyes burned with hatred as she red at me. She tried to resist, but Miguel’s firm grip on her shoulder kept her moving forward.

“Wee back, Master,‘ Ethan’s voice called out from the corner of the room.

Miguel froze mid–step, his head snapping toward the sound. “Boss?” he asked, eyes darting around the room in confusion. The color drained from his face as he scanned the empty corners. “Mr. Haxton?”

I bit back a smile as Miguel’s gazended on Maxi, the small robot sitting innocently on the desk.

“What the fuck? Miguel whispered, staring at the machine. “Was that–did your robot just use Mr. Haxton’s voice?” He took a step closer to Maxi, leaning down to inspect it more carefully. “That’s the exact same voice. How did you—”

I shrugged, keeping my expression neutral.

“Does Mr. Haxton know you’ve programmed his voice into your little robot?”

“I made some modifications,” I said, not bothering to exin further. “Put her in the bathroom. We leave at dawn.”

The desert sun beat down mercilessly on our vehicle the next day. Miguel had procured a heavy–duty SUV with off–road capabilities, perfect for the terrain we were traversing. The massive tires kicked up clouds of sand as we made our way deeper into the wastnd. Selene sat in the back seat, her hands still bound but her gag removed. I sat beside her, arms crossed, eyes closed, conserving my energy.

“Shadow was the organization’s pride,” Selene said, breaking the silence that had stretched for hours. “Their crown jewel. I thought you were her friend. But you killed her trainers. What grudge do you have against Shadow Organization?”

I remained silent, listening to the hum of tires against sand. The heat inside the vehicle was stifling, despite the air conditioning working at full capacity. Sweat beaded on Miguel’s forehead as he concentrated on navigating the tricky terrain.

Selene shifted in her seat, chains rattling. “Shadow failed her mission. I’ve always wondered what kind of mission even she couldn’tplete. Her voice dropped to a contemtive murmur. “You know, don’t you? I’m as good as dead anyway, so telling me wouldn’t hurt.”

My eyes snapped open. “Say one more word about Shadow failing her mission, and I’ll kill you.”

“Isn’t that what happened?” Selene asked, genuine confusion in her voice. “Everyone in the organization knows the story,”

The desert air was unbearably dry. I took a slow, deep breath, filling my lungs before turning to look at my former trainingpanion— another pawn who’d been kept in the dark like everyone else. fn0cfc Official source is find?novel/fn0cfc

“She died,” I said, my voice devoid of emotion. “By the hands of the organization you’re so loyal to.”

“That’s impossible!” Selene immediately protested. “They wouldn’t—”

8:21 Tue, Sep 30

*That private ind in the Caribbean? It wasn’t just a base. It was aboratory where Shadow Organization extracted human gic material. Shadow was researched there for over seven months.” I watched her face carefully, seeing the doubt and confusion war in her

expression.

The color drained from Selene’s face. “You’re saying… cloning?” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “They were creating more Shadowsi?” /i

Miguel, who had been silent during our exchange, couldn’t help himself. “So the organization couldn’t control their own killer anymore, so they took her out. His eyes met mine in the rearview mirror.

“It was mutual destruction,” I corrected him.