bChapter /bb221 /b

    DORA’S POV

    It’s been five years sincest called this guy. Five long years. He might not remember me now, but I’ll make damn sure he does. I od ihim /ihandsomely for that job, not a penny less than what he asked, noints, no haggling. And now, out of nowhere, I’m finding out he didn’t even get the job done?

    The thought alone made my blood boil.

    I clenched my jaw and paced slowly across the room, each step echoing off the floor as I stared down at the contact number on bmy /bphone. My thumb hovered over the green call button for a second longer, then finally tapped it.

    The phone began to ring.

    With each second that passed, I felt the weight of five yearse pressing down on me. The betrayal. The lies. The loose ends i thought were tied up neatly, now unraveling like a thread pulled too far. This wasn’t just negligence, it was aplete failure. And if there’s one thing never tolerate, it’s failure.

    Finally, after a few rings, a deep male voice answered. “Hello?”

    I froze, just for a moment. That voice hadn’t changed. Not one bit. “Hello… der?” I said, narrowing my eyes.

    There was a short pause before he replied, “No one calls me that anymore. But for iyou /iito /iuse that name… it means I’ve worked for you before. Who are you?”

    I rolled my eyes, already irritated. “Are you serious right now? You didn’t save my number?”

    “I delete all client numbers once the job is done,” he said, without missing a beat. “Just in case.”

    “Of course you do,” I muttered, trying to keep my cool. “Whatever. It’s me, Isadora. Five years ago, I hired you and your team for a job. The target was a woman named Olivia Grayson. I’m sure you remember it. You blew up her entire house.”

    There was a beat of silence, then he replied, “Yeah, I remember, What about it?”

    I narrowed my eyes and tightened my grip on the phone. “Just to be sure, Olivia Grayson. Are you absolutely certain she died in that house?”

    “Of coursei,/ii” /ihe said, his tone careless. “Do you really think someone could survive that kind of st? I sent you the pictures, didn’t I?”

    I took a sharp breath through my nose, my patience wearing thinner with every word he said. “An explosion like that doesn’t vaporize bodies, der. It’s not a nuclear bombi. /iiYou /iwould’ve seen something, remains, evidence. Please tell me you went inside the house after the explosion and confirmed the ibodies/i.”

    This time, he didn’t answer.

    The silence was deafening.

    I stopped pacing. My heart dropped.

    That silence was all the confirmation I needed. “Fuck!” I hissed, the curse slipping out before I could stop it. My other hand flew to bmy /bbhead/b, fingers digging into my scalp as I tried to contain the wave of frustration rolling over me.

    “You stupid idiot!” I snapped into the phone. “What kind iof /ihitman doesn’t confirm that the target is dead? What kind of amateur nonsense is

    that?b” /b

    b1/3 /b

    bChapter /bb221 /b

    b“/bbLook/bb,/bb” /bbhe /bsaid finally, tone still calm, like he didn’t grasp the magnitude of what he’d done or failed to do. I bdon’t /bknow what at uz n about. When the explosion happened, we could already hear the sirens getting closer. My guys and weren’t babout /bbto /bstick around and arrested. We did what we had to do”

    I clenched my teeth so hard I felt a headacheing on. “That’s not what I paid you for.”

    He had the audacity to continue, “Besides, that was five years ago. Even if we didn’t confirm it, I’m telling you, no one could’ve strated that Olivia Grayson is dead. I can assure you that.”

    1 stared nkly ahead, every word he said only making the fire inside me burn hotter.

    He was guessing.

    Assuring me based on nothing but assumption and bravado. He hadn’t confirmed anything. He hadn’t gone back. He left loose ends dangerous loose ends, and now those loose ends were starting toe back around.

    “You can assure me that?” I asked, my voice tight, each wordced with venom. “So how is it that the same target you’re assuring me is dead is now walking around on live television as the new CEO of a billion–dorpany?i” /i

    The room fell silent for a moment. Then, his voice crackled through the speakerphone, hesitant and confused.

    “What? That’s not possible. You must be mistaken,” he said, clearly caught off guard.

    “I’m not mistaken,” I snapped, my tone sharp enough to cut through metal. “It’s possible because you and your pathetic excuse of a crew didn’t go in to confirm the kill. You had one fucking job. One. And you couldn’t get it done. How hard is it to kill someone? Hell, even could’ve done it better.”

    There was a pause. I could hear him breathing heavily, trying to gather his thoughts.

    “If you say she’s alive,” he began slowly, “then… this is very bad.”

    “Oh, it’s just now you’re realizing that?” I said, voice dripping with sarcasm. “Brilliant deduction, Sherlock.”

    “She saw my face,” he said, his voice suddenly more serious, tinged with anxiety. “And the faces of my men. If she remembers us and she will, she could report us, maybe even try to track us down. We’repromised.”

    That made my blood run colder than it already was. I narrowed my eyes. “You let her see your face?” I asked, my voice rising in disbeliefb, /bbfury /bbuilding inside me like a volcano about to erupt.

    “We’re hitmen,i” /ihe said defensively, trying to sound like it justified everything. “We don’t wear masks, okay? And besides, it’s never been a problem. Anyone who sees our faces… never lives to tell the tale. She’s the first one who has. Ever.”

    I mmed my fist against the desk, the sound echoing through the room like a gunshot. “I don’t give a damn about your protocols or your track record. I paid you, handsomely, might I add, to get the job done. And you failed. So now you either return every bcent /bI gave byou/b, or byou /bfinish what you started.”

    He hesitated. 1 could hear the weight of his next words even before he said them.

    “I stopped being a hitman two years ago. I don’t have that kind of money lying around anymore. It’s all bgone/bb. /bbAnd /beven if I bwanted /bbto /bbfinish /bthe job, iyou /isaid it yourself, she’s a billionaire now. Protected. Powerful. Getting to her now would be more bdifficult /bthan ever. bWe /bbdon’t /bbhave /bthe resources, the equipment, or the ess to pull this off.”

    I stood up, pacing the room, my mind racing. Every second she remained alive was a threat. A ticking time bomb. bAnd /bbnow /bbI /bbhad /bban /bipetent ex–hitman telling me he couldn’t fix his mess?

    “Don’t tell me that,” I hissed. “If you had done bthe /bjob right the first time, you wouldn’t be in this bdamn /bbposition/b.b” /b

    **

    b18:11 /bFri, 8 Aug

    There was silence again. Then, reluctantly, he spoke.

    “Rx. I’ll call some old contacts, get my guys together. We’ll start nning something, but it won’t happen overnight. It’s going to take time. But I’ll be in touch. I’ll keep you updated… regrly.”

    I clenched my jaw so tightly it hurt. Time was the one thing I didn’t have. Every day she walked free, smiling for the cameras, gaining more influence and power, was another day I was vulnerable. If she decides she wants toe for these fools, they could tell her the truth, tell her who really sent them, it wouldn’t just be him going down. It would be me too.

    “Make it fast,” I growled. “No more mistakes. I don’t care how long it’s been since you were in the game. If you don’t handle this, there’s gonna be a big problem… and it won’t be clean.”

    He didn’t respond immediately, but I could tell he understood the threat.

    “Understood,” he finally muttered.