Double Betrayal: Shadows Of Vengeance

Aurora replied flatly. "You asked. I answered."

"And your answer was correct," Valerio said. "You saved my life."

There was a brief pause. A dangerous one. Then Valerio turned away.

"From now on, you're part of the core team."

Vixen stiffened. "Boss... she's just a recruit-"

"She's faster than my senior team," Valerio cut in. Vixen closed his mouth. The other recruits stared at Aurora with a mix of envy, fear, and reluctant respect. But Valerio wasn't finished.

He looked at Aurora over his shoulder. "And burn one thing into your memory..."

Aurora lifted her chin, listening. Valerio's gaze settled on her impossible to define. There was danger there. Interest. Threat. And something else... something even Aurora couldn't read.

"Don't move without my order," he said coldly. "Next time you act on your own, I'll be the one who puts a bullet in you."

Aurora held her breath.

"Understood," she answered shortly.

Valerio walked past her, and something strange happened. As their bodies brushed by, Aurora felt a surge of cold or heat? crawl up her spine. Something that made her instincts want to strike and, at the same time, want to... step closer. No. That couldn't be allowed. Aurora forced her thoughts back into focus.

As Valerio walked away, a single sentence echoed in her mind: That man wasn't just a target. He was a danger capable of destroying her. Vixen dismissed the meeting, and the recruits filed out with tangled emotions. Aurora left last.

As she stepped into the corridor, Vixen called her name. "Aurora."

She turned. Vixen looked at her seriously, without his usual edge of humor.

"You need to be careful."

Aurora frowned. "About what?"

Vixen stepped closer, lowering his voice. "About Valerio."

Aurora met his gaze, waiting. "There are two kinds of people who catch Valerio's attention," Vixen said quietly.

Aurora stayed silent. "The first: enemies he intends to kill."

"The second: people he keeps close... for reasons that are never good."

Aurora returned his stare without flinching. "I didn't come here to be either of those."

Vixen gave a thin smile. "That's exactly the problem. You don't get to choose."

Aurora said nothing. She continued down the hall toward her new room in the mansion. But even after the door closed behind her, she couldn't erase one crucial fact: Valerio Blackthorn had started paying attention to her. And attention from a man like that... could mean survival. Or a very slow death.

Night swallowed the city whole. Skyscrapers loomed like giant shadows, their dim lights flickering as if watching something never meant for ordinary eyes.

After the port ambush and the intense evaluation in the training room, the recruits dispersed to their quarters. But for Aurora, the night didn't simply end. Her body was tired, but her mind remained sharp and there was something she couldn't ignore.

Valerio Blackthorn. He wasn't just a mafia boss. Aurora had seen every kind of criminal, street lord, and gang leader throughout her life. But Valerio... There was something different about him. Something cold, precise, lethal and somehow... compelling. Danger had never looked so captivating.

Aurora brushed back her still damp hair after a quick shower, pulled on a black shirt and lightweight tactical pants. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she sharpened a small folding knife, her thoughts drifting where they shouldn't. Why did he look at me like he knew every secret I had? Why did it feel like he was watching even when he wasn't in the room? The thoughts unsettled her. Aurora didn't like being unsettled.

Knock! Knock!

The sound came from the door. Aurora straightened instantly, set the knife aside, and stood. Her hand reached for the pistol on the table, holding it behind her back as she cracked the door open.

"Yes?"

A senior guard stood outside, expression blank. "The boss wants to see you."

Aurora raised an eyebrow. "Now?"

"Now." No emotion.

She holstered her pistol, grabbed a light jacket, and followed him out. The mansion corridor was silent. Yellow lights cast a dim glow, turning every corner into a shadowed place where a killer could hide. The guard didn't speak again, walking briskly toward the west wing where Valerio's private office was located.

Aurora kept her steps even, but her mind was already mapping every possibility. Why is he calling me in the middle of the night? A test?

Something worse? Or... something personal? No. She shook her head slightly. Assumptions were dangerous.

They stopped in front of a large black wood door. The guard knocked once.

"Enter," Valerio's voice came from inside.

The guard opened the door and stepped aside. Aurora went in. The door closed immediately behind her.

The office was vast, its walls lined with bookshelves, a large window overlooking the dark city. The dim yellow light sharpened Valerio's silhouette. He stood with his back to her, staring out as if watching over a world he already owned.

He didn't turn when he spoke. "Sit."

Aurora chose to remain standing. "I'm more comfortable standing."

"Not a request. An order."

She summoned every ounce of control not to snarl and sat in the chair opposite the massive desk. Only then did Valerio turn. His gaze was sharp dark blue, like the night itself. Aurora didn't blink.

"You don't sleep?" Valerio asked.

"I don't sleep early."

"Good." He reached into his pocket and placed a black folder on the desk. "Because I have a mission for you."

Aurora focused instantly. Valerio sat back in his black leather chair, fingers interlaced.

"After the port incident, it's clear someone leaked the meeting schedule."

Aurora remained silent.

"That information was known to only four people," Valerio continued. "Including me."

"And you suspect one of them is a traitor?" Aurora guessed.

Valerio smirked faintly. "I suspect everyone."

He slid the folder toward her. "This is your target. You'll escort them. From a distance. Unseen. And if they make a single suspicious move..."

Valerio lifted his index finger, pressed it lightly against Aurora's temple, then slowly pulled it back as if squeezing an invisible trigger.

"...you eliminate them." Aurora stared at the folder. "Is this... our target, or one of your people?"

"My person," Valerio said without blinking. "One of the four."

Aurora tightened her grip on the folder. "You want me to watch and kill your own man?"