CHAPTER 17: SECRETS

================================

|•|•|↑|•|•|

(Xander's pov)

Vincent, that name was engraved in my mind since I was little. The feud between us should not involve Xia, yet I can already see that there is something going on.

~~•~~

"Hey, kid... Are you okay?"

"Call the ambulance quick!"

"What in the world?"

'Huff-huff'

"What have you done?... This is all your fault!!! He wouldn't die if it wasn't for you?"

~~•~~

Shake it off Xander, get a hold of yourself. Deep breaths, no matter how guilty you are, you can't bring back the dead.

'Ring~ring'

|•|•|↑|•|•|

Xander glanced at his phone and sighed. Who is in their right mind to call at this hour?

"Hello... Since you are calling this late, I can take it that you've already finished the assignment I gave you"

The voice on the other side only laughed and then turning into nervous chuckles.

"Hehe... About that... I don't know if you will consider it as something or nothing"

"What the hell are you talking about? Nevermind, give me the details now"

Xander impatiently commanded. The voice fell silent.

"So uhmm... Apparently, the man you asked me to look upon... Well..."

"Well... I still need to sleep for tomorrow's agenda at the office"

Sarcasm was all heard in his tone.

"His identity... Well, everything about him is non-existent in the files"

Xander didn't utter a word in shock.

"What do you mean non-existent? That is ridiculous"

Xander brushed his hand through his hair then placed it on top of the desk.

"You arrogantly claimed in front of my face that you are the best hacker just below my sister, now you give me this"

The voice snorted,

"Heh... Then why not ask your sister to do this? Sheesh, I'm only doing this job for you because you're my friend"

"Yeah~ Huh? I thought you did that because you are paid for it"

Xander mocked. No records about him? Why would they do that? The voice suddenly mumbled,

"Weird though... The agency has all kinds of information about its secret agents... But this guy. Hey, are you sure that your sister isn't just hallucinating about having a partner... I mean, maybe being single had already taken a toll in her fantasies"

Xander sighed,

"Listen, why don't you use your time to SEARCH FOR THE PERSON THAT I ORDERED YOU TO INSTEAD OF PLAYING AROUND!..."

The voice fell silent.

"Geez... Alright, alright... I dig deeper for his information... No need to yell at me"

Xander rubbed his brows,

"Talking to you makes my headache... I'm going to end this here... Call me if you find anything"

Xander turned his phone off and looked up at the night sky.

Morning came, Xia roamed around the mansion. She bumped with butler John.

"Where is Xander?"

The butler smiled and answered,

"He left early along with your father to the company... Do you wish to follow them?"

Xia shook her head,

"No... I have different things in mind"

John nodded his head and excused himself. Xia is now left alone at the cloister of this elegantly designed architecture from medieval times. Rows of pillars with high ceilings, marble floors chiseled with beautiful patterns, paintings displayed at both sides of the hallways that came from famous artists around the world.

Grand staircases with marble railings at either side. Xia sighed,

"I guess I will be spending the whole day alone in this castle-like mansion"

A maid came rushing towards her halting her steps.

"Mi-lady, this letter came in for you"

Xia raised her brow. There are still people who write letters in this era?

"Who is this from?"

Taking the letter Xia looked at the back hoping to know who sent this letter.

"I don't know... Apparently, it only has your name on it"

Xia looked at it curiously, might as well read this letter to find out.

"Okay, you may go"

Xia dismissed the maid and head to her room. She sat on her bed while inspecting the letter decorated with flowers. It only has her name in it. Opening the envelope, she found a pink-colored paper with the same floral design as the envelope.

Upon reading the letter, her expression became grim.

[My dear Alexia,

I heard from my employees that you received your reward from the previous assignment in which you exchanged instead of money. Have you opened it yet? I'm wondering if you liked it. I didn't see it with you when we met each other again at that time.]

Furrowing her brows, she flipped the paper over and over hoping to find more content. Recalling about that mysterious man who shows up at her current missions sends chills down her spine.

How did he know about her request? Who the hell is he? How did he even know her address? Is he a stalker?! How did he even know her name?

And employees?

A bunch of questions filled her head. Xia pulled the briefcase from under her bed and breathed deeply.

-----♠-----

(Xia's pov)

Okay, I'm going to open this alone. The letter still bugs me but I'm more curious about what is inside this. I didn't give any specific details of what I want. I suppose I couldn't think of the right words to say it. This is the moment of truth.

I unlocked the case then slowly opening it revealing the item slowly. I gasped in shock. I reached out to touch with my shaking hands rendered speechless of what I saw.

"No way"

I whispered underneath my breath as I look at it intently. It is a customized dagger decorated with mystical designs and butterflies. The colors absolutely matched my taste, it is color style is galactic. From black turning purple then turning in to blue. It also has dots of white to resemble stars.

"This is... wow"

I held it while gazing at the dagger. Its blade is made of pure silver, reflecting the light that hits it.

"It's perfect"

Even when I was a little girl, I've always loved weapons. At some times, I even yearned to have a customized one. But I can only watch them from afar. My father is against me being an assassin but failed to change grandfather's plans for me. After all, he is once an assassin as well but father didn't follow his footsteps which made him upset.

When grandfather found my passion for weapons, he introduced me to martial arts which are then followed by the proper usage of weapons. Then that incident came, it was my 10th birthday and my grandfather brought me to go shopping.

I was walking down a bunch of shelves when someone grabbed me from behind and drugged me with a cloth that covered my nose and mouth. I fell unconscious, when I woke up, I am in the middle of a room. No one is around, I am lying on the floor. The room gave me the impression of an old abandoned building.

I looked out of the window only to see my room to be on the highest floor of the building. Thankfully my hands weren't tied up. I looked around trying to find my escape only to find out that there is only one. A metal door, clearly this is going to be troublesome.

The door opened and along came a middle-aged man. His clothes already gave the impression of someone broke... This is seriously ridiculous.

"I see that you're awake... What the little princess did not enjoy her sleep? Don't worry... as long as your family gives me a hefty sum I'll consider letting you go"

He then laughed mockingly. I need to escape this place, I need to focus on that.

Nighttime came, The man fell into his sleep on his chair. I looked at the door and slowly made my way to it without making a sound. Thankfully, it wasn't locked. Underestimating me surely made things easier to find my escape.

I opened the door slowly, creaking as it moves. I managed to get out of the room, just need to find the stairs, and leave the building. I glanced back at the man, he seems to be deep asleep. This is my chance!

I ran through the hallways finding the stairs. The place is like a maze. I need to move faster, the man can catch up to me anytime. Shadows are all over the place, I'm scared but I need to escape. At last, I found the staircase, there isn't any railing but who cares? I need to leave this place immediately.

I don't know how long I have been running but I'm already out of breath. I tripped and fell to the ground and scraped my knee. I got up thinking of my goal. I endured the pain and continued to run. I found a light at the end of a long hallway.

OUTSIDE! FREEDOM! Finally, as I ran while celebrating inside my head. Big strong arms suddenly wrapped around me. No...This can't be... How? There it is, my freedom. It suddenly became out of my reach.

"To think that you will have the courage to escape!. I should have tied you... Oh well, no need to dwell on it... There's no way for you to escape this time"

With a gun pointed at the side of my head, I feel like crying. Come on Xia think! My heart beats so fast. I have to wiggle out from his grasp. That's it!

"Ahhh!!!! You naughty brat!"

His arms released me from the tight grip. Dripping his gun, he fell to the ground. I bit him as hard as I can. With my heart racing, I grabbed the gun and pointed it at him.

"Come back here, kid! You won't be able to shoot me even if you wanted to!"

The man approached me in big strides. My breathing became heavy, I closed my eyes.

'Bang'

I fell back, my bottom hitting the cold floor. A chilling breeze swept past my tiny frame, opening my eyes slowly. Nervousness creeping through every single cell of my body. Is he dead? Did I kill him?

I saw it, right before me a lifeless body lying on top of a large pool of blood. I admit that the sight is scary but relief is the only thing that I felt at that moment. I'm still rooted in my spot, sitting there while staring at the corpse not far from where I am. I'm still panting from shock. I'm exhausted, my body feels so weak. I feel lifeless.

I suddenly hear footsteps echoing around the place. I look up and scanned my surroundings, my heart thumping faster as each step gets louder and louder. Slow claps then resounded in the whole area.

"Well done Xia. Now that's my granddaughter. You did well"

A proud voice said. I spotted a silhouette in the shadows. His voice somewhat didn't make me flinch in fear, it somehow brought me relief. Tears then escaped my eyes uncontrollably. Warm hands patted my head and carried me, gently rocking me.

"Shush~ It's ok dear, you're safe. Everything is alright. Come on, let us go back first"