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Nathan has spent the last five years trying to leave his past behind. Once an elite operative of The Oath, a secret organization controlling world events from the shadows, he walked away, seeking peace. But one night, he wakes up in a bloodstained room with no memory of the last 48 hours—only to find himself branded as a terrorist and the target of a nationwide manhunt.

On the run and unsure if he truly committed the crime, Nathan turns to Riley, a skilled underground hacker, for help. As they dig deeper, they uncover a terrifying truth—his memories have been altered. Clues left behind by Elias Graves reveal that Nathan once broke his unbreakable oath to the organization, but someone wiped his mind to keep him from remembering why. The conspiracy leads to Julian, Nathan’s former best friend, who is orchestrating a global web of deception built on manufactured threats and lies.

Determined to uncover the truth, Nathan infiltrates The Oath’s headquarters for a final confrontation with Julian. But the shocking revelation leaves him shattered—Nathan wasn’t framed. He willingly took part in the crime but later chose to erase his own memory to escape the unbearable guilt. A recorded message from his past self forces him to face a critical decision:

Expose Julian and bring down The Oath, risking global chaos.

Take control of The Oath and become the very thing he once fought against.


No matter what he chooses, the cost is high. If he exposes The Oath, the world is thrown into instability, and he is forever hunted. If he takes over, he sacrifices his own ideals, embracing the power he once rejected.

In the end, as Nathan looks at his reflection, he sees Julian staring back—proof that the cycle never truly ends.

Final Line:
"Every man thinks he's the hero of his own story… until he becomes the villain in someone else’s."

SHADOWS OF THE OAT

The motel room smelled like stale coffee and bad decisions. Riley sat cross-legged on the bed, her laptop balanced on her knees, fingers flying over the keyboard. The glow of the screen illuminated her face—sharp, focused, determined.

I stood by the window, watching the empty parking lot, gun resting on the nightstand beside me. My ribs ached from earlier, but pain was the least of my concerns.

"Tell me you have something," I muttered, turning to her.

Riley didn't answer right away. Her eyes darted across the screen, her brow furrowing deeper with each passing second.

Something about her tone made my stomach tighten. "What is it?"

She exhaled sharply, rubbing her forehead before looking up at me. Her expression was unreadable—shock, anger, maybe even fear.

She swallowed hard, then turned the screen toward me.

My chest locked up. My throat went dry. My body went rigid, every nerve firing at once.

He was the one pulling the strings.

Riley's voice was cautious. "I traced the data fragments. The offshore accounts, the security breaches, the disappearances—every thread leads back to him." She hesitated. "He's been running The Oath from the inside."

I barely heard her. The blood was roaring too loud in my ears.

A ghost from a past I had buried deep. A name I swore I'd never hear again.

"You okay?" Riley's voice was careful, but she knew the answer.

Yet here he was, orchestrating the entire operation, playing me like a goddamn puppet.

I clenched my fists, forcing air into my lungs. "This doesn't make sense."

Riley kept scrolling, scanning lines of code like they held the secrets of the universe. "It does if you consider that maybe… you were set up."

"The data suggests this goes way back. Before The Oath, before your disappearance. He's been moving pieces for years, staying ahead of you, ahead of everyone. And now? He's making his move."

I gritted my teeth. "Then I'll make mine first."

Riley's lips pressed into a thin line. "That's not a plan. That's a suicide mission."

I stepped forward, my pulse pounding. "Julian isn't just some target, Riley. He's—"

"A ghost?" She cut me off, eyes narrowing. "Because that's what you told me. You said he was dead. You swore it."

Riley's voice softened. "Nathan. Tell me what happened. The real story."

I turned away, my fingers curling into fists. "You already know how this ends. I put him down once. I'll do it again."

Before she could argue, the laptop let out a sharp beep.

Riley turned back to the screen. Her face went pale.

I was moving before she finished the sentence, grabbing my gun and shoving extra mags into my pockets.

She clicked furiously, trying to override whatever breach had triggered the alarm. "Julian's good. Too good. He must've planted something in the drive—some kind of beacon." She looked up, eyes burning. "I led them right to us."

She slammed the laptop shut, grabbed her bag, and bolted to the door. I followed my instincts on fire.

We made it to the parking lot just as headlights flooded the lot.

Doors swung open. Men stepped out, all in black, all armed.

"Go," I ordered, shoving Riley toward the car.

The ghosts of my past, standing right in front of me.

One of them smirked. "You really thought you could outrun him?"

CHAPTER 18