Chapter 94: The Truth Beneath the Blood

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1. A Name That Shouldn't Exist

Jinwoo stared at the file, his hands trembling.

His mother's name.

Choi Mi-ran.

A name buried in his past, a woman who had died when he was just a boy.

But here, in Seo's hands, was proof that her death wasn't an accident.

Seo watched him with amusement. "I see you recognize the name."

Jinwoo's voice was ice-cold. "What is this?"

Seo leaned back, swirling his whiskey. "You thought you were fighting me for revenge, for freedom, for some sense of justice." His smile widened. "But you were fighting a war I started long before you were even born."

Jinwoo's heart pounded.

He flipped through the documents, his mind racing.

There were medical records, surveillance logs—evidence of his mother being kept somewhere long after she was supposed to be dead.

His fingers curled into a fist.

"What the hell did you do?"

Seo chuckled. "What I always do. I took what was valuable and discarded the rest."

Jinwoo's vision blurred with rage.

He had spent his whole life believing his mother was gone.

But now—

Now, he wasn't so sure.

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2. A Silent Room, A Deafening Truth

Jinwoo's grip on his gun tightened, but his mind was no longer on Seo.

He had spent years killing for this man.

Now, he didn't even know why.

Seo stood, walking to the floor-to-ceiling windows, gazing at the city below.

"You were always special, Jinwoo. Not just because of your skills, but because of where you came from."

Jinwoo clenched his jaw.

"Explain," he ordered.

Seo smirked. "Your mother was one of ours."

The words hit Jinwoo like a bullet.

He shook his head. "You're lying."

Seo shrugged. "Believe what you want. But Mi-ran was one of my most trusted spies. Until she tried to run."

Jinwoo's breath caught in his throat.

"She was pregnant with you. And she thought she could escape this world."

Seo chuckled.

"She failed."

Jinwoo's hand shook, his rage barely contained.

"You killed her."

Seo turned, his eyes sharp.

"No, you did."

Jinwoo's stomach twisted.

His ears rang.

Seo's voice was calm, cruel.

"The order that got her killed? The hit that silenced her forever?"

He smiled.

"It was one of your first missions, Jinwoo."

Jinwoo's world shattered.

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3. The Fall of a King

For a second, Jinwoo couldn't move.

His mind replayed the countless kills he had done for Seo.

He remembered his first real mission—the one that proved he was ready.

He had shot a target through a hotel window.

A clean kill. No hesitation.

A woman.

A woman he had never bothered to look at.

His breathing grew ragged.

"No…"

Seo's voice was almost sympathetic. "You were young. You didn't know."

Jinwoo's hands curled into fists.

His own mother.

Killed by his own hands.

And Seo had watched.

Manipulated him.

Turned him into this.

Rage boiled in his chest.

Seo smirked.

"What now, Jinwoo? Will you kill me?"

Jinwoo raised his gun.

Seo took a slow sip of his whiskey.

"Go ahead," he whispered. "But that won't change the past."

Jinwoo's finger tightened on the trigger.

But for the first time in his life—

He hesitated.

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End of Chapter 94

(Next Chapter: The Last Bullet.)