The Masked Assassin Who Was Never a Stranger

It had been days since the letter arrived.

Arielle hadn't slept. Neither had Lucien.

The air between them was thick, like the calm before a storm.

Lucien's company had become a battleground hacked, sabotaged, and turned into a public circus. Victor, though alive, was too weak to help. The only thing they could rely on was the single message in the code: Kai is coming.

Lucien couldn't protect her from everything. He knew that.

But that didn't mean he would give up trying.

Late Afternoon – Lucien's Penthouse

"Do you remember the first time you killed someone?" Lucien asked, his voice low as they prepared for the inevitable attack.

Arielle didn't look up as she gathered weapons.

"I remember the first time I almost died," she said quietly.

He paused.

"Who tried to kill you?"

Arielle's fingers tightened around the dagger she was cleaning. "My father."

Lucien's eyes softened, but he didn't say anything. He didn't need to.

She wasn't the only one with scars. They were just different kinds.

Midnight – The Old Warehouse

The trap was set.

Arielle and Lucien, side by side, stood behind a row of crates. The night was quiet, too quiet. The only sound was the occasional distant hum of the city's heartbeat.

Arielle's hand was steady, but her mind was far away. Kai will come. He always comes.

"You ready?" Lucien whispered.

She nodded. "This is it. When he shows up, we end it."

Lucien took a deep breath, the cold night air swirling around them. "Whatever happens, I'm with you."

But as the hours stretched on, Arielle could feel something—something—was wrong. The shadows seemed too thick. Too quiet.

Then, a noise. A soft thud.

They both turned.

A masked figure emerged from the darkness, moving with deadly precision.

Arielle's breath caught.

The figure was fast, too fast. He moved like he'd been in this very place a thousand times before.

And then, the moment froze.

She saw it. The way the figure held his stance, the way his body moved, the slight twitch of the hand.

The scar.

Arielle's eyes widened.

"Nate?"

The assassin's head tilted slightly, the mask gleaming under the dim light. Then, a voice she never thought she'd hear again, hushed and sharp, cut through the night.

"Serena."

---

Flashback – Years Ago

Nate was the boy who'd watched over her in the dark. The one who always smiled, even when everything fell apart. He was her protector.

They had been close, like siblings. But that was before.

Before the fire. Before everything shattered.

Before she disappeared.

---

Present – The Warehouse

"Nate, what the hell are you doing here?" Arielle demanded, her voice trembling slightly.

The assassin's hands didn't move. But there was something about the way he stood—cold, calculating, empty—that made her heart drop.

"I'm doing what I was trained to do," Nate said, his voice a deadly whisper. "What I was taught. What you left behind."

"No," Arielle's breath hitched. "You're not the enemy. You can't be."

Nate's cold eyes locked onto hers. "You think you know me?"

Lucien stepped forward, his presence looming. "Who are you, exactly?"

Nate's mask shifted, but he didn't answer. The tension in the air grew thick as Arielle stared at him.

Her heart pounded in her chest.

"Nate, please."

For a moment, his hand twitched. It looked like he was about to lower the weapon, but then—he didn't.

A split-second. A choice made.

He aimed the gun at Lucien.

---

Back to Reality

The crack of a gunshot split the silence.

But the bullet never hit.

Lucien was already moving, diving to the side with lightning speed, grabbing a nearby crate to shield himself.

"Lucien!" Arielle screamed, rushing toward him, but it was too late.

Nate's eyes met hers one last time, and the mask came off.

It was him. Her brother.

---

Flashback – Ten Years Ago

Her brother's face was always full of light. His laughter was the only thing that made the horrors of their childhood seem bearable.

But that was before.

Before the fire.

Before her father's betrayal.

Before Nate was sent away.

---

Present – The Warehouse

The mask hit the floor.

Arielle stumbled back, horrified, as her brother's face—older now, but still so familiar—was revealed.

"Nate, why?" she whispered, choking on the words.

He didn't respond. His eyes, once warm, were cold and empty now. He'd become a ghost of the boy she knew.

"Why are you doing this?" Her voice cracked.

He turned his face away from her.

"Because you left me behind," he murmured. "You left us all behind."

---

Meanwhile – On the Rooftop

Kai watched from the shadows, his smirk widening.

It was happening.

The girl he had loved—the woman who had vanished into smoke—was unraveling. Her world was crumbling.

And he was the one pulling the strings.

---

Back in the Warehouse

Lucien grabbed Arielle's wrist, pulling her back from her brother.

"You can't save him," he said, voice hard. "He's already dead inside."

Arielle felt her heart breaking in real time. "He's not—he's not dead, Lucien. He's just… lost."

Nate didn't look back at her. He couldn't.

And she understood. Because in that moment, she realized: Nate was the weapon that had been crafted out of their shared pain. The boy who once protected her now wore the scars of betrayal. And it wasn't just Kai who had made him this way—it was her, too.

She had let him fall.

Lucien's voice was calm, but his eyes burned with intensity.

"We need to end this, Arielle. Now."

And just as she was about to speak, the sound of the door crashing open echoed through the warehouse.

It was Kai.

And this time, he wasn't playing.