Chapter 13: Smoke And Vengeance
The night he escaped still haunted him.
Rain drenched Aiden's body as he stood alone near the edge of a crumbling highway bridge, watching the distant lights of Luminis City flicker in the horizon like ghosts of the life he'd never had.
He ran a hand through his soaked hair, blood from his bandaged side staining his fingertips. The wound Dante left behind hadn't healed—not truly. Not physically, and not in his mind.
Aiden closed his eyes.
He could still hear the gunshot.
---
Flashback: The Night of the Estate
When he told Elena to run, she hesitated—but only for a second. Her trust was fragile, but real. And in that second, she disappeared into the shadows.
Dante stepped into the hallway, his footsteps calm, casual.
"You always were sentimental," Dante muttered, raising the gun.
Aiden didn't wait.
He grabbed a silver tray from the hallway shelf and threw it like a shield. The bullet ricocheted off with a deafening clang, and Aiden dove into a side corridor just as the second shot hit the wall behind him.
He didn't stop.
Wounded and breathless, Aiden raced through the lower levels, turning tight corners, ducking under beams, using every memory from his surveillance days. He reached the wine cellar and located the emergency hatch Milo had hidden under crates months ago.
With one last burst of adrenaline, he shoved it open and vanished into the underground tunnel system.
---
Present: A Safe Distance
Aiden leaned against a tree just outside a freight station where Milo waited.
The girl was asleep in the back seat of the old car—her brown hair damp, face bruised from the chaos, but peaceful.
Elena.
"She doesn't know yet?" Milo asked.
Aiden shook his head.
"She thinks I'm following behind. But I can't. If she stays with me, she's marked."
"Luminis City's the best place. It's far from Syndicate control. Clean ID, new name. She'll be invisible."
Aiden looked through the windshield one last time.
"Take care of her."
"And what about you?"
"I have questions. And they have answers."
Milo hesitated. "Don't do anything reckless."
"They made me into a killer... and now they're trying to kill her. There's more to this, and I'll burn their empire to the ground if I have to."
He turned, and walked into the fog.
---
Two Days Later – Underground Cyber Café, Outer West District
Aiden sat in a dark booth, hood up, eyes scanning files projected from Milo's cracked laptop. The room smelled of dust and fried wiring, but it was isolated—no questions asked.
Photos of Elena's father flickered on-screen: Arthur Valemore, a nobleman, humanitarian, and former government strategist.
But there was something deeper buried—
PROJECT LUCENTIA.
Aiden clicked on the file. It required a biometric key.
He frowned.
"Why are they after you, Elena... what did your family do to make you a target?"
His fingers trembled.
The memories were creeping in again. Childhood. Blood. Training. Cold hands forcing knives into his palms. Lucien's voice whispering about destiny.
He shut the laptop.
His heart wasn't racing—it was focused.
This was more than a hit. It was a purge. Elena's family had secrets, and the Syndicate wanted them erased.
But why now?
---
Meanwhile, in Luminis City
Elena stood in a small apartment, alone. The city was bright and clean, nothing like the quiet estate where she once played the violin for her mother.
She touched the locket on her neck. Inside was a photo of her parents… and a folded note from Aiden.
"Live. Please, live. Far from them. You made me feel human. That's more than anyone ever gave me. - Aiden"
Her lips trembled.
"You should be here," she whispered. "Why aren't you here?"
Her hand curled into a fist. She turned to the window.
The world outside didn't stop for heartbreak.
But her heart wasn't ready to let go.
---
Back in the Underground
Aiden walked the rusted stairs of an old Syndicate base on the riverfront, now abandoned. Dust clung to the metal. It was where he had trained with others like him.
The memories were like scars. Always there, under the surface.
He stopped at an old locker.
Inside, taped to the back, was a photo—Elena's father, standing next to Lucien. Younger. Smiling.
And behind them—a Syndicate crest.
"He was part of it..."
The revelation hit like a bullet.
"They don't just want her dead. They want the last piece of their past buried."
Aiden clenched his fists.
"You lied to me, Lucien. Trained me for your vendetta. Used me to erase your mistakes."
He took the photo. Burned it in his palm.
"I'll make sure the world knows what you've done. And I'll protect her, even if it kills me."
His voice was steel.
The hunter had just become something far more dangerous.
A ghost with a heart.
And vengeance with a face.
---
To be continued...