"I'm back, children."
Father entered the house with a weak, fading voice.
I rushed out from the kitchen, still holding the ladle, mid-way through preparing dinner. As always, I found Dad stained in crimson blood.
Nancy, my younger sister, ran toward him too from the living room. But before she could get a proper look, I stepped forward and blocked her view, shielding his body with mine.
"Hey! Why do you always cover him whenever I run to Dad, sis Ari? Is he naked or something?" she teased.
My father blushed slightly. So did I.
"Mind your business!" I snapped.
"I am minding my business! Well, I'm sick of it, you know?"
Quickly, I changed the subject. "I think your favorite superhero show is on today. Didn't you want to watch it?"
"Oh yeah! I almost forgot!"
And off she went, distracted as always.
I kept shielding Father until we reached the bathroom, far from Nancy's sight.
"Why do you keep saying you're back, when you return stained in blood, Mr. Oak?"
"Just do your job," he said coldly.
"Of course," I replied, obedient on the surface.
Mr. Oak isn't my real father. He's a member of Black Vane, a secret organisation that spies on and assassinates influential businessmen and corrupt politicians. Their existence is unknown to the public—only known to the elites who've been threatened by them. Once these targets bend to Black Vane's will, they're swiftly eliminated. The masked leader then assumes the dead man's position—leaving the world suspicious, but without a shred of evidence.
I was once one of them.
But after some… uncomfortable demands and a sense of growing unease, I chose to leave. That choice made me a target. No one leaves Black Vane. Not alive.
They hunted me for two years.
Mr. Oak—my savior, and my captor—hid me. He adopted me when I was just eleven. He was the one who dragged me into the organisation in the first place.
Before all of this, my biological father was a CEO. A murderer.
He killed my mother in front of me… and made the evidence disappear.
Why? To marry a young, beautiful widow named Yuneci, who had twin sons twelve years older than me. One of those sons humiliated me. He—he did more than that. I was eleven when I ran away.
I found work as a bar servant. I had no choice.
One night, while I served some disgusting bastards who wouldn't stop mocking me—
"Why don't you dance in a nightclub instead, huh?"
"You'd earn way more shaking that body, girl."
—someone emerged from behind them.
A masked man.
Mr. Oak.
He beat them bloody right there in the bar. Then he took me away. Just like that.
He legally adopted me. His wife was kind and treated me like a daughter. She, too, was part of the organisation.
At sixteen, I was trained and initiated.
And not long after, they killed her. Claimed it was a mistake.
I wanted out.
I fled. I didn't even tell Mr. Oak. I just disappeared, tried to start over.
But he found me.
Instead of killing me like the others, he made me a deal:
"If you stay with me, and work for me when I say… I'll let you live."
I agreed.
Later that night, after he showered and dinner was done, we tucked Nancy into bed. Once she fell asleep, I joined him in the living room.
He pulled out a small envelope, removed a card and a folded document.
He handed them to me.
"This is your next task, Ariadne. Time to showcase your talent."
I opened it, eyes scanning the name on the identity card.
Caroline Garnier – Secretary to CEO David Charlotte, Velvér Fashion.
My heart froze.
"David? My stepbrother?" I whispered. "You're placing me in his company?"
"Do as you're told. Or else…"
"…Fine."
I swallowed my emotions.
I had already changed my appearance to stay hidden from the organisation. I had no choice.
Now, I must turn back.