Queen of Assassin

At a wedding that had turned into total chaos, a girl in a bridesmaid dress was being chased by a dozen men with guns.

Suddenly, a loud "Bang!" echoed and the man aiming at her from behind burst into a spray of red.

Celeste Sterling glanced up, meeting the deep, dark eyes of a man behind a mask.

"Thanks for that!" she exclaimed.

She had been deep undercover in the Black Bear gang for years, and today was the day it all went down. Without that timely shot from the masked man, she would have been dead or severely injured.

She quickly moved towards him, noticing his intense and complicated gaze.

"You-"

His eyes first fell on the startling scar on her face, but then shifted to a red birthmark behind her ear.

He was about to speak when Celeste spun around, kicked an attacker away, and with precise aim, shot the groom on the stage!

Mission half done!

Celeste flashed a grin, ready to make her exit, but suddenly she saw a gun pointed straight at them.

Instinctively, she pushed the masked man aside as the bullet whizzed past, narrowly missing vital organs but grazing her, leaving her white dress stained with bright red blood!

Just then, the sound of sirens filled the air.

"Is someone injured? Quick, call a doctor!"

"The boss is still on the loose, chase him! And him..." Celeste coolly briefed her backup team, looking up only to find that the man who had saved her had disappeared.

From a hidden corner, a man watched as the girl was taken away, his gaze growing even more intense.

He couldn't reveal who he was yet, and this girl with the red birthmark was possibly the only link to the truth about his parents' deaths.

As the dust settled, a person looking like an assistant approached, taking the mask from him.

"Mr. Ford, we should head back to our country."

"Madam wants you back home for an arranged marriage."

Nathaniel Ford snuffed out his cigarette with a grunt.

His grandmother was terminally ill, and her dying wish was for him to marry. He'd need to leave soon.

But first--

"Make sure that girl from the wedding is still alive. I need proof either way."

"Understood."

.

Meanwhile, back at the hospital, Celeste had just woken up. Her face was clean, soft, and unscarred.

"Congratulations, you've successfully completed your mission."

"Really? So, can I finally live like a normal person now?" Celeste touched her face, relieved that her long stint undercover was finally over.

However, the officer in uniform sternly denied her this possibility.

"Uh, about that... the Black Bear gang leader is still at large. He knows who you are and he'll do anything to find you," he said awkwardly, coughing a bit. "You'd better adopt a new identity and help us track him down from the shadows."

Celeste was speechless.

"New identity? Why not just go home and be the Sterling family's 'precious daughter'?"

After all these years, Celeste could hardly believe that her father, who had driven her mother out, would reach out to her.

The reason? Years ago, her mother, once Mrs. Sterling, had saved the life of Mrs. Ford.

And. Ford family? The richest family in the world.

Mrs. Ford had been so grateful that she'd arranged a marriage.

So now, Celeste was going back to fulfill that arranged marriage.

It was pretty clear that the Sterling family didn't think she was a billionaire-wife material.

....

"Just take the money and scram. You really think someone like you could be Mrs. Ford?" Celeste's stepsister, Ava said.

Celeste barely glanced at the check thrown at her, her expression unchanging. "Half a million?"

"Is that not enough? You're just a bastard, and honestly, the Ford family wouldn't care if I didn't give you a dime."

In a flash, Celeste slapped Ava hard enough to cut her off, stuffing the check right into Ava's mouth!

"What the-? You hit me? Are you out of your mind?"

Another slap followed, and Ava looked up to meet Celeste's icy gaze.

"With that filthy mouth, maybe I should start pulling those teeth out one by one?"