They told her she'd find peace once she found him. They lied. For fifteen years, Lena's world has revolved around one thing-revenge. She chased shadows, followed whispers, and sacrificed everything in pursuit of the man who murdered her parents. Until the night she finally finds him. The man standing before her is nothing like the monster she imagined. He's dangerous, yes-but not in the way she expected. There's something in his eyes, something that makes her doubt everything she thought she knew. And when he speaks, her carefully built reality begins to crack. Because he isn't the killer. Someone else has been pulling the strings, turning her pain into a weapon. And now, she's no longer the hunter. She's the prey. With enemies lurking in the shadows and secrets far deadlier than she ever imagined, Lena is forced into an uneasy alliance with the one man she's spent her life hating. He may be her only chance at survival. But can she trust him? Or will getting too close be the biggest mistake of all? Because the deeper she falls, the harder it is to tell the difference between friend and enemy... And in this game of deception, one wrong move could cost her more than just her life. It could cost her the truth. And some truths... are meant to stay buried.
Chapter 1 Shadows Don't Lie
Lena tightened her grip on the gun inside her coat. The air reeked of rust, rain, and secrets-exactly the kind of night fate liked to play dirty.
Fifteen years. Fifteen damn years chasing a ghost.
Now, she was here. One step away.
Her boots made no sound as she moved toward the warehouse, hidden beneath the cloak of midnight. A flickering streetlight cast a weak glow over the building's rusted exterior. It was quiet. Too quiet.
She slipped through the door.
And there he was.
Damien Cole.
Taller than she remembered from the surveillance photos. Broad-shouldered. Still. Like he'd been waiting for her.
Her pulse kicked. She drew the gun. "Don't move."
He turned slowly, hands raised slightly. No panic. No fear. Just that calm, unreadable look.
"I was wondering when you'd show up," he said.
His voice was low, rough-like gravel soaked in whiskey.
Lena's throat tightened. "You killed them."
Damien didn't flinch. "I didn't."
Liar.
She should've pulled the trigger. Should've ended it.
But then the windows exploded.
Gunshots. Screams. Shards of glass slicing through the air.
"Get down!" Damien lunged, knocking her behind a crate just before bullets peppered the wall.
"Who the hell are they?" she gasped.
His eyes locked onto hers. "They're not after me. They're after you."
Her heart slammed into her ribs.
"What?"
He leaned in, voice a whisper. "You've been chasing the wrong enemy, Lena."
She froze. "How do you know my name?"
But the look in his eyes said everything.
He knew her.
Maybe more than she knew herself.
And that's when it hit her-
She wasn't the hunter anymore.
She was the hunted.
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