Chapter 7

“Yeah, those were some crazy fucking days.”

“Those two were monsters together.”

“Remember that kidnapping job in the southern district? Seven hostages, thirty armed bastards, and somehow, those two idiots walked in and came out with everyone alive.”

The old man laughed.

“Annika and the Don were fucking unstoppable. One looked left, and the other already knew what the hell to do. Nobody else could keep up with them.”

I quietly held my glass, and my fingers tightened around it as I remembered. How could I forget?

Matthew and I had worked together long before we became husband and wife. We'd spent years inside the Brewster Empire, investigating rival syndicates, tracking traitors, hunting kidnappers, uncovering informants, and walking into fucking hell together.

During that kidnapping case, Matthew and I had been surrounded by armed men. Seven hostages were being held inside an abandoned warehouse, and we were completely outnumbered. One wrong move would've gotten us killed, but Matthew looked at me just once, and that was all it took. I knew what he wanted, and he knew exactly what I was going to do.

We rescued all seven hostages, and that operation made our names legendary inside the Brewster Empire.

Back then, whenever Matthew looked at me, I could see the trust, respect, and admiration in his eyes. He believed in me without question, and I believed in him with my whole damn life.

One of the men suddenly laughed.

“Shit, Don, you two really were something.”

I lowered my head because I didn't want them to see my face. I remembered the way Matthew used to look at me, and now I knew that look belonged to Jennifer.

Jennifer smiled modestly.

“Those were good times. Annika really was incredible back then.”

Her tone sounded sincere, almost too sincere.

“But things have changed. Criminals are smarter now, and the syndicates are using more advanced methods. We can't keep relying on the old ways.”

She turned toward Matthew.

“That international fraud case would've been a nightmare without the new profiling system. Matthew made the right call when he brought it into the Brewster Empire.”

Matthew nodded.

“Technology changes the game.” Jennifer smiled.

“And the Don always knows when to change with it.”

A few of the men chuckled.

“Look at you, Jennifer, kissing the Don's ass again.”

“Fuck off,” Jennifer said with a laugh. “I'm just telling the truth.”

Matthew's lips curved slightly.

“Let her talk.”

The men laughed again, and I sat quietly.

Jennifer suddenly changed the subject.

“Actually, there's someone I'm really curious about.”

“Who?”

“Viper.”

The table went quiet.

Jennifer's eyes lit up. “Have you guys heard of him?”

One of the men whistled. “Who the fuck hasn't? That bastard's a genius.”

“Viper solved that murder case in two days.”

“Two fucking days.”

Jennifer laughed.

“I heard he's one of the best criminal investigator in the world. Apparently, he can study a case and figure out what kind of person the killer is before anyone else even knows where to start. If I ever get to meet him, I'd probably lose my mind.”

Someone laughed.

“Jennifer, you're already working for the Don. Why the hell do you need another genius?”

“Because he's Viper!” she exclaimed, rolling her eyes. “Don't be stupid.”

Everyone laughed.

I said nothing.

Viper.

That was me.

My codename.

The name I'd used when I worked on the most difficult cases inside the Brewster Empire.

Jennifer had no fucking clue. None of them did.

They were sitting around a table praising me while treating me like I was nothing more than Matthew's blind, useless wife.

I picked up my water glass and took a slow drink, using it to hide my eyes because they were burning. I couldn't think about the past anymore. Every time I did, it felt like I was slowly tearing myself apart, so I stopped. I put the glass down, picked up my cane, and quietly left the dinner without saying goodbye or giving anyone an explanation. I didn't need either. I just wanted to go home, or at least, what used to be my home.

...

I returned to the house Matthew and I had shared for three years, and the moment I walked through the door, memories came rushing back.

This place was full of them, too many. I remembered Matthew coming home late after dealing with some problem inside the Brewster Empire and finding me waiting for him in the living room. Sometimes I'd fall asleep on the couch with case files scattered around me, and sometimes he'd come home covered in blood while I pretended not to panic as I cleaned his wounds.

On nights when neither of us could sleep, we'd sit together in the kitchen at two in the morning, eating whatever I could quickly make. Those days felt so far away now, and I didn't want to remember them, so I started packing slowly, one thing at a time.

I packed my clothes, my books, my files, and the few things that still belonged to me. I was almost done when the front door opened, and I froze.

Matthew.

He stood there for a moment, looking at my luggage, and his expression changed slightly.

“You don't have to leave. You can stay here, Annika.”

I kept folding my clothes and didn't turn around.

Matthew's voice became quieter. “About the divorce... the situation was complicated. Jennifer was badly injured, and I had to make a decision.”

“Complicated?”

“Yes. It was an emergency, and I had to make a decision.”

I finally stopped and looked at him.

“So the divorce was only temporary?”

I stared at the suitcase in front of me as the word settled in my mind. Temporary. Three years of marriage, five years of knowing him, every sacrifice I'd made, and every time I'd stood beside him while the Brewster Empire was covered in blood could all be reduced to one word.

Temporary.

How convenient.

I slowly turned my head toward him. “You really think you can call it temporary and everything will be fine?”

Matthew's expression tightened. “That's not what I meant.”

“Then what did you mean?”

He didn't answer, and I gave a small smile.

“Forget it. I won't stay here.”

“Annika...”

“No. I'm leaving.”

The door suddenly opened again, and Jennifer walked inside.

“Matthew, why didn't you tell me you were coming back?”

She stopped when she saw my luggage, and her eyes immediately fell on me.

“Annika? Are you leaving?”

I didn't answer, so Jennifer walked closer.

“Do you need help with your things?”

Before I could say anything, she accidentally bumped into the table, and a photo frame fell to the floor.

Crack!

The glass shattered.

I froze because I knew that photo. It had been taken after Matthew proposed to me, when I was smiling in his arms and he was holding me so tightly, as if he never wanted to let me go. I remembered that day and how happy I had been.

Jennifer immediately crouched down. “Oh, shit. I'm sorry!”

She reached for the broken frame, but a piece of glass suddenly cut her finger, and blood appeared instantly.

“Jennifer!”