Chapter 2

2

During the first week of our marriage, we maintained a strange balance. By day, he was the crippled heir and I was the silent, useless wife. By night, we locked ourselves in separate rooms.

I handled three major black market orders from my bedroom. One involved hacking a foreign intelligence satellite for a mercenary group. Another was helping a victim recover deleted evidence against a billionaire.

The third task was to dethrone The Faceless from the rankings. I failed. It wasn't because my skills were lacking.

Every time I touched his firewall, he seemed to sense it. He would immediately add another layer of protection. I stared at the message that popped up on my screen.

“Little J, that’s the third time tonight. Maybe you should get some sleep?” I typed back a threat: “Just you wait.”

He replied with a smiley face. A guy who hadn't used an emoji in three years sent me a smiley face. I slammed my laptop shut and stared at the ceiling.

Did he know I was J? No, that wasn't his style. If he knew, he would have left my full dossier on my pillow as a warning.

He was still playing with me. He only knew the IP, not the person. Fine. Let’s see who gets exposed first.

One night, the Blackwells held a massive family dinner. Everyone was there. The wives of the older brothers wore designer gowns that cost more than my house.

They looked at me like I was the help. Sterling didn't say a word the entire time. He only reached out to take a glass of wine when someone tried to toast me.

“She doesn't drink,” he said coldly. His sister-in-law rolled her eyes. “You’re quite the protector, Sterling. Too bad you can't protect much else.”

Sterling didn't bother to answer. I took a sip of my tea. Then, my phone vibrated with an emergency alert.

It wasn't a text. It was an encrypted mission on the Deep Web. “C-Rank Mercenary Task: Target at the Chicago International Convention Center. Time: Midnight.”

The target was an international arms dealer. I ignored it and kept drinking my tea. Then I noticed Sterling look down at his watch.

It was a smart watch, but it flashed in a way no normal watch would. It was a coded transmission. He received it too.

After dinner, I returned to our cottage and changed into a black tactical suit. I pulled a locked case from under the bed. It contained a KAC assault rifle and night vision gear.

I climbed out the window once the estate went dark. Two hours later, I was on the roof of the convention center. I crawled through the vents and aimed my rifle at the arms dealer below.

I adjusted my breathing and put my finger on the trigger. Suddenly, I heard a faint sound behind me. It wasn't the wind. It was breathing.

I spun around instantly. A silenced pistol was pressed against the back of my head. The person was wearing the same black tactical gear as me.

His night vision goggles covered his face, but his eyes looked familiar in the green light. He froze too. We both saw the patches on each other’s shoulders.

He had The Faceless emblem. I had the J emblem. We stood in silence for three seconds.

Then he reached out and pushed my goggles up. The moonlight hit my face. His pupils contracted in shock.

“Sienna?” His voice wasn't electronic anymore. It was a harsh whisper. He knew me.

I reached out and pushed his goggles up too. I saw Sterling’s face. It was perfect, without a single scar.

“Sterling,” I whispered back. We both lowered our weapons.

Downstairs, the arms dealer was signing a contract. Upstairs, I was staring at my husband.

“You’re J,” he said. “And you’re The Faceless,” I countered.

Another three seconds of silence passed. Then he laughed. It wasn't a polite laugh; it was the laugh of a man who was tired of hiding.

“Should we finish the mission before we kill each other?” he asked. “Agreed,” I said.