THE ASSASSIN CEO CONTRACT

CHAPTER 1: The rain in Singapore never really stopped. It just hung in the warm night air like perfume and reflected the bright neon lights of Marina Bay. From the glass balcony on the 50th floor of Blackwood Tower, the city looked like a glowing circuit board. It was expensive, clean, and fully controlled. That was exactly how her father liked his world. And that was exactly what she planned to destroy. Jessica Sterling pulled her black gloves tighter and felt the weight of the silenced pistol against her ribs. Under her black hoodie and tactical leggings, her heart was beating fast but cold. She was not supposed to be here. According to the Forbes article published that morning, Jessica Sterling was in her penthouse surrounded by silk sheets and imported flowers, getting ready for another boring charity gala. She was the golden princess of the Sterling Group. She was quiet, obedient, and always ready to smile for photos beside her powerful father, Victor Sterling. They had no idea that the princess knew how to disappear into the shadows. Her phone vibrated silently in her pocket. She brought it out and covered the light with her palm. An encrypted message flashed from a private app on the dark web: *CLIENT: Unknown (Tag: V)* *TARGET: Mark Blackwood, CEO of Blackwood Port Holdings* *BOUNTY: $500,000 USD* *CONDITION: Proof of death and access keycard. No cameras. No witnesses.* Half a million dollars. For five years, Jessica had worked under the code name J. She had taken down corrupt executives and abusive men, charging just enough to cover her tools and giving the rest to women's shelters. But this job was different. Five hundred thousand dollars was her way out. It was enough to erase Jessica Sterling completely, buy a new identity, and finally escape her father's control. She stared at the photo attached to the file. Mark Blackwood. Thirty two years old. Sharp jawline, dark hair, and grey eyes that looked as cold as steel. Her father once called him an arrogant bastard who did not understand business in Southeast Asia. She had seen him once across a crowded ballroom. He was tall and broad shouldered, and he had a dangerous calmness that made every powerful man in the room look small. Workaholic. Unmarried. He spent his nights locked in his private office. Jessica put her phone away, pulled her mask over her nose, and checked her watch. It was 11:48 PM. She entered through the service stairwell and avoided the main elevators. Two weeks of studying the building plan paid off. The private corridor on the 50th floor had a blind spot right outside the CEO's office. The floor was completely silent and smelled of expensive leather and cedarwood. At the end of the hallway, a soft amber light came from under the frosted glass doors of the private office. It was unlocked. Jessica's instinct told her something was wrong. A CEO's private office should not be unlocked at midnight. She ignored the warning in her gut and pushed the door open and slipped inside like a ghost. Her pistol was raised and steady. "Mr. Blackwood," she whispered in a low and rough voice that could not be recognized. A broad figure sat behind the heavy mahogany desk with his back turned to her, staring out at the rainy city. He did not flinch. He did not move. Jessica took three careful steps forward and tightened her finger on the trigger. Then she saw it. The neck had a smooth and unnatural plastic shine. It was a mannequin. Before she could process the trap, the heavy oak doors behind her slammed shut with a loud bang. Magnetic locks clicked into place. The soft ambient lights went off and harsh white floodlights turned on. "Took you long enough, J," a voice said behind her. The voice was deep and smooth and full of dark amusement. It sent a shock straight down her spine. Jessica turned around quickly and pointed her gun directly at the voice. Mark Blackwood was leaning casually against the doorframe. He was not wearing a corporate suit. He wore a simple black t-shirt that hugged his broad shoulders and jeans, and he held a steaming mug of coffee in one hand. He looked younger than his photos and far more dangerous. His silver eyes locked on hers and he was not bothered by the gun pointed at his chest. "I have been waiting six months for you to step into my office," Mark said softly and took a slow sip of his coffee. "Don't move," Jessica snapped. Her voice was deadly even though her chest was burning with sudden heat. "One more step and I put a bullet through your throat." Mark laughed. It was a low rumble that vibrated through the silent room. Instead of stepping back, he stepped forward. Then he took another step. He kept moving until the cold metal barrel of her gun pressed directly against the center of his chest, right over his beating heart. The heat coming from his body was overwhelming. "You will not shoot," Mark whispered as he leaned down so his silver eyes were level with her masked face. His scent of rain and dark coffee and raw tobacco surrounded her. "J does not kill people who are not targets. And I know for a fact you have not checked who really placed that half million dollar bounty." Jessica's grip on the gun stayed firm, but her pulse was hammering against her ribs. "Who are you?" "I am the man who bought you," Mark murmured. His voice dropped lower as his free hand reached out very slowly. Before she could move away, his fingers brushed the edge of her black hood and pulled it back to reveal her dark hair. With one smooth motion, his knuckles brushed her jawline and hooked under her mask and pulled it down. Jessica gasped as the cool office air hit her face and Mark went completely still. His silver eyes widened as he scanned her refined features and her full lips and the fierce burning dark eyes glaring back at him. "Well, well," Mark breathed and a slow and dangerous smile spread across his sharp jawline. "My investigators said J was a hardened ex-military mercenary. They did not mention she was the prized princess of my worst enemy." "Mark Blackwood," she whispered coldly. "Jessica Sterling," he replied softly and his thumb lingered against the sharp line of her cheekbone, sending an unwanted shiver through her skin. "Tell me, sweetheart, does your father know that his sweet little heiress spends her midnight hours holding guns in my office?" Her phone vibrated inside her coat pocket. Then a second ping followed. It was a cloud security alert from the hidden camera in her private flat in Bugis. Motion detected. Two armed men entering. Jessica's eyes flicked to her phone screen. The lock screen flashed with a new message from the client app: *V: Kill confirmed? Send the photo now.* Mark's gaze dropped to the screen. His playful smirk faded instantly and was replaced by a dark and lethal seriousness as he read the initial V. The atmosphere in the room shifted from tense attraction to absolute cold. "V Holdings," Mark whispered and his silver eyes snapped back to hers with sudden realization. "Victor Sterling." Jessica felt the ground drop out from under her boots. The client who paid five hundred thousand dollars to eliminate Mark Blackwood was her father. And the men currently tearing apart her secret sanctuary in Bugis were not robbers. They were her father's cleaners, sent to eliminate J the moment the job was finished. "He does not know J is you," Mark said. His voice was hard as iron as he reached out and gripped her gun hand, not to disarm her, but to steady her trembling fingers. "He hired an assassin to kill me, and he sent hitmen to kill the assassin right after." Jessica looked at Mark, the enemy CEO she was paid to execute, and realized the terrifying truth. Her father had not just given her a contract. He had built a death trap. And both she and Mark were already locked inside it.