Chapter 3: The First Encounter
1186 Words
She screamed, cried and clawed at the mattress. But she refused to give up.
She had already died once, so she wasn’t afraid of pain anymore.
And then …… a sound cut through the chaos like sunlight through storm clouds.
A baby’s cry, so loud, sharp and very much alive.
Anna collapsed back, sobbing, as Mr. Lee gently placed the tiny, wrinkled newborn into her arms.
“She’s perfect,” Anna breathed. Tears slid down her cheeks, mixing with sweat.
Mr. Lee smiled faintly. “Have you thought of a name?”
Anna stared at the small face, the button nose, the impossibly small fingers curling around hers.
“Meilin,” she said softly. “Beautiful jade.” Precious and strong.”
A name for a girl born in the dark… who would grow to shine in the light.
******
Over the next four years, Anna transformed. She trained so hard to overcome that naive girl in her.
Gone was the naïve girl who once begged for love. In her place stood a woman carved from discipline and purpose.
Mr. Lee trained her in everything; traditional medicine, modern business, social etiquette, martial arts, and surprisingly… hacking.
“Knowledge is the sharpest weapon,” he told her.
Anna quickly learned he wasn’t alone in this mountain sanctuary.
There was another disciple; his adopted son, Riven.
Riven was cold and deadly, with eyes that missed nothing and fingers faster than lightning on a keyboard. At first, Anna didn’t trust him. But slowly, she realized he wasn’t her enemy.
He was her rival. Her sparring partner. Her reluctant ally.
He taught her to build firewalls that couldn’t be broken, to navigate the underworld of data and secrets, to track anyone, anywhere.
He showed her power. Not the kind that wore crowns or sat on thrones; but the kind that worked in the shadows and struck without warning.
Together, Riven and Mr. Lee forged Anna into something new.
Something unstoppable.
******
By the end of four years, a name had emerged on the dark web: Night Rose.
A ghost, a whisper, a legend.
Governments, mercenaries, corporations, all chased her. No one ever found her.
No one knew that behind the mask was a woman with a gentle smile, a fierce heart, and a tiny daughter who thought the moon hung just for her.
Anna had built an empire from the ashes of betrayal.
But she hadn’t forgotten.
Not Austin.
Not Geena.
Not the humiliation.
She remembered everything.
And now… it was almost time.
This time, she wouldn’t return as the woman who begged for crumbs of affection.
She would return as a storm.
A woman reborn; not to ask, but to take.
The bustling heart of the capital city hadn’t changed in the four years Anna had been gone. It was still the same glittering paradise for the rich and a merciless battlefield for the ambitious.
Anna stood atop a tall building, her black leather jacket flapping in the cool evening breeze. In the distance, skyscrapers sparkled like towers of gold under the setting sun.
She adjusted the small earpiece in her ear. “Target moving. "Proceeding to Phase Two,” she murmured.
In her new life, Anna was no longer the naive heiress everyone bullied.
Now, she was Night Rose; a top-tier hacker, strategist, and silent weapon hired by secret organizations.
Tonight’s mission was simple: intercept a message exchange involving the powerful Kets family.
“This mission is simple” thought Anna, until things spiraled out of control.
Steven Kets exited the luxurious Grand Crest Hotel, flanked by his loyal bodyguards. His expression was cold, sharp, unapproachable. In the world of power and hidden clans, the Kets family stood among the top three, and Steven was their undisputed young leader.
He had no weaknesses, no scandals, no blind spots.
At least, that’s what the world believed.
But even gods had enemies.
From her vantage point, Anna noticed the first sign of trouble, a glint of metal from a nearby rooftop.
Sniper.
Her instincts kicked in.
Without thinking, Anna abandoned her own mission.
She sprinted across the roofs, silent as a shadow.
The sniper pulled the trigger
BANG!
Time slowed.
Anna leaped off the ledge without hesitation, crashing into Steven and knocking him to the ground just as the bullet whizzed past where his head had been.
Chaos exploded.
Bodyguards drew their weapons, surrounding Steven and standing at high alert.
Civilians screamed and scattered.
Steven reacted instantly, rolling them over, so his body shielded hers. His sharp gaze scanned the surroundings like a predator, but something… something made him pause.
The woman in his arms.
Her scent… faint but familiar.
Like warm night rain and wild orchids.
A forgotten memory slammed into him
A dimly lit room.
Soft moans.
Delicate fingers clutching his shoulders.
The same exact scent swirled around him, driving him mad.
His heart, which had been cold and untouchable for years, skipped a beat.
“Who are you?” Steven demanded, his voice low and dangerous.
Anna, catching her breath, shoved him off lightly. Her cap shielded most of her face. “Someone who just saved your life. You’re welcome.”
Before he could say another word, she disappeared into the panicked crowd like a ghost.
Steven stood frozen for a moment, stunned.
Something inside him screamed not to let her go, but by the time his men recovered and searched the area, there was no sign of the mysterious woman.
Only a lingering trace of that unforgettable scent.
Later that night, inside the heavily secured Kets family estate, Steven sat alone in his study.
He swirled the wine glass in his hand, but his mind wasn’t on the vintage Merlot.
It was on her.
The woman who had saved him.
The scent that haunted his memories.
The strange pull he felt; one he couldn’t explain.
For four years, he had tried so hard to find her, but she was nowhere to be seen. It was as if she had just disappeared from the face of the earth. He had no other choice but to forget that blurry night.
That night, he lost control after being drugged at a secret banquet.
That night he touched a woman whose face he never clearly saw.
His investigation back then had found nothing. The hotel cameras had been mysteriously wiped. Even his own memory was fuzzy. He had assumed it was a setup by his enemies.
Yet now…
Steven clenched his fist.
“She’s connected,” he muttered. “She has to be.”
He picked up the phone and barked orders at his secretary, David.
“Find her. No matter what it takes.”
“Fine who, sorry sir, I don't understand “David asked in confusion.
“Fine the lady who saved my life today” replied Steven. “I will give you 24 hours to get me all her information”, Steven added.
Little did Steven know… the woman he was hunting…
Was already much closer to him than he could ever imagine.
And fate had just begun to weave their tangled story.
- Writer
