To kill or To love

Chapter 2 Always Ready

The higher the plane climbed, the darker the night looked. I stared out of the window, watching clouds slide under us like ghosts. But my head wasn’t on Berlin. Not yet.

It was on them.

My family.

If you could even call it that.

My father had fists for words. He thought strength meant breaking things, breaking people. Mostly my mother. Sometimes me. He used to laugh after fights, light a cigarette, and call it love. That was the first time I learned love was just another lie.

My mother believed in love until it killed her. I used to wonder if she’d still be alive if she hadn’t.

And my uncle… he was always there, circling. Pretending to care. Pretending to play the peacemaker while his eyes watched like a hawk, waiting for the moment to swoop down. His smile never reached his eyes. I learned that fast.

Then there’s my brother. Jealous. Loud. Always chasing what I had, even when I didn’t want it. Money. Power. Respect. He wanted all of it, but never had the brains or the coldness to keep it. He thought shouting could make him strong. He never understood silence was sharper.

People say blood makes you family. They’re wrong. Blood just ties you to people you might need to cut loose.

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That’s why I never believed in relationships. Never believed in love.

People fall in love and call it strength. It isn’t. It’s weakness wearing perfume. I’ve seen what it does: it makes people stupid. Blind. Soft. I don’t do soft.

That’s why I keep everyone at arm’s length. Colleagues. Strangers. Allies. Even myself.

Love is a leash. And I don’t let anyone hold mine.

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The jet hummed softly as I opened my laptop. My mission waited.

[Priority Mission. Berlin. 48 hours.]

I typed fast, breaking through firewalls like they were glass. German intel systems, city blueprints, underground networks—they all spilled out in code and maps. I wasn’t even there yet, but already I owned the city.

Every mission had its purpose. Sometimes it was stealing information. Sometimes it was eliminating a name. This time, I didn’t know yet. But I didn’t need to. Whoever or whatever it was, they’d fall. They always did.

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But even as my fingers flew across the keys, my mind circled back to my uncle’s words.

Even the strongest fall when they’re alone.

And then my brother’s.

You’ll regret saying that.

Two different mouths, same poison. Too close to be coincidence.

They thought they were clever. They thought I was blind.

I almost laughed.

The truth was simple: if they wanted me dead, they’d better pray to gods they didn’t believe in. Because I didn’t just fight back. I erased.

Family or not, knives are still knives. And I’d never let anyone stab me twice.

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The pilot’s voice cut through my thoughts. “Landing in Berlin in twenty minutes.”

I shut the laptop, sliding it back into my bag. My reflection stared at me in the window—sharp eyes, cold face, the kind of girl who didn’t bend for anyone.

Somewhere in Berlin, someone was waiting for me. A contact. A mission. Maybe even a trap.

It didn’t matter.

I was ready.

Always ready.

And if my family thought they could play their games behind my back… they’d learn soon enough.