SHADOW QUEEN:THE RISE OF JENNA BROOKS:

The rain fell in thick sheets over New Avalon, drenching the alleyways and masking the sound of hurried footsteps. Jenna Brooks didn't look back. She couldn't afford to. Her pulse thundered in her ears as she dashed down the graffiti-tagged backstreets, each puddle she hit spraying dirty water up her worn jeans. Sirens howled in the distance, getting closer. They were hunting her like a rabid dog. ‎ ‎Just days ago, she was a rising star — a national track athlete, Olympic-bound, with sponsorships knocking at her door. But that all ended when police burst into her apartment, finding an illegal cache of weapons and marked bills under her bed. Someone had planted them. She knew who — and the betrayal cut deeper than any knife. ‎ ‎Mira Kale. Her best friend. Her roommate. Her sister in all but blood. The one who held her hand through family funerals and career triumphs alike. Jenna had given her everything — and now she had taken it all away. ‎ ‎"You can’t outrun this, Jenna!" the cop had shouted as she sprinted from the raid. But running was the one thing Jenna did better than anyone. And now, she wasn’t running toward medals or dreams — she was running for her life. ‎ ‎With nowhere left to go, she ducked into a dilapidated warehouse near Dockside. It smelled of rust and oil, the roof half-caved and rats scurrying along broken beams. Jenna collapsed behind a stack of crates, her breath ragged, her heart breaking. ‎ ‎She thought of her mother’s face when the news aired. The headlines blared: "Olympic Hopeful Turns Armed Criminal." All lies. All orchestrated. And no one questioned it. Not one person believed her. ‎ ‎As she wiped the rain and tears from her cheeks, a voice echoed from the shadows. "That was one hell of a sprint. You’re either desperate or stupid. Maybe both." ‎ ‎Jenna froze. From the darkness stepped a lean man with gray stubble and cold, calculating eyes. He wore a combat vest, and a blade gleamed at his hip. "Name’s Bones," he said. "I run this sector. You got no business here, girl." ‎ ‎"I just need to hide," Jenna croaked. ‎ ‎Bones tilted his head. "Everyone’s hiding from something. But you? You’re fresh. I can smell the clean blood on you. You either die tonight or figure out how to survive down here." ‎ ‎Jenna squared her jaw. "I’m not ready to die." ‎ ‎He studied her, then chuckled dryly. "Then welcome to the underworld. Hope you’re ready to bleed." ‎ ‎In that moment, Jenna Brooks ceased to be the girl who once dreamed of gold medals. That life was gone. Erased. She wasn’t an athlete anymore — she was a fugitive, cast into a world of shadows where only killers, thieves, and broken souls survived. ‎ ‎And somehow, she would have to ‎ ‎