Assassin's Last Billionaire

Curiosity

-Lucian-

The sun was merciless that morning, blazing down on the turf of Velmira FC’s private training grounds. Semifinals were closing in. Pressure was mounting. Coach barked drills. Cleats dug into grass. Sweat poured.

Just another brutal day. Until it wasn’t.

“Boys,” barked the club’s operations head, “meet your new dietary supervisor. Miss Danny.” I froze mid-stretch. Her. Those f*****g green eyes. Danny. Henry is getting information on her, I wanted to search her but…

She stood there with professional indifference, clipboard in hand, white polo tucked into navy slacks, black trainers. Hair in a low ponytail. Like she knew i want her. Like she hadn’t made my mind spiral twelve hours ago. She looked calm. Unshaken. Like she belonged.

“My job is to keep you from eating junk and dying before thirty,” she said dryly. “Any complaints, take it up with your arteries.” A few chuckled. I didn’t. I just stared. Her gaze flicked to me quick, surgical, unreadable and then moved on.

“Vale,” Coach called. “Go get your updated meal plan.” I approached slowly, watching her scribble like none of this meant anything. “You stalking me now?” I muttered, just for her. She looked up. Her eyes didn’t blink. “No,” she said coolly. “I’m feeding you.” I blinked, caught off guard. “What?”

She handed me the folder. No explanation. No smile. Just like that, she was gone again past me. But not gone. Not this time. She was here. In my world. In my daily routine. And for the first time in a long time, I felt it, not attraction.

Something more dangerous. Curiosity. The kind that gets men killed.

-River –

The stadium lights had dimmed. The players were gone. Staff dispersed in clusters. But I moved like a shadow silent, unnoticed, deliberate. I found a guest suite at the far end of the ground level. Quiet. Untouched.

Perfect. I locked the door behind me. Slipped in my Air Buds. Two taps. A soft crackle.

Then: “Report.”

Honey. My handler. My friend. My sister in survival.

“Rex reporting,” I said evenly. “Initial contact complete. I approached him directly. No suspicion.” “Lucian Vale?” “On it. I’ve entered his world. It won’t take long.”

I turned toward the window, watching the field where Lucian had stood golden beneath the lights. Face dusted with sweat and secrets.

“He won’t see what’s coming,” I whispered. “I’ll get close to him. Whatever it takes.” “You sure you’re ready?” Honey asked. “It’s been a while. You’re rusty.” A flicker of pain flared in my chest. Not from doubt. From memory. “This is the last one,” I said, voice hardening. “Justice for the ones we lost. For Cernova.” “No more assignments,” I added. “No more blood.”

There was a beat of silence on the line. Then Honey’s voice sharpened. “Then make it count. No mistakes. Clean alias.”

“I know.” I always know. I clenched the edge of the table. Because to get to Dominion Vale, I had to matter to Lucian first. Not just meet him. I needed to mean something. I needed him to trust me, invite me in. Lucian Vale was the golden boy. The one in the light.

But Dominion? His father, he was the ghost in the shadows. The puppeteer behind oil empires, hidden wars, and the list. I pressed my forehead to the glass.

I could still hear my brother’s laughter in the market. Still smell the burning. Still feel the bombs. The silence after.

“I’ll walk into the lion’s den,” I whispered. “And they’ll never know... until it’s too late.” I will finish every last of them.

****

The field was hushed. Lucian was still there alone cutting through the dark with sharp, frustrated passes. I watched him from the edge of the turf. He hadn’t noticed me.

Or maybe he had and didn’t care. Sweat dripped down his shirt like he was trying to outrun something invisible. His movements? Clean. But angry. I stepped forward. Just enough for him to hear.

“You planning to break your legs before the match even starts?” I asked. His foot stopped mid-kick. He turned slowly toward me. Eyes narrowed. Hooked.

He was never just the golden boy.

And I was never just the girl with a clipboard. Let the game begin.

****

Few minutes ago, Back in the shadows of the locker hallway, my phone buzzed in my pocket.

A new message. Unknown number.

Encrypted code. One I hadn’t seen in two years. "Target moved. Secondary location confirmed. Dominion may be onto you. Vale is after Rex." My breath hitched.

No. This wasn’t supposed to move this fast. But I'm relaxed that he knows my agency name only, Rex.