PROLOGUE
The muffled pop of the suppressor sliced through the stale air of the underground parking garage, a sharp, contained cough that bounced off the bare concrete walls and died quickly, like a secret no one was meant to hear. I hit the ground hard, my shoulder slamming into the oil-stained floor. The impact drove the breath from my lungs in a ragged gasp, and then pain detonated across my chest, like hot liquid fire spreading outward in relentless waves. My hand flew to the wound instinctively; warm blood seeped between my fingers, thick and slick, soaking through my thin blouse in seconds. The metallic tang of it filled my nose, mixing with the garage’s perpetual stench of motor oil, rubber, and damp concrete. I clawed at the cold ground with my free hand, nails scraping grit and grime, desperately searching for the small black flash drive I’d dropped when the bullet struck. My fingertips brushed nothing but dust and pebbles. Everything was slipping away: my vision, my strength, and so was my life. Her heels clicked across the concrete with deliberate slowness, each step sharp and echoing like a countdown. “Pathetic,” Allison sneered, her voice dripping with venom and smug satisfaction. She crouched just out of my weakening reach, the harsh beam of her phone flashlight stabbing into my eyes, forcing me to squint against the blinding light. I could make out her silhouette; blonde hair gleaming like polished gold even in this hellhole, with her red lips curled in a triumphant smirk. She looked untouched, immaculate, as if she hadn’t just helped orchestrate murder. I tried to speak, to curse her, to beg, and do anything but only a wet gurgle escaped. Blood bubbled at the corners of my mouth, warm and salty on my tongue.Sabrina stepped into the circle of light beside her, flawless as always. The crimson silk dress hugged every lethal curve of her body, catching the fluorescent glow like fresh spilled wine. Her raven hair fell in perfect waves over one shoulder, not a strand out of place. The suppressed pistol in her manicured hand didn’t tremble even slightly; it looked almost elegant against her pale skin, an extension of her poised cruelty.“You should have stayed in your lane, Jane,” she said softly, almost gently, as if correcting a minor. Her voice was velvet over steel, carrying that faint trace of regret that made it worse somehow. “He was never yours to keep.”The words knifed deeper than the bullet. My chest hitched with a sob I couldn’t release. Him…Always him. The nameless stranger from that reckless night who’d turn my world upside down, and branded himself into my skin and my soul, only to vanish until he hadn’t.I forced myself to speak through my blood, each word in agony. “You…both…” Allison’s laugh rang out, sharp, delighted, and echoing off the concrete pillars like breaking glass. “Yes, darling, us both. Surprise.”
Her eyes glittered with malicious joy as she leaned closer, her phone light wavering slightly so shadows danced across her perfect features. I caught the glint of the diamond necklace she was wearing, his gift, I realised with a sick lurch. The one I’d seen only once, in a photo she’d posted months ago, captured with a heart emoji.
Sabrina’s expression remained calm and unreadable. Then her finger tightened on the trigger again, slow and deliberate. There was no rush; she savoured the moment like fine wine.
The second shot was quieter, almost intimate, a soft Phut punched into my abdomen with brutal precision. My body jerked involuntarily, back arching off the freezing floor as fresh fire bloomed low in my gut. A strangled cry tore from my throat, fading into a wet cough. Blood spilled warmer now, pooling beneath me and sticky against my skin.
The flashlight wavered, then steadied, pinning my face in merciless white. I stared up past them at the single fluorescent tube overhead. It stuttered and buzzed the light pulsing erratically like a dying star against the shadowed ceiling. Each flicker painted the garage in stark contrast, harsh light, inky black, harsh light again, until the edges of my vision began to fade.
Their heels retreated, and the clicks grew fainter and more distant. Alison’s mocking laughter lingered a second longer, then vanished around the corner. Sabrina’s steps were measured, unhurried, the soft tap of her heels fading into the low mechanical hum of the casino ventilation system far above.
Silence rushed in, broken only by the wet, shallow rasp of my breathing and the slow drip of blood hitting concrete somewhere near my hip. Then from far away, muffled through layers of steel and concrete, a phone began to ring. Sharp, insistent, and cutting through the hum like a blade. It rang again, vibrating against marble or glass somewhere high above, in a world that suddenly felt impossibly distant.
The fluorescent light flickered once more, then held steady for a final, merciless moment, illuminating the widening pool of crimson beneath me, the abandoned flash drive glinting mockingly just beyond my fingertips. Darkness crept in from the edges, calm and welcoming. The ringing continued, relentless, even as the sound swallowed everything.
