CHAPTER 1: A DEBT IN BLOOD
The night smelled like rain and gunpowder.
Lucy sat in the backseat of her armored car, legs crossed, fingers drumming against the leather seat. The city lights of Milan blurred past the tinted windows, but her mind wasn't on the view.
It was on the deal.
A meeting arranged in whispers.
A debt owed in blood.
And she was going to collect.
Anna sat beside her, silent but alert. She was sharpening a knife – a slow, methodical movement.
"You're thinking too much", Anna muttered, not looking up. Lucy smirked. "And you think too little".
Anna shrugged, flipping the knife between her fingers with casual grace. "Thinking slows me down".
Lucy didn't argue. She respected Anna's instincts – cold ruthless, and unwaveringly loyal.
But tonight wasn't just about instincts.
It was about power.
And Lucy wasn't here to negotiate.
She was here to remind them who the Kambodia's were.
The car slowed.
Anna sheathed her knife.
Lucy exhaled once, adjusting the cuff of her blazer, then stepped out of the car.
The warehouse loomed ahead, surrounded by guards.
A man was waiting for her at the entrance.
His face was nervous.
Good.
He should be.
Lucy's heels clicked against the pavement as she approached.
"Where's your boss?" she asked coolly.
The man swallowed hard. "Inside. He didn't expect you to come personally.'
Lucy smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.
"That was his first mistake."
She walked past him, stepping into the lion's den without a second thought.
Because they weren't the lions.
She was.