Chapter 1
Okay, so I woke up to this ancient clock ticking like a freakin' jackhammer in my skull. Dust EVERYWHERE. This wasn't my apartment. The ceiling was cracked, the paint peeling – total disaster zone. It felt like a crypt.
I sat up, and WHOA, instant vertigo. My head was pounding. The room was empty, freezing, and smelled like moldy socks. Then I saw me in the mirror. Sharp cheekbones, pale face, huge, freaked-out eyes… This wasn't Lydia Voss, broke-ass heiress. This was Sophie Chen, forensic pathologist. Dead. DEAD.
The memories hit me like a ton of bricks: Kai, the mafia hitman, sent to off me. Not because I stole anything, but because I refused to marry that spoiled brat. My dad's suicide was still echoing in my head: "Run. Don't look back." So why am I even alive?
Then this bone-jarring vibration, like someone poured ice water into my brain:
[System Initializing…]
[Criminal Profiler System Bound]
Survival Condition: Solve cases. Upgrade skills.
Tutorial Mission Activated: "Escape the Killer."
A system? Seriously? This wasn't some gift. This was a total mind-screw.
A low voice cut through the silence. "Well, well. Awake, are we?"
I spun around. Kai. Up close, he was even scarier. That smirk? Gag me with a spoon.
"You're... alive," he said, more like a statement than a question. His voice was low, almost casual, but the threat was totally there. My heart was doing the tango.
"Yeah, well, so are you," I managed, my voice a little shaky. My brain was fried, trying to process everything.
He took a step closer. "I could change that." Dude, seriously creepy.
But then I noticed it: his finger nervously fiddling with his holster, and this faint smell – antiseptic and mint. Like a fancy doctor's office, not a crime scene. This wasn't just some random hit.
"Why didn't you kill me last night?" I blurted out, more to regain control than anything else.
His smirk wavered. He hesitated. "That's... a good question." He actually sounded surprised.
"I'm asking the questions now," I said, trying to sound way tougher than I felt. "And you're gonna answer them."