Episode 10
Zane's pov
"Hello, Mark," Zane said, voice quiet but laced with deadly calm. "I want you to search every damn corner of this world until you find me Jake."
There was a brief pause on the other end of the line.
"Sir," Mark responded, hesitating. "You know Jake. He's trained. He can disappear if he wants to. Total ghost protocol. It won't be easy."
"I don't care." Zane's tone didn't waver. "Find him. Or you and your entire unit will face what Jake should've faced."
Another pause. Mark cleared his throat nervously.
"He's probably using a fake ID and living under some random name by now. We'll need facial recon, access to international data logs, passport flags—"
"Then do it," Zane snapped. "I'll pay whatever it takes. Just find him—and find out his plans."
He leaned back in his chair, staring at the blinking city lights outside his high-rise window.
"Because I need to keep Tracy safe."
Silence. But not for long.
"Sir…" Mark's voice lowered. "Is she really worth going rogue for? I mean, no disrespect, but you're Zane Lennox. You have everything—money, respect, territory. You're one of the most feared names in this country. And you're risking it all… for her?"
Zane's jaw tightened.
"I mean," Mark continued hesitantly, "if it's about looks or comfort… I can find someone with her skin tone, those lips, blonde hair. A safer option. One that doesn't come with—"
"Shut your mouth, Mark."
Mark hesitated. "But sir, I just said what everyone else is thinking. Her name's already on the Dreaded List. Once it's there, nothing—"
Zane didn't let him finish.
"You know," he said, voice now cold and calm, "I gave you a moment of salvation to shut your mouth. You didn't take it."
He stood from his chair.
"Pass the phone to Phil."
"S-Sir?"
"Now."
Mark didn't argue again. He handed over the phone with trembling hands.
"Sir?" came Phil's voice on the line.
"Shoot him."
A moment of stillness.
"Sir?" Phil's voice faltered.
"You heard me."
Zane closed his eyes, listening.
"If I hear that man's voice again, you'll be next."
Over the phone, he could hear the muffled sound of a struggle. Mark's frantic begging. And then—
A single gunshot.
A silence heavier than death followed.
"It's done, sir," Phil finally said.
"Good." Zane's voice was stone. "Take over his assignment. I want updates every hour."
"Yes, sir."
Zane ended the call and stood in the middle of his office, breathing slowly. The silence in the room pressed on him like a weight.
He poured himself a drink. Something strong. Something burning.
Mark's words repeated in his mind like a cursed echo:
> "She's already on the Dreaded List." "You're risking everything for a girl."
He downed the drink in one motion.
"No," he muttered. "I'm not risking everything. This isn't about her."
But the lie tasted bitter.
"She's just… part of the plan. That's all. This is revenge. Strategy. Balance."
Zane walked to the giant black-and-white photo on his wall. His brother's face looked back at him from the frame.
Jake.
The one who betrayed him.
The one responsible for the chain of events that ruined everything.
"I'm not doing this because I care about her," Zane said aloud, like speaking it made it more true. "She's just leverage."
But then he saw her face in his mind. Tracy. The way her eyes widened when she was scared. The tremble in her voice. The kiss.
His fingers clenched around the glass until it cracked.
"I just need to keep her hidden. Just until it's time. That's it."
But deep down, Zane already knew. He wasn't protecting her because she was part of his revenge. He was protecting her… because she was the only part of his world that didn't feel broken.
And he would kill anyone who dared to touch her