“Who do you think you are, daring to threaten me?”Instead of fear—or even intimidation—a mocking grin spread across Alexander’s lips.“I ruled this city when you were still learning how to crawl. Go on. Do it, if you think you can.”Valentina pressed the muzzle of her gun harder against the patriarch’s forehead.“I won’t say this twice. Hand over the serum. Now.”Click.The sound of the gun being cocked echoed through the room.As a Spectre, Valentina had no concern for the law.Her identity had officially been erased. Killing this man would carry no consequences.Moreover, because she and Gianna had always been treated as the same person, her sister—who was elsewhere—would provide the perfect alibi if anything happened here.“Do it!” Alexander shouted.“Shit!”Valentina finally lost her patience.From the very beginning, she had intended to kill Alexander.But before her finger could pull the trigger, Alexander moved faster—grabbing her wrist and twisting it violently.“Aaaargh!”Th

“Gianna, wake up.”A faint voice reached Gianna’s ears as she slowly opened her eyes.“Valentina.”Even though her head still felt dizzy and her vision was blurry, she could clearly see who was sitting in front of her.A young, beautiful woman with hair flowing down her back—about a handspan longer than Gianna’s—was sitting on a wooden chair, her hands tied behind her back.As Gianna became fully conscious, she realized the same thing had happened to her own body.“Valentina, what happened to you?”Gianna looked at her sister with concern.Seeing her bound, Gianna understood that she was already too late.The two of them had become Alexander’s captives.“Why did you come here?”Unlike Gianna, Valentina’s face showed irritation.“Didn’t I tell you to go straight back to the boutique and, no matter what happened, never go out for several days? Why didn’t you listen to me?”“I’m sorry.”Gianna lowered her head.“But I—”She wanted to express her worries.Before she could continue, the so

“I–Impossible!”Alexander shook his head violently as his body trembled even harder.The drawer was empty.There was nothing inside.“This is impossible! Where is the serum?!”His hands frantically rummaged through the drawer, tossing everything out in a rough, desperate manner.Finding nothing, he opened several other drawers—only to meet the same result.“I put it here. Yes, it should be here.”With his body shaking, he muttered to himself, trying to convince himself that he hadn’t moved it anywhere.“It has to be here.”Alexander pointed with both hands at the empty compartment.“How dare you lie to me!”Valentina’s voice suddenly sounded from not far behind him.Before Alexander could even turn his head, a brutal blow struck the back of his neck.Bang!“Argh!”His body lurched violently before collapsing onto the floor.“That’s payback for you daring to strike my sister,” Valentina said coldly, never once moving the muzzles of her pistols away from the patriarch’s head.“I–I… I di

“Gianna, go.”Valentina hurriedly untied the ropes binding her sister’s wrists.“It’s not safe for you to stay here.”“No. I’m not leaving.”Gianna stood her ground.“What exactly are you hiding from me? Tell me.”She stared straight at Valentina, as if demanding an answer.Martin’s words—that her sister was hiding a massive secret—had unsettled her deeply.Gianna had never wanted to interfere in Valentina’s life.But if it involved her sister’s safety, she would never stay silent.“It’s nothing important.”Valentina tried to push her sister out of the room.“Trust me.”“I said no!”Gianna raised her voice, refusing to budge.In her entire life, she had never shouted at her sister like this.“Do you think I could live in peace if something happened to you? Please, just say something. Whatever it is, we can face it together.”“Hahaha!”Hearing the conflict between the three of them, Alexander—still sitting on the floor—suddenly burst into laughter.“Funny! Truly funny! I thought the th

“Alexander, let her go.”Martin stared sharply at the patriarch, not raising his weapon.“Miss Gianna has nothing to do with any of this.”“I don’t care!” Alexander shouted. “I don’t want to be dragged into the chaos of your lives! You two are a pair of dangerous lunatics! I can’t stay in this place any longer!”Alexander stepped farther and farther back from them.“Alexander, I said let her go,” Martin said firmly. “She is not part of the deal. If you harm her, I won’t be able to keep my promise to protect you.”“Fuck your promises, Martin!” Alexander yelled. “You think you’re impressive? Hah, idiot! You’re the stupidest man in the world! How could you not know what your wife has been doing behind your back all this time?”“You’re a field agent, yet you didn’t even realize your wife was working with someone inside Norvian intelligence to spread the serum? Pathetic.”Alexander’s words made Martin frown.What?So intelligence was behind all of this?At first, Martin had thought Valenti