Sanders furrowed his eyebrows when he heard Adriana had gone back to New York just for a small thing.
It confused him.
"That woman does nothing without a reason, investigate again. And... make sure she and Noah Preston didn't meet." He ordered his assistant.
With a sigh, he rubbed his temple and stood up. Putting on his lab coat and walked towards a table full of beakers and chemicals.
He was currently working on a new poison, one deadlier than his previous one, but he was still trying to figure it out.
He wanted it to be lethal, the most dangerous in the world.
As he did his work, he couldn't help but think back to the time he met her.
He was heading back home with his prescription from the pharmacy. He had passed by an alley; it was dark, and he halted his footsteps when he heard a gunshot.
He entered the alley and saw someone running from the scene.
He heard a groan, and he turned on the flashback of his phone.
There she was in a corner, holding her bleeding shoulder.
The guy's work was sloppy. There was a security camera at the end of the alley where he exited, and he hadn't even killed his victim.
What a complete idiot.
If the streets weren't so empty he would have been caught.
Did he think he shot her in the heart? She only has a bullet in her shoulder, she'll live.
He watched her struggle, but she didn't react to the pain. It quite surprised him, a normal person wouldn't be so calm.
She then turned to look at him. For a second it stunned him.
She looked young, really young. And yet she had this fierceness to her glare. It was the eyes of a lioness.
He smiled and turned off his flashlight, walking past her. Waiting to see if she would beg for help.
When he heard nothing, he furrowed his eyebrows.
Someone with that determination would just accept their death?
"Aren't you going to ask for my help?"
"If you wanted to help...." She paused, holding back a painful scream.
"Y-you would have done it already." She finished.
"You don't seem bothered by that."
"It's not new to me."
Everyone walked away from her. Even civilians who had watched her car flip didn't bat an eyelid to help her. She didn't want to hope for any kindness, anyway.
This was already the second time they try to kill her. After she gave birth to the twins, they were enraged. How could she still be alive right?
Now she needed to really die. If not Briana won't stop looking after her.
The b*tch is crazy which is why she needed to fake her death ASAP.
But she didn't know how...
To the people who know her, she died in a car accident but for Briana, she should die tonight.
Sanders turned around and watched her bravely stand up and walk, suing her on the wall to support herself.
It really stunned him.
He watched her until she made it to the other end. She then picked up the phone on the floor and dialed 911, asking for help.
She then fell back on the ground and closed her eyes.
Not a single tear.
Not one.
She simply took all the pain and didn't complain once.
"What do you want?" He asked.
She didn't answer and pretended he wasn't there.
"If you only had one second left to live and you would want to do something, what would it be?" He asked again.
"Kill." She replied.
"Torture."
"Revenge."
"Now f*ck off."
Her answers were perfect.
Chuckling, he walked up to her and ripped a part of her shirt, using it to tie up her shoulder, trying to stop the bleeding.
"15 more minutes and you will die." He warned her when she tried to struggle off him.
He then carefully picked her up and carried her to his apartment, which was near to there.
Only 3 minutes away.
She was losing her consciousness and didn't have enough strength to complain. He knew that.
He treated her wound, and he gave her a place to stay that night.
When she woke up again, he made her an offer.
"Help me fake my death. Help me disappear." She bargained.
And that's when it happened.
He turned a normal girl, with a thirst for revenge into someone unstoppable.
She had everything he needed.
The determination.
The bravery.
And she learned fast.
FAST
From knives, guns, poison to killing, acting, and threatening.
He wasn't sure, but he thought he hadn't really taught her those things. All he did was give her the supplies she needed, the resources she sought, and she easily caught on.
Is this what pain and heartbreak do to a girl?
One day he turned to her and asked, "Did someone break your heart? Are you trying to kill them in return?"
It wouldn't be surprising if some rich guy played her. A normal girl wouldn't be able to avenge herself easily.
"No," She answered flatly.
Their conversations were always like this. He would ask questions and she would give no proper answers.
Despite the silence between them, they made use of each other.
When she was ready, he introduced her to everyone else.
That's when he found out she and Simon knew each other.
Even though she trained with him, and she would always go home early, she did a fantastic job.
He never knew why until she found out she had a son.
Things got more interesting from then on.
With nobody's help, she adapted to her new life.
Her routine was simple and strict.
School.
Her child.
Training.
Her career.
Her identity.
The backbone of her future.
Her child.
Her child.
Her child.
It was like watching her juggle. All of those things at once.
And she was ambitious.
She wanted full protection; she wanted her name erased from everywhere and any records about her kid.
He then watched her plant a seed.
The name of the seed was Justine.
"One day, it will blossom into a beautiful flower." She told him when he asked her why she did that.
And she was right. That flower had grown into a beautiful tree outside their training ground in California.
Yes, they did not stay in New York for long.
3 months in California led to the next few years in Paris.
She then planted a new tree.
"Adriana, she was dead, but I will bring her back to life."
She was always numb and quiet.
Any insults sent her way were ignored.
She was too quiet. It was obvious she was in pain on the inside, but she kept it all in. She was good, fantastic at masking her emotions.
"What did they do to you?"
"Nothing you need to know."
"I will help you." He offered.
"What do you want in return?"
"Your loyalty." He replied.
"Ha, funny." She shook her head.
He pursed his lips.
"Do you not have a sense of loyalty, Alyssa Novak?" He asked, calling her by her actual birth name.
"I don't like that name quit it."
"And I do, but not to you. To me." She replied, turning around and leaving him speechless once again.
After that, it continued.
Until all his interest and amusement towards her turned into an attraction.
She was obviously very conflicted about it but he didn't give up.
That... until she found out something she shouldn't have.
"Do you want to back out now?" He asked her.
"I can't." She replied.
"You have quite a talent for finding out things you shouldn't." He chuckled.
"I'm also very talented at using it against other people." She answered.
"Would you like to see?"
"You can't. You will lose everything once you turn on me."
"Except... I already knew who you were the moment I saw you. Which means what you gave me is what I wanted you to give me." Her lips curled upwards, watching his usual arrogance crumble.
"What?"
"You heard me. Sanders, you have nothing on me. But I...I have you at the tip of my fingers."
"It's just that you are still useful."
.....
Sanders sighed.
To this day, he doesn't know how she knew about him. Did she get shot back there on purpose?
If she did, why?
How did she even get information as someone as powerful as him?
That was simply not possible.
There must have been someone behind her!
His first thought...
She's a spy.
But no.
He soon found out the only person behind Adriana Price is none other than—
Adriana Price.
He too had been entangled in her plans, her schemes.
Everything was always planned ahead by her.
Everything.
The thing that you least expect to be related to her turns out to be something she created.
Distractions, pawns, fools.... all of them. She doesn't hesitate to use, attack, protect and destroy.
For sure.
He had not meant such a person before.
She's one of a kind, a kind that was similar to him.
And he planned to make her his.
Except.... that wasn't working out too well.
He didn't know how to approach her. She's too closed off, and she hates him.
The only time he probably harmed her is that day he poisoned her. But it frustrated him.
Pictures of her leaving Noah's hotel room were already making his blood boil.
Why is it she finds him so hateful?
They are two of one kind.
Malicious and selfish. Vicious and scheming.
Villains.
He didn't understand. What she found out about him was not even that terrible, anyway.
So why?
That question seemed like it would be forever unanswered
Anyway, things were at least not horrible.
They support each other via business, weapons, and manpower.
They need each other.
And no matter how hard she tries to pretend that she will get rid of him one day, he knew it would never happen.
He was obviously the one that worked so hard to find a lost girl in the system.
Aria was difficult to find. The girl was so hidden and hard to track down.
Something he knows Adriana is grateful for, even if she doesn't admit it.
And there are many things they need to work on.
Together.
He knew it.
_____
"You're are going to testify for my son, you hear me? Tell them none of those things are true!"
"Excuse me?" Caroline narrowed her eyes at the boldness of the woman in front of her.
Her ex-husband's mother glared at her.
"What makes you think I will do that for a f*cking animal?"
"Watch your mouth, you little b*tch." She lifted her hand to slap her but was stopped midair.
Caroline tightened her grip around the woman's hand and raised an eyebrow. "Did you just try to hit me? Do you know what happened to the last person who raised their hand at me?" She asked.
"Le-"
Before the woman could speak, Caroline interrupted.
"Oh wait, that's your son. He's currently detained and will face the consequences of his actions."
"You did this! I knew it you wanted to take everything from my son the moment you met him!"
THUD
The woman fell to the ground
"Your son did this to himself and he deserves every bit of it. He really is a son of a b*tch. Like mother like son, I guess." Caroline rubbed her hand.
Just a few weeks ago, she wouldn't have dared raise her voice at her mother-in-law.
She would walk into their house like she was the owner and watch her son treat his wife like sh*t and she would do nothing about it.
'You're his wife! You should be obedient to him.'
'You brought this upon yourself.'
All of that bullsh*t would go through Caroline's ears. At some point, she believed it.
But now she just wanted to choke everyone who was there and watched her get tortured.
"You posted all those fake news! And now you dare to accuse my son and insult me?" Her face turned red in anger and she stood up, launching herself onto Caroline one more time.
Caroline held her hand again and slammed her into the wall beside them. Holding her hands behind her back, she tightened them.
"Let me go!" She screamed in shock.
She had not realized how much Caroline had changed until now.
Caroline wasn't always like this. But when she got married, they forced her to succumb to her husband. It was a nightmare, and they pushed her into a corner every time she tried to step up for herself.
Her relationship with Adriana was never good even though they would train together often since her superior is friends with Sanders.
After hurting her feelings all those years ago, she didn't have the guts to speak to her.
That was until Adriana found out about her abuse and did the thing Adriana always does.
Strike a deal...and use the people around them.
Honestly, she didn't hesitate to say yes.
She was too shocked at herself.
And...
....it was shocking, really.
Someone like her working for the government and yet being abused by her husband. Shouldn't she know better?
Is she f*cking stupid?
But this was for her parents, of course!
Caroline knew it would upset her parents to lose all the things they gained from the marriage.
Now she was done. She would not tolerate any kind of disrespect, insult, or bullying. If they want to bite her, she would bite back.
As simple as that.
"Fake? Do you think all those things are fake? You yourself told me that is normal for men to look for other sexual partners outside their marriage. Don't you remember? But your son looked for one your age. I watched it with my own very eyes, and I stayed quiet as you asked. Do you remember that?" Caroline pulled her arms down again, making her scream.
"Disgusting, isn't he?"
"Your son is a f*cking trash."
"Shut up! You know nothing. You just want to make up things about him."
"Oh, do I? Tell me, did you sleep with your son too? I wouldn't be surprised, I mean he seems to take an interest in an old woman." Caroline chuckled.
Looking at the horror on the woman's face, Caroline smirked.
"Oh yes, I read a report somewhere about how obsessed your son was with you when he was younger. It seems it's his nature to like old hags." Caroline let go of her.
This seemed to be enough for the woman to realize the news was not fake at all.
Caroline smiled at herself. A pleasant feeling filled up her chest and she tightened her fist.
She was proud of herself, so proud she could jump off a cliff and enjoy the adrenaline of it.
"Yeah, I shouldn't think of doing that." She mumbled to herself with a laugh.
She was no longer Mrs. Ru, or whatever.
She was Caroline Novak and she would remind them all of who she is.
She would definitely put them all in her places.
And she would prove to herself that her parents and their opinion are bullsh*t.
She looked down at her phone and sighed, looking at her brother's call.
She had not been in contact with her family in a long time, they must want to meet her after the news.
Caroline would always wonder how crazy the Novak's would go when they know of Alyssa Novak's existence.
Oh...
But that's a story for another time.