The heavy steel door clicked shut behind Ryan as he left the room, leaving behind an atmosphere thick with unspoken tension. For a moment, there was silence, a kind of stillness that felt out of place in the company of killers and warriors. But that silence didn't last long.
Helena, ever the spark of energy, turned to Iris with a wide grin. "It's been way too long! I never imagined we'd meet here of all places!"
Iris returned the smile, her face lighting up with warmth that seemed almost out of place in the cold, dimly lit room. "I know, right? When Ryan told me who you were, I couldn't believe it. Small world."
Helena laughed, and just like that, the room filled with the sound of their lighthearted conversation. In the middle of the compound, surrounded by shadows and danger, it was almost surreal to hear such cheerful voices.
Sarah, however, was quieter. She stood off to the side, her mind racing as she watched Helena and Iris talk like old friends. She couldn't help but be drawn to Iris—her youth, her playful smile, and the way she seemed to brighten the room despite the dark world they were in. It didn't make sense. A seventeen-year-old girl in the company of assassins and killers?
Sarah's gaze lingered on Iris, watching the way she interacted with Helena so effortlessly. There was something about her, something that didn't add up. The cheerful laughter in her voice didn't belong in this world, and the more Sarah observed, the more her curiosity gnawed at her.
Helena and Iris continued to chatter on, their conversation a mix of lighthearted teasing and stories from the past. But as Sarah watched, her unease only grew. She couldn't shake the feeling that there was something hidden beneath Iris' cheerful exterior. The way Ryan had responded to Sarah's question earlier—the cold finality in his voice—left too many unanswered questions.
Finally, unable to contain her curiosity any longer, Sarah stepped away from the room. She needed answers, and there was only one person who could give them to her.
The Truth in the Shadows
Sarah found Ryan standing in a dimly lit corridor, his back to her as he stared at one of the many surveillance screens monitoring the compound. His posture was tense, and though his face was calm, she could sense the weight he carried—the weight of everything he hadn't said.
"Ryan," Sarah called softly as she approached him.
He didn't turn, but she knew he had heard her. For a moment, the silence stretched between them, heavy and unspoken. Then, finally, Ryan spoke, his voice low and measured. "You should be resting, Sarah."
"I needed to talk to you," she replied, stepping closer. "About Iris."
At this, Ryan's gaze shifted slightly, though he still didn't turn to face her. "She's one of my best. That's all you need to know."
Sarah's jaw tightened. She could feel the wall he had built around himself, the way he kept so much of his life hidden, even from her and Helena. But she wasn't going to let this go.
"She's seventeen, Ryan," Sarah said, her voice firm. "Why is someone that young here? In this… dark world? It doesn't make sense. Helena may not see it, but I do. There's something more to her, isn't there?"
Ryan's shoulders stiffened at her words, and for a brief moment, she thought he might walk away, close off as he so often did. But instead, he let out a slow, controlled breath.
"She's here because she has no other choice," Ryan said quietly, his voice laced with a sadness Sarah rarely heard from him.
Sarah frowned, stepping closer. "No choice? What do you mean?"
Ryan finally turned to face her, his eyes shadowed with a mix of emotions. "You think this world is something you can choose to be part of? That any of us wanted this?"
Sarah's heart clenched at the look in his eyes. "But she's so young—"
"She was drawn into this world before she even knew what it was," Ryan interrupted, his voice heavy with the weight of what he was about to reveal. "Her family… they were involved in something dangerous. A powerful syndicate that controlled more than just money and crime. They controlled information. Secrets."
Sarah's breath caught in her throat, and Ryan continued, his eyes never leaving hers. "Iris was a genius. Even as a child, she had the kind of mind that could crack any system, break through any firewall. And that kind of talent doesn't go unnoticed."
Sarah's stomach twisted as she began to understand. "The syndicate… they used her, didn't they?"
Ryan nodded, his voice quieter now. "They forced her to hack into systems, to steal information. She thought she was just helping her parents, doing what they asked. But the truth was, they were using her as a weapon."
Sarah's mind raced, the image of the bright, playful girl she had just met suddenly darkened by the revelation of her past. "What happened to her family?"
Ryan's face hardened. "They were killed. The syndicate they worked for saw no more use for them after Iris had completed the task they needed. When they came for her, she managed to escape. Barely."
Sarah's hand flew to her mouth in shock. "She lost everything…"
"She was just a child," Ryan said, his voice tight with anger that he kept carefully controlled. "A child who had been used, betrayed, and left with nothing. When I found her, she was being hunted, her name on every hit list in the underworld."
"Ryan…" Sarah whispered, the weight of his words sinking in.
"I took her in," he continued, his tone now calm but cold. "Gave her a place, protected her, and in return, she became one of the most valuable assets in my network. She's not just a hacker, Sarah. She's the reason I know what my enemies are planning before they even act. But more than that… she's someone who didn't deserve the life she was given."
Sarah looked away, her heart heavy with the truth of Iris' story. She had thought Iris was just a young girl who had somehow ended up in a world she didn't belong in. But now, she understood. Iris wasn't an innocent caught in the dark—she had been shaped by it.
"Why didn't you tell us this before?" Sarah asked quietly.
Ryan's gaze softened slightly. "Because you didn't need to know. This world… the one I live in, the one I protect you from… it's filled with people like Iris. People who have been used, broken, and left with nothing. I didn't want you or Helena to see that."
Sarah swallowed hard, her chest tight. "But now… now I can't unsee it."
Ryan's eyes darkened. "No. You can't."
For a long moment, neither of them spoke. The truth had settled between them like a heavy fog, and Sarah felt the weight of it pressing down on her. Iris wasn't the only one with a tragic past. Everyone in Ryan's world had been scarred in some way, drawn into the darkness through pain and loss.
"I'm sorry," Ryan said softly, his voice almost a whisper. "I didn't want you to know this side of things."
Sarah shook her head. "I needed to know. We needed to know. But it doesn't make it any easier."
Ryan's expression remained unreadable, but there was a flicker of something in his eyes—something that told her that, despite everything, he was still her brother. "Iris is part of my world now. And like everyone else in it, she'll do what she has to in order to survive."
Sarah nodded, though her heart still ached. She glanced back toward the room where Iris and Helena were talking, their cheerful voices now taking on a deeper meaning. Iris' smile had been real, but it was a smile forged in the fire of loss and survival.
And now, Sarah understood why Ryan had taken her in. Why he had chosen to protect her, just as he had protected them.
But the truth had come at a cost.