The picture of Celine held in my hand had long since burned to ash, but the humiliation still rotted in my chest.

A ballerina.

A fragile, pretty thing meant to break like spun glass under my hands. Instead, she had unmasked me. She had looked at my face, trapped it behind the glass of her phone, and delivered it straight to Eli Castillo.

I stared at the pristine silver necklace sitting on my workshop table. It was meant to be hers. I was meant to choke the life out of her throat until her eyes went dull and beautiful before putting this necklace on her neck. Instead, I was now the one hiding in the shadows of my own city, tracking the movements of Castillo's elite guards deployed at her theater and her son's school.

I couldn't even fight in the underground rings because of them. I was left here, stuck underground in a hidden location. Courtesy of the one who put me on that mission.

My phone buzzed on the wood. An encrypted, untraceable text from the ghost who had set this entire hunt in motion. The very ghost who had told me there was a target on my head. He had given me the picture of Celine, told me about her importance to Eli and asked me to get rid of her. In exchange, he would give me the resources to leave this country undetected.

How was I to refuse? I still wanted to kill but if living in Mexico would jeopardise my life, I might as well move to another country and start killing fresh victims.

My sister's ashes were still with me either way, I never threw it away after the cremation. There was nothing preventing me from moving to another country.

But now my plans were all ruined because of a bitch and a fucking taser.

I stared at the encrypted text, wrath consuming my soul.

Castillo is dancing to my tune perfectly. He's blind. Take her before he realises everything.

A slow, dark grin cracked my face. Eli Castillo was hunting his own blood, completely oblivious to the snake coiled right next to him.

Celine thought she was safe now because she had a photo of my face. She didn't realize that in my world, a monster is most dangerous when he finally has nothing left to hide and nothing left to lose.

I originally wanted to go after Eli when my source told me about the contract but I wasn't dumb. Eli was the heir to a bloody assassin Guild. If I killed him, It would be like kicking a hornets' nest, stirring up a massive group of assassins that would come for my head to avenge him. I didn't survive all these years by being reckless,impulsive or foolish.

So I settled with his girl. Celine De La Cruz. Even more so that I was backed up by my source. By this ghost.

What better way to bid farewell to this country than with one final kill and a peaceful trip to another country?

Well.. Nothing happened like I fucking expected.

Of course the bitch compared to all my previous victims had to taser me and fucking reveal my identity. The audacity. The god damn audacity.

I still couldn't believe it.

I exhaled deeply, reigning in the anger in my soul. Taking decisions in a fit of anger never did me good. I would reign it in until I got my hands on her. I would feed that anger day by day, meticulously planning for a way to get to her and then I would take her.

I wouldn't kill her easily this time.

No.

I will make her fight for her life.

Let her run.

Like a predator playing with his food, I would toy with her emotions and sanity until she broke apart in my arms.

Only then would I kill her.

Celine might not yet realise the mistake that she did but she would. Oh she would.

No one messed with me and lived to tell the tale. No one survived me.

And if she thought she would be an exception, she was sorely mistaken.

Leaning my head back against my seat, I stared at the ceiling humming under my breath.

Mulling over everything I knew about Celine and Eli.

Eli..

My eyes darkened with satisfaction as an idea took form. I immediately straightened and texted my source for what I needed.

This would be the perfect trap. A perfect fuck you to Eli Castillo.

What better way to trap a mouse than disguising oneself like the very being they trusted?

A dark manic grin appeared on my face when I received the reply :

I will deliver it to you tomorrow. Handle with care. I'll take care of the rest.

Tick Tock, Celine.

I'm coming.