Chapter 3

Kylie's POV

5 Years Later

I set my Barrett M82 sniper on the top floor of my hotel room and adjusted it through the window blind. It was aimed at the prime minister, who was having his oath-taking ceremony approximately six blocks across from me.

My name is Kylie Candace Kazimir, and I’m an assassin now. No judgment.

You would do the same if you were penniless and had a sick daughter to care for.

When I accepted the invitation, I had no idea just how much my life would change.

Now, three years later, I was the most sought after assassin in the Guild; I was richer than several politicians; and my daughter had finished her last round of treatment with an expensive, rare drug I was able to afford.

The only downside was, well, the dead bodies I left in my wake and being too busy with work to spend as much time with my daughter as I would like.

"So, Mom, when can I return home? I am done with my treatment, you know. Besides, I miss you," Charmaine whined through my AirPods.

"Soon, baby, mummy misses you more. Just give Mummy some time, okay?" I said as I crouched slightly to focus on my target.

When Charmaine was diagnosed with leukemia, I sent her away for treatment. Mom and Mika were there to take care of her, but she still missed me like crazy.

Now that her treatment is complete, I have no more excuses for why she cannot come back.

I want to see my baby. I really do, but I prefer traveling to meet her. I can't allow my family to discover my profession.

I mean, what would mom even do if she found out her daughter was a killer? Or Mika? And my baby girl?

No, Charmaine can never find out her loving mother is nothing more than a heartless killer who ends lives for money.

"Mummy!" Charmaine yelled, bringing my attention back to her.

"Baby, mummy is busy with work; let Aunty Mika take care of you." With a tap on my AirPods, I ended the call before Charmaine could say anything.

"You know you shouldn’t talk while working, right?" Andre, my annoying partner, asked with a smirk as he rested his back on the wall with a cigarette in his hand.

Why Antonio paired me with this idiot, I would never know.

"Andre, shut up?" I spat, still concentrating on my target.

Andre has been my partner since my induction into the guild, but I got a reputation so fast that I ended up superior to him.

Not that it stops Antonio from sending us on missions together.

I focused on the direction of the wind, calculating the distance and movement of my target.

Once I got my perfect angle, I shot silently at the prime minister and watched as the wind swiftly directed my bullet at my target.

I never miss.

A smug smile graced my lips as I watched as the prime minister fell to the ground in the middle of his meeting.

His blood splashed on his wife's face, as the crowd around him erupted in panicked screams. The only evidence of what I had just done A clean bullet hole in his brain.

"I wonder what he did to deserve that," André whistled as he looked through the window and shook his head at the sight.

I walked past him and hissed in his ear "You were not trained to be curious about the client."

I paused at the room door with my equipment bag slung over my shoulder.

“If you’re that concerned, you should get his wife a therapist,” I smirked as I strode out the door straight towards the lift with Andre scurrying after me.

Andre and I got to the underground parking lot in record time. We had to be as far away from the scene as possible.

I spotted my black car parked exactly where I had left it and a relieved sigh left my lips as we hurried towards it.

Then suddenly, a man also walking as fast in the opposite direction brushed my shoulder. I hissed in irritation as my equipment bag slipped from my shoulder to the floor and I bent down to pick it up.

Was he blind or what? The urge to turn around and bite off his head welled up in me but I had to maintain a low cover so I just grunted in anger as Andre stopped to see what the commotion was.

"Sorry," the man apologized.

Surprise racked through me as I raised my head to see who it was. His voice sounded eerily similar to Ryan’s.

The man had already entered his car. And as I looked carefully at the windshield before he drove away, anger and rage flooded my whole body until I dug my nails into my palm.

It was him. The bastard! He had been with a woman in the car.

"Are you okay?" A concerned André asked, I forced a smile on my face and nodded my head.

I brushed everything off and took the wheels while Andre took the passenger seat.

When we entered my car, we both took our face masks and face caps off.

I was so heated, I could scream. How could he convenien tly live his life when Charmaine had almost died? I left more than 50 voicemails that night. He blocked me.

“You sure you’re alright?” Andre asked again as he glanced at me nervously.

In response, I reached for my car stereo and played "Murder on my mind" on repeat.

Andre shuddered but didn’t make a move to question me again.

The car slowed as I parked in the front of the headquarters, the parking valet was already waiting and I handed him I my car keys.

I stalked into the building, with everyone I passed bowing in respect.

I was used to it, yet the treatment was enough to dampen my anger and by the time I was going in the the VIP lift, a small smile had settled on my lips.

Yes, I deserve the respect. For the last five years, I had risen the ranks and becomed the highest paid, most sought after and the most skilled assassin in the industry.

I also recieved preferential treatment because I was the manager of the hotel, the Assassin’s Guild used as it’s headquaters.

As soon as the lift stopped, a permanent smirk graced my lips as I adopted my second persona and barged into Antonio's office without knocking.

I swaggered in, dropped into the chair opposite him and crossed my legs in a fluid movement.

"Where are your manners?" Antonio hissed angrily as he rised his head up from his desk.

I picked at my perfectly manicured finger nails leisurely. Antonio might have been my boss and ensured my family's safety, but I still hated him too much for turning me into this monster.

"I lost mine the very day I accepted to work here," I snickered. Antonio ignored my remark and stood up from his chair to put on the TV.

"Your work.” He said as he pointed at the news on TV about the prime minister’s death.

You did a neat job, the client was impressed, and she sent a bonus." Antonio clapped his hands greedily.

I looked at the TV for a brief second before turning my head away.

"I have always done a neat job," I said smugly.

"The client is a she." I nodded my head and scoffed.

The assassin's industry is a tricky place; the clients think they are completely anonymous, but just one phone call shows everything about them, and only the higher ups such as Alexis, have such information.

Alexis is our boss; she is our superior, the co-founder of this organization, and the one who gives us the task. She built this hotel, along with a luxurious shopping mall, to disguise our secret organization of assassins.

"Do you remember what you asked from me the day you decided to work for me?" Antonio sat back on his chair.

"I remember vividly well; what about it?" I responded, and he nodded his head.

After I accepted to work for Antonio, I asked for two favors. One, that I would like to kill Ryan with my own hands. Because if he had picked up my call on that day, I wouldn't be here.

The second favor was something I had never asked for. A blank. Kind of like a blank check but a favor, that could be anything and could be cashed at any time.

"Your family wants to return." Antonio opened his desk drawer and handed me some pictures.

I took the pictures and stared at them carefully. Tears threatened to fall from my eyes as I used my fingers to trace the pictures. Every week, Antonio gave me pictures of my family's weekly report.

"No, keep them there; I don't want them back yet." I put the pictures inside my bag.

"Ok, I will try my best to do that. By the way, the boss wants to see you." Antonio stood up from his chair and put on his suit blazer.

Not everyone can meet the boss directly; you have to be at a certain stage to meet her, and right now my success has brought me to that stage.

"I just finished one task; do I have another or do I get to rest?" I whined.

Antonio decided to ignore me and walk out of the door. With an exaggerated sigh, I followed behind quietly. We went to the boss's office.

Antonio knocked before we both entered. We bowed our heads slightly and awaited Alexis' gesture for us to sit down without raising her head from her phone.

"I sent you two bonuses for a job well done again," Alexis said, raising her head from her phone.

"Thank you, boss," both Antonio and I said in unison.

"Kylie, you have a very important job to do." Alexis handed me a file. I dropped my phone on the table and took the file from her.

"Okay, let's see who this is," The smile on my face began to fade the moment my eyes saw the person's profile picture at the front of the file.

"You are to eliminate the person on the file." Alexis relaxed her back on her massage chair with her eyes watching my reaction while Antonio took the file from my hand to see who the target was.

No. No! She can’t be serious. This must be some kind of cruel joke.

A tortured laugh of disbelief escaped my lips as I flung the cursed file back on the table. Damn Alexis, there's no fucking way!

"HELL NO, IT'S A BLOODY NO!" I yelled in shock and rising anger.