Nine months earlier…

Lila’s POV

There’s something about finishing a mission successfully. The satisfaction clings to your skin like silk and steel. That was how I felt stepping out of Andrew Carson's penthouse, my heels clicked against the marble floors, my face was calm, but my heart was colder than snow.

Another mission completed successfully.

Another cruel man left ruined.

That's justice in my own twisted language.

Back in my flat, I peeled off the façade like a second skin—wig off, lips scrubbed clean of crimson, lenses out to reveal my green eyes. I stood in front of the mirror and looked at myself—not the charming, irresistible woman I’ve been pretending to be, but the weapon Damien Locke molded out of a girl with fire in her chest.

I opened my wallet and took out the photo tucked behind my ID.

My mother.

Her green eyes were smiling at me. I'm her splitting image–blonde hair, green eyes and a smile that lights up a room.

"Another one for you, Mom," I whispered, tracing the curve of her jaw with my thumb. "One less monster roaming free.”

I’ve worked for Locke Intelligence & Acquisitions for ten years. My official title is "Risk Analyst." I'm Damien Locke’s most valuable weapon. The one he’d pulled off the streets at sixteen—starving, angry, and alone—and forged into a master of manipulation.

I could play any role, seduce any man and destroy them while whispering sweet nothings in their ears.

Every target had a story and a reason. Corrupt moguls, arms dealers disguised as CEOs. Locke only took contracts on men who’d crossed serious lines—morally bankrupt bastards with too many skeletons and too little conscience. And I was their karma, dressed in silk and heels.

Damien called me into his office the next morning, it was raining. I clicked the door shut behind me as I stepped into his office. He was standing by the window, swirling scotch in his hand, his lean figure a shadow against the gray skyline.

“You look tired,” he said without turning.

“I just finished a twelve-week long mission,” I replied, unbuttoning my coat. “I deserve to be tired.”

“You also deserve another shot at redemption,” he murmured, facing me now.

My brow arched. “Redemption?”

He held out a file. “Your next target.”

I walked forward, plucked the manila folder from his hand and opened it.

Mason Alexander Sterling.

“Sterling Group?” I asked.

“The one and only.”

He watched me read. I skimmed through Mason’s file—age, history, net worth, personality analysis, media coverage. The man looked good on paper.

Damien’s voice cut in. “Golden boy of the century. Built like a Greek statue, business brain like a machine but underneath—he’s everything we hate. Arrogant, ruthless and uses money like a weapon.”

I nodded slowly, scanning a photo of Mason at a gala. Charcoal suit, crooked smile and eyes like ice. I'd admit, he's quite attractive.

“And what’s the assignment?”

“Simple,” Damien said. “Get close, make him fall in love with you and marry you.”

My eyes jerked up.

“Marry?”

“You have six months,” he said, like it was nothing. “We need intel on internal mergers. They’re covering something dirty under all that polish. His father might be pulling strings, but Mason's the key. He's obsessed with privacy. Get inside, find out what they’re hiding—and we’ll bring the empire down.”

I looked back down at Mason’s face. He didn’t smile in this one. He looked bored, like he was watching the world through a tinted lens and deciding who was worth breathing.

I found him compelling.

“So…,” I said, closing the file. “I play the perfect woman. Charming, mysterious, impossible to resist, and make him love me.”

“Exactly. And when it’s over, you disappear. Leave him wrecked. The Sterling Group will crumble like every other empire before it.”

I didn’t respond immediately. My mind was already spinning with strategies, personalities, and accents. I need to find out what kind of woman Mason Sterling couldn’t resist.

“And what did he do?” I asked. “Personally. To deserve this.”

Damien’s jaw tightened. “He ran a rival out of business—bankrupted three hundred employees. Bribed his way out of a harassment scandal. And he’s been buying out green companies just to gut them. He’s poisonous. He just wears a better suit than the rest.”

I nodded.

That was enough.

I walked to the door but paused when he spoke again.

“I’m counting on you, Lila. This mission requires patience and charm. You're the best person to handle it because when it’s personal, you don’t fail.”

My fingers gripped the handle tighter.

He was right. I’ve never failed a mission since I was sixteen. I found my mother dead in a bathtub when I was 10, because a billionaire wanted to cover his illegal tracks and she was about to expose him.

That fire still burned in me.

This is justice.

I looked back at Damien. “Six months?”

“Six months or sooner.”

*****

That night, I started building the new me.

Cassidy Hart.

I couldn't figure out what kind of woman Mason Sterling likes, he really keeps his life private but seems to be dedicated to his work. I watched some of his interviews and memorized his business schedule. I started planning our first meeting immediately.

This is another cold-hearted bastard who deserves what's about to hit him.