PROLOGUE

Ivy's P O V

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I wake up to the sound of my alarm clock. Holy cow, I'm late! How on earth did this happen? I'm usually a very light sleeper.

My name is Ivy Reed, I'm eighteen years old, and I'm an assassin. Which means I kill people for a living. You want someone gone? Don't worry, I've got you covered. For the right price, of course.

Today, I will be assigned my fiftieth assassination. I've been killing since I was thirteen. And must I add, I'm effing good at it.

I don't have any tragic story as to why I became an assassin. I just love the thrill of killing. It's pretty messed up, right? Well, that is exactly why I'm so good at it.

I was born an heiress to a huge fortune. My parents owned one of the biggest tech companies in the country A. And just like every rich person, they had a lot of enemies. 

On one unfortunate night, they were assassinated, and I just so happened to witness it all.

When the assassin saw that I was a witness, he was ready to clip me off the map, but I was quick to react. "I want to be an assassin like you." I know those words took him by surprise. I mean it's not every day a thirteen-year-old asks to be an assassin right after you assassinated her parents.

So that's how I ended up being an assassin.

Oh, crap! I was busy talking about myself. I clearly forgot I was even late.

I nearly jumped out of my bed when my phone rang. I didn't even need to look at the caller ID to know that it was my boss calling.

Five years ago, the man responsible for my parents' assassination was my current boss, the Director. No one really knows his name. All we know is that he's the head of the largest assassin organization in the world.

"Where the hell are you?!" He practically yelled into the earpiece. "Don't worry, I'm outside the office right now." "What do you mean you're outside the office? Your G P S tracker clearly states that you're still in your apartment.

I dramatically held my chest as though it hurt, "I can't believe you would trust a mere computer over me." "Whatever, be here in five minutes." He hung up.

He must be dreaming. Does he think I'm The Flash or something? There's no way I'm making it in five minutes. 

I took a quick shower and put on a business suit. Of course, the assassin organization is a secret organization, and just like any other secret organization, we have a lot of cover-ups spread out across the world.

The cover-up in country A being my parents' tech company. 

After I joined the organization, the director came out as my distant uncle who's here to help me run my family's company.

I grab my car keys and a slice of toasted bread, then set off.

After battling with traffic, I made it to the company building an hour later.

I was rushing. I barely made it into the closing elevator, but thankfully the person inside stopped it for me.

"It's not every day I see the grim ripper late." The person in the elevator spoke. The grim ripper is a name I was given because I had never failed in any of my missions. If you're my target, make sure to buy a casket because you ain't making it out alive.

The person in the elevator was Jack, my partner.

Assassins in the organization usually work as a pair, the hacker and the one who does the killing. The hacker is in charge of gathering Intel, hacking into the target's system and all.

I've been working with Jack for two years now. He's two years older than me, but he joined the organization later than me.

He was a notorious hacker before he joined the organization. The director discovered him two years ago, and we've been working together ever since.

""You're one to talk, you are even more punctual than I am. What gives?"" "Traffic." He shrugged. 

We arrived at the office and went straight in.

"You both sure took your time to get here." The director looked pissed.

"Sorry, director. There was mad traffic." He sighed "Whatever, I don't care anymore." ""That aside, who do you want me to kill?" I jumped straight to the point. 

I mean no one has the time to start wasting on pleasantries. And besides, I do miss blood.

He passed us a picture of a man who looked to be in his forties. ""That's Mister Lorenz. He owns 'Pure diamonds,' a jewelry-making company, and one of the largest casinos in the country. I think he must have messed with the wrong people for a lot of them to want him dead. Anyway, that's none of our business. All we have to know is that there's someone who's paying a lot of money for his head. You know what to do. Ivy, make me proud." The director said everything in one go, then looked at his watch, "I have a meeting at 12 AM, so I'll leave you to it.

With that, he walked out of the office living Jack and I alone to plan our assassination.

After going through the plan, Jack invited me for coffee. Apparently, it was to celebrate my 50th assassination.

At the café, we both ordered coffee and just sat there seeping. The atmosphere felt kind of weird, like it was tense and in a weird way. I could tell something was wrong with Jack. He is never like this. Of course, he's not talkative, but he's not this quiet either. "Is there something you would like to tell me?" I asked when I couldn't bare the tension anymore. He cleared his throat and shook his head, but said nothing.

This is effing exasperating. Anyway, I bet he's going to get over whatever is bothering him soon. I mean he has to before the mission.

After a long awkward moment of sipping coffee, it was finally time to go and Jack escorted me to my car. ""I have to go and do my homework on our mission, so go home and rest up. I'll come to pick you up when it's time to do our mission."" He said that, then walked to his car and drove off.

He's always been like that. He doesn't say much, just says what he has to say, then goes, and it always worked for us like that. I leave all the hacking, all the gathering of Intel to him and all I have to do and worry about is killing our target. But something about today feels off. Maybe it's just nothing. I mean it's my 50th mission. What could go wrong? Right?

I went back to my apartment to wait for time, and finally it was time for the mission. The assassination will take place in one of his casinos where he's holding a welcome party for his friend.

I put on a sexy red dress fit for a casino, let my hair fall loose and put on some seductive makeup. Today's mission plan is quite simple. Seduce, then kill. So I made sure to look the part.

I heard Jack's horn outside, and I knew he was here to pick me up. So I went outside to meet him.

He was dressed as my driver, driving a black Rolls-Royce, "You look beautiful." He said as soon as I got into the car. Then he gave me a box of diamond earrings. Of course, one of the earrings was actually an earpiece. 

I put them on then checked that the earpiece was working. Everything was set. He drove off straight to the casino. 

We arrived at the casino. Jack dropped me off at the entrance and went to pack the car. After some time, I heard Jack's voice coming through the earpiece. "Can you get me?"" "Yes Jack, loud and clear." I replied. "Great. I have hacked the cameras, so if you just follow my instructions to the tee there shouldn't be an issue."" 

""Okay, so you walk in and act natural. Your name should be on their guest list, so the two security guards at the door shouldn't bother you. Just tell them your name and walk straight in."" I did as he said and, for sure, my name was on the guest list. 

I got in and grabbed a wine glass from one of the waiters moving around with a tray. I looked around for my target, then finally found him. "Jack, I've found him." I whispered. ""Good, I see him too. Your job is to seduce him and lead him to room three zero eight on the fifth floor. I made sure that you could have a clean escape."" He laid out the plan then went quiet.

Seducing Mr Lorenz should be a piece of cake. After all, I am his type.

I grabbed another glass then walked up to him. "Oh my, you're so handsome I couldn't hold myself." I acted drunk and dramatically interrupted his conversation with some young C E O of a small company. He looked like he was about to be pissed, but changed his mind after he saw my face. "Do you need help with anything, Miss?" He asked, eyeing me. "Of course, would you share this drink with me." I raised the other glass I was holding.

He smiled then waved at the young man, signaling the end of their conversation. The young man, understanding the situation, nodded, then left. 

""I happen to have a reservation for a room on the fifth floor. Would you like to escort me, kind sir?"" He smiled, understanding what I was talking about. "It would be my pleasure, young Miss."

Killing him after that was easy.

"I'm done, how do I get out of here?" I spoke into the earpiece after ensuring that I had covered all my tracks. ""You trust me right?"" Jack asked. "What type of stupid question is that, of course, I trust you." "Then jump off from the window on your left, I put something to break your fall." He said. 

Without question, I jumped. While still in midair, I heard Jack chuckle. "Goodbye, grim ripper."

What?!