Prometheusの小説

VALENTINAI laughed nervously.“How may I help you?” Kendrick asked, stepping between Briana and me.Her eyes narrowed, searching my face like she was flipping through an old mental yearbook. “I could have sworn I had seen you somewhere,” she said, but the recognition never clicked.My makeup was flawless, a perfect shield. I let a tiny, secret smile bloom inside as her phone shrilled, forcing her to mutter an apology and vanish into the elevator, her stare still clinging to me until the doors slid shut.Kendrick glanced at me. Something flashed in his eyes, but it disappeared before I could register it.“Well, that was odd,” I said.He ignored me and started walking.He didn’t break stride, didn’t even glance back—just flicked his wrist toward the long corridor ahead and said, low and clipped, “Start walking. Now.”I swallowed the last of my relief from the Brianna escape, heels clicking sharply against the polished floor as I moved past him, feeling his eyes burn into my back the wh

“Twin?” I blinked. My fingers trembled and ended the call unintentionally. The man in front of me was a carbon copy of Federick in terms of facial comparison. Brown hair, blue eyes, bulky arms and legs, tattooed chest. The only difference was his slightly larger build, but if you didn’t look closely, you would never tell the difference. The little time I had spent with Federick, I could tell he was principled, emotionally closed off—not that I cared, and way too serious. This dude right here looked like the complete opposite, he carried a chaotic air, totally blunt tone and somehow managed to be intimidating. His hands flew to his face, a finger tapping gently on his lips, taking slow, deliberate steps towards me. He stopped right in front of me, invading my space. His gaze was intense, his presence felt bigger, like he’d literally sucked all the oxygen around us. “I have seen you before,” he eyed me. I swallowed, clutching the file against my chest. Then I tilted my he

VALENTINAPanic made my heels click against the tiled steps as I ran toward him, my hands trembling.The bodyguards acted immediately. They heaped him onto their shoulders, and we all disappeared back into the restaurant.“Calm down, ma’am,” a voice—Hayes, his lawyer—said, trying to soothe me. “He’s fine.”I froze, my eyes snapping toward him. “What do you mean he’s fine? He was just shot by a literal bullet!”Frederick chuckled softly, and I hated myself for noticing how calm he looked even now.“I’m fine,” he said casually, plopping down into a chair. He unbuttoned his shirt and knocked his knuckles against a bulletproof vest.I couldn’t help it—a nervous laugh escaped me, even as adrenaline still coursed through my veins.“It’s fine, you say?” I exclaimed, my hands flying to my waist. “What if I had been the target? Because unlike you, not all of us had a bulletproof vest!”Hayes cleared his throat. “Actually, we all did.”I froze, panic and fear mixed with disbelief.“Hey, look at

VALENTINA“What?” I blurted and flinched. “White what?”My eyes widened in surprise, fear gripped me for a moment. Then I cleared my throat and straightened my spine.“I know who you are, you don’t need to feign ignorance,” he began. “Six years ago, a mysterious hacker by the name White Phoenix infiltrated one of the most protected software systems, claimed it was just for fun and disappeared without trace,” he said.I laughed. “And how does that affect me in any way?”“You know,” he began, “people speculated that white phoenix was fished out and silenced, but I think they're doing just fine.”“And you think I’m that woman?” I said.“I never mentioned anything about their gender,” he said, smiling coyly, “but of course you know because it’s you.”I chuckled nervously. “You’ve got the wrong person.”“Then prove this.” He pulled out a file and handed it to me, my eyes scanning the paper instantaneously before handing it back to him.Fuck! I blinked.“Let’s say I am who you think I am, t

VALENTINA“Sir,” I began, “are you being serious right now?”He shrugged.“It’s your choice,” he said casually.My gaze darted around the hall and fell on Nate. He was staring at me, his expression as unreadable as ever.When he caught me staring, he glanced away. I turned back to see Brianna still laughing silently.When I turned to face the man, he was no longer looking at me. He was engrossed in his phone, typing gently.“I will—”The sound of metal clinking softly against glass rippled through the air, cutting me off.My gaze followed the sound and landed on the host standing before the mic. A petite woman dressed in a black luxe tailored suit, with curly blonde hair, blue eyes, and lips painted bright red.With a glass and spoon in hand, she said, “Ladies and gentlemen, I believe we are all here for the same thing.”I stood up and found a seat for myself.“Tonight Luxera celebrates its third anniversary.” Applause followed. “And we’d like to use this medium to thank everyone who

“What?”“Sign the damn papers, Valentina,” he said coldly, his lips curled into a mocking smile.“When will you learn?” he began. “A simple sorry, and you were ready to change your mind. That’s why I liked you in the first place. You are so cheap and easy to manipulate.”For a second, I didn’t understand the word. It just floated there between us.Cheap. Easy.I was fuming internally.I gripped the walker until my stitches pulled and a sharp pain tore through my side.The nurse gasped softly, steadying me, but I barely felt her. My ears rang. My heartbeat pounded so hard I thought I might collapse right there at his feet.Cheap?A broken laugh escaped me—thin, disbelieving, almost hysterical.I sighed deeply, straightening my back.He had made his choice from the very beginning—he never wanted me. It was time for me to make mine.“Fine,” I began, snatching the paper from his hand, “but before I proceed, are you sure you’ve thought this through?”He laughed.“My lawyers will get in tou