Chapter 2

Logging into my email, I clicked open the long-drafted transfer request form.

Blackridge—the location with the highest casualty rate for explosive specialists.

Once I went there, my personnel file would be classified under top secrecy, effectively wiping my existence from the world.

Without hesitation, I submitted the form.

Robert, you wanted so bad to avoid gossip. This was what you asked for.

From this day on, my life and death would no longer have anything to do with you.

Suppressing the sickening discomfort left behind by the alcohol, I pulled an all-nighter.

At last, I compiled the techniques utilized during the mission into a comprehensive report.

This was our squad’s most pivotal technical breakthrough of the year, a method mastered solely by me.

Once I submitted this report, I could earn the Special Merit Medal.

It was my father’s final wish before he died in the line of duty.

Holding the report, I pushed open the door to Robert’s office.

Scanning through it, he nodded with satisfaction.

But then, he logged into the intranet, pulled up the digital version, and added Vivian’s name right in front of mine for the author field.

I slammed my hands against the desk, staring at him in utter disbelief.

“What do you think you’re doing, making Vivian the primary author?”

Without even raising his head, Robert replied, “Vivian needs this to pass her probationary period. You’re a veteran, no need to obsess over such trivial.

“Just treat it as something you co-authored. Leave the spotlight for the rookie so people don’t start whispering.”

I hadn’t expected him to sound this righteous, my fingers trembling out of control.

“You know full well how important this report is to me!”

Staring dead at him, my voice came out raw and raspy.

“I’ve put my life on the line all these years just to fulfill my father’s final wish! All I need is this one heavyweight report, to get me that Special Merit Medal!”

Robert’s expression darkened instantly, a flash of annoyance surfacing in his eyes at being contradicted.

“There will be plenty of chances to earn merits in the future. Do you really have to pick a fight over this? Grow up, will you?”

He let out a scoff, his fingers tapping rapidly against the keyboard.

“Fine. If you’re not willing to settle for secondary authorship, don’t bother having your name on it at all.”

He proceeded to delete my name entirely, leaving Vivian the sole author.

Staring at his icy expression, I swallowed back the words surging up my throat.

Robert had no idea that this was indeed my final chance.

Once I left for Blackridge next month, Emily Stone would cease to exist.

Sensing that something was off, a hint of hesitation flickered in Robert’s eyes.

Checking the closed blinds around the room to ensure no one was watching, he let out a sigh and walked over to my side.

Reaching out his hand, he attempted to pull me into his embrace.

“My bad, alright? I’ll get you some black forest cake later—”

The resentment I kept suppressed for years erupted at that very instant.

“I hate black forest cake. You know damn well whose favorite it is!”

As I spoke, my gaze locked onto his wrist.

It was a brand-new Kronos couple’s watch.

Just half an hour ago at the morning briefing, I had seen the women’s version on Vivian’s wrist.

Stepping back abruptly, my voice quavered.

“Did Vivian give you that?”

Robert instinctively tucked his hand away, his uncomfortable defense.

“She gave it to me in front of everyone at the celebration last night. Couldn’t say no, could I?”

“Why not?”

I scoffed out of sheer fury, the rims of my eyes burning with pain.

The day my father died in the line of duty, I had taken Robert to see him one last time.

Trembling, my father took off his amulet ring and pressed it into Robert’s palm.

“It kept me safe for most of my life. I’m handing it over to you, and Emily, my dearest treasure of all.”

Robert had accepted it with absolute solemnity in front of him.

Yet the moment we left my family home, he turned around and shoved the ring into a drawer.

No matter how I pleaded or coaxed, he refused with a cold face every single time.

“The squad is full of gossip. If someone recognizes this as your father’s possession, it will spark rumors.

“Emily, keep the big picture in mind. We can’t have people talking.”

In the end, I had sewn it to the inside of his jacket, invisible to anyone, so he would agree to wear it.

It wasn’t until Vivian stepped into the picture that I realized his insistence on avoiding gossip was selective after all.

Staring at him, I squeezed out each and every word:

“When Vivian gives you something, you couldn’t say no. But when it came to the keepsake my dad gave you, you treated it like trash. Did you ever consider for a second what I might feel?”

Robert’s face hardened, and his voice raised uncomfortably.

“What the hell is wrong with you today? I’m exhausted enough trying to maneuver around the squad every day—can’t you be a little more mature?”

Before his words could settle, a knock echoed from outside the door.

“Captain, are you busy?”

Hearing the sergeant’s voice, Robert snapped back several steps like he had been struck by lightning, putting immediate distance between us.

“The report’s authorship is settled. Don’t bring personal baggage into the workplace. You may leave now.”

Straightening his collar, he slipped back into a strictly businesslike demeanor.

“Not at all. Come in.”