Chapter 3

Before I left, I found an unfamiliar safe in the study. I could tell that it was frequently used and that whoever owned it cherished it a lot. I decided to key in Jessica's birthday, and the safe opened.

Dozens of photo albums were found inside, along with notebooks that were arranged chronologically. I picked up the latest notebook and opened it. I could tell that whoever wrote it jotted everything down with care, and all the notebooks were crammed with details about Jessica.

They recorded Jessica's likes and dislikes, her mood every day, and her occasional discomfort. There were also records of her first pregnancy checkup date and results.

I felt dizzy, and the words in the notebook felt like ants munching their way through my heart.

The photo albums were filled with photos of Jessica. There were photos of her sleeping and her nervous expression from every time she left for a mission. There were also photos of her looking upset when she was hurt, and her blushing face when she was in the throes of passion.

There were also photos of Jessica tearing up before she was wheeled into labor.

All of those photos were records of every moment they shared together since they were 12.

Frank was the youngest son of the James family, and Jessica was the youngest daughter of the Brown family. They were a match made in heaven.

The most ironic thing about Frank's secret camera angles was my presence in the photos, but his camera focus was never on me.

My heart ached from the discovery, and I crouched on the ground while clutching my chest. Frank had started recording numerous moments between him and Jessica a long time ago, from a time when I was not in their lives.

Even though Frank was not in the photos, he was always looking at her from outside the camera shots.

We were together for three years, and the only photo we took with Frank inside was the wedding picture I had smashed. I never knew that he was good at photography, and whenever I mentioned wanting to take a photo together, Frank would always stare at me with a melancholic look in his eyes.

"Damienne, if my enemies knew of our relationship, they would use you to threaten me. You know we're not strong enough to fight them yet."

I understood his worry, which was why I learned to accept this for the past three years. I was reminded of my past, and everything I had sacrificed to become the woman good enough for Frank.

Over the years, I would do everything I could to make sure that the family's mission was completed to perfection, even if it meant getting hurt. The first time I left on a mission, I trembled nervously, but I did not dare contact Frank to maintain the facade of distance between us.

However, Frank would always be by Jessica's side to protect her whenever she was out on a mission.

This time, Frank used the excuse of being busy to abstain from our honeymoon, so I went ahead to change the itinerary from the Berg Island trip that I had looked forward to into a cruise in the neighboring state.

It turned out that Frank had already brought Jessica on a trip to Berg Island when she came of age to experience the brightest Northern Lights of the century.

Every generation of the James family had a tradition where the future heir would pick a secret location as a vacation home and safe house during times of crisis. Only his wife and the next heir were allowed to be there.

Frank always told me, "I'll take you there next time. Now isn't a good time."

That place was never mine to visit. Otherwise, why would Jessica stay there every time she was feeling down? They even took a photo there together, while I was just an outsider who did not fit in.

It felt like punishment for me to flip through the photo album. When I looked up from it, I realized that the tears had already dried on my face. I placed the photo album back where it was and emailed a message to a secret inbox set up by a middleman from the intelligence unit.

"I'm accepting the red alert mission you mentioned before. Make arrangements for Paul to pick me up. I'm leaving right now."