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Chapter 24: The Shadow That Watched

Penulis: Skylark
last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-04-26 02:03:35

The text came through at 2:03 a.m.

Unknown Number: “She looked happy with you. Let’s see how long that lasts.”

Judah stared at the screen, fingers tightening around his phone. The air in his apartment suddenly felt colder. He rose from the couch, checked the windows. All locked. Still, something didn’t feel right.

Someone had seen them. Someone had watched.

And that someone wasn’t Rivas.

***

In her room, Fedora stood in front of her bathroom mirror, brushing her teeth in silence. Her phone buzzed on the counter.

Anonymous: “You were always too soft, Fedora. I’m surprised you’re still alive.”

She froze, foam drying on her lips. The number was untraceable.

Another message followed.

Anonymous: “Cynthia said you couldn’t stomach blood.”

Her grip on the toothbrush loosened. It clattered into the sink.

"Cynthia? What does she have to do with this? How did this stalker know she hated the sight of blood?" She quizzed rhetorically.

She knew that Cynthia was vengeful, but not to this extent. Or
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  • No Apologies, No Regrets   Chapter 25: Kidnapped

    Judah’s knuckles were white on the conference table. The room was dim, tension slicing through the air like a scalpel to the throat.“Confirmed?” he asked.Trenholm’s expression was grim, jaw set. “Confirmed. Korben Lyle isn’t just back—he’s activated. He’s reached out to Rivas' network. He’s offering names, files, ops. Everything.”Judah stood slowly. His voice was a whisper soaked in fury. “He’s selling me out.”Trenholm nodded. “And Fedora.”Judah’s eyes narrowed into slits. “I should’ve ended him in Tel Aviv.”But this wasn’t about failed missions anymore.This was personal.This was Fedora.***Judah knows Korben very well. In fact, he had worked with him on several cases before he went rogue. Before he became the agency’s most hunted asset, he was one of their best.Operative-classified. Special activities division. A handler’s nightmare and a field agent’s legend. He didn’t follow rules—he rewrote them. Missions that should’ve failed became ghost stories whispered in Langley’s

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-26
  • No Apologies, No Regrets   Chapter 26: The Release

    “Dammit!” Korben snarled, kicking over a rusted pipe as he stormed into the room. The bowl of street noodles he brought crashed to the floor, splattering the wall. The guard he’d assigned to Fedora lay writhing, bloodied and dazed, clutching his jaw and muttering incoherently. The ropes were on the ground—cut clean through. The window? Shattered.The air was rank with rage and panic.“Where is she?!” Korben bellowed, grabbing the man by the collar, shaking him violently. “You had one job!”He didn’t wait for an answer.Upstairs. Downstairs. Through the stairwell. Behind crates and rotten furniture. He tore through every room in the crumbling warehouse. No Fedora. He charged outside, diving into the dense brush behind the building, gun drawn, scanning for movement. Nothing.She was gone.She’d outmaneuvered him.And the handover to Judah was in just a few hours.He paced, breathing hard. Options flickered in his mind like static. He couldn’t show up empty-handed. That would mean he ca

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-29
  • No Apologies, No Regrets   Chapter 27: Where is Fedora?

    The rope was tight, digging into the skin of Fedora’s wrists, but not impossibly so. She’d been still for hours—breathing, counting, watching the patterns of the guard who stood at the door of the dingy fifth-floor room. The old textile factory was a crumbling skeleton of rust and rot, but it gave her something Korben hadn’t counted on: silence. Silence that let her hear every footstep. Every whisper. Every opportunity. Korben had gone out for food. The guard was bored. And Fedora… was ready. She shifted in the chair slowly, careful not to draw attention. Earlier, while Korben ranted about demands and consequences, she’d swiped the tiny piece of jagged metal from the broken vent behind her. Now, she pressed it against the rope, sawing back and forth behind her back. Her wrists bled, but she didn’t stop. Her arms trembled from the strain. Still, she kept cutting. Minutes felt like lifetimes Then—snap. The rope gave. She moved fast. Before the guard could react, she was on him. T

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-29
  • No Apologies, No Regrets   Chapter 28: Her Voice, His Salvation

    “Stay on the line with me, Fedora,” Judah said, voice trembling, pacing the CIA ops center like a man walking a tightrope between hope and insanity. “Don’t hang up. Please.” “I won’t,” came her faint, exhausted voice. “I promise.” His throat closed, but he forced words out. “Are you safe now? Where are you exactly? Are you inside a building? Are there people with you?” “I’m in a house. A kind farmer brought me in. His family’s kind. They gave me food… a place to sleep. I think it’s somewhere in the outskirts. I—I don’t really know.” Judah turned to the team. “Trace her call. Get satellites aligned. Move now.” “Fedora, look around. Anything you can tell me—street signs, landmarks?” There was shuffling on her end. A moment of silence. “There’s a sign… says ‘Little Haven.’” “Copy that!” shouted one of the techs. “We’re narrowing it down!” Judah’s voice softened again. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?” She was quiet for a moment. “I’ve got cuts. Bruises. But I’m alive,

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-05-07
  • No Apologies, No Regrets   Chapter 29: The Ex. Must Bleed!

    Seven days after the rescue, Fedora sat in the debriefing room.The room was silent, heavy with the kind of stillness that follows trauma. A chill clung to the air despite the spring sun warming Langley outside. Fedora sat wrapped in a thick gray sweater, her figure still visibly frail. But her gaze—tired, sharp, unflinching—held more strength than most people in the room could bear to meet for long.Judah wasn’t allowed inside.His supervisor, Trenholm, had pulled him aside that morning.“You’re too close,” he said. “We need her mind, Judah—not your heart flooding the room.”Judah clenched his fists but said nothing.He understood—but that didn’t mean it didn’t tear at him.So now, he paced outside the room like a caged animal, catching every muffled word that slipped through the vents.Inside, Agent Mowe sat across from Fedora. Calm. Clinical.“You were in Korben’s custody for four days,” He began. “Anything you remember—voices, names, faces—could matter.”Fedora blinked slowly. “He

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-05-07
  • No Apologies, No Regrets   Chapter 30: Emotions Aflame!

    And the world between them caught fire.His lips found hers with the urgency of a man who had come too close to losing the only thing that had ever made him feel alive. Her fingers slid up his chest, curling into his T-shirt, and he deepened the kiss, cupping her face with both hands like she was something sacred. Something he’d once prayed for but never thought he’d deserve.The spatula forgotten, the food ignored.The only heat that mattered now was the one sparking between them.Fedora gasped against his mouth, and he took it as invitation. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down, pulling him in. Every kiss he gave her was both like an apology and a confession. I’m sorry for falling in love with you. I can't help my feelings. I'm gone too deepBut even as her body leaned into his, her mind screamed, This is a mistake. This breaks the rules. This wasn’t supposed to happen.Still… it was Judah.And he was thinking the same—This shouldn’t happen. This changes everything

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-05-07
  • No Apologies, No Regrets   Chapter 31: The Line Between Love and War

    In the days that followed, the atmosphere between Fedora and Judah shifted. The intimacy they had shared was now replaced by a palpable tension. Every glance lingered a moment too long, every touch was avoided. They moved around each other with a newfound caution, as if afraid that proximity might reignite the flames they were desperately trying to smother.Judah, ever the professional, buried himself in the mission. He coordinated with the CIA, ensuring that every detail of the final drug delivery of El Padre Rivas was flawless. His days were consumed with briefings, surveillance, and contingency plans. He needed the distraction, needed to focus on something other than the memory of Fedora's touch, the sound of her voice whispering his name in the dark.Fedora, too, threw herself into the role she had to play. She rehearsed her lines, perfected her smiles, and reminded herself of the stakes. This was more than just a mission; it was a game of life and death. And there was no room for

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-05-08
  • No Apologies, No Regrets   Chapter 1: The Ultimate Betrayal

    Fedora Smith never believed in fairytales, but she had believed in love.She had believed in the slow burn of whispered promises, in the warmth of a hand held too long, in the quiet certainty that when you built something with someone, it was supposed to last.But standing here—rooted in place, breath trapped in her chest, fingers trembling at her sides—she realized something cold and gut-wrenching.Love was nothing but a carefully crafted lie.She hadn’t even turned on the lights yet. The soft blue glow from the bedside lamp painted the room in a dim haze, but she saw enough.She saw them.Her boyfriend of four years, the man she had loved beyond reason, the man she had dreamt of marrying.And her best friend of twenty-five years, the sister she never had, the one person she had trusted with her life.Pants down. Bodies tangled. On the very same bed Fedora had bought for their anniversary.The very same bedspread she had customized with their faces—a surprise she had planned for him.

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-25

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  • No Apologies, No Regrets   Chapter 31: The Line Between Love and War

    In the days that followed, the atmosphere between Fedora and Judah shifted. The intimacy they had shared was now replaced by a palpable tension. Every glance lingered a moment too long, every touch was avoided. They moved around each other with a newfound caution, as if afraid that proximity might reignite the flames they were desperately trying to smother.Judah, ever the professional, buried himself in the mission. He coordinated with the CIA, ensuring that every detail of the final drug delivery of El Padre Rivas was flawless. His days were consumed with briefings, surveillance, and contingency plans. He needed the distraction, needed to focus on something other than the memory of Fedora's touch, the sound of her voice whispering his name in the dark.Fedora, too, threw herself into the role she had to play. She rehearsed her lines, perfected her smiles, and reminded herself of the stakes. This was more than just a mission; it was a game of life and death. And there was no room for

  • No Apologies, No Regrets   Chapter 30: Emotions Aflame!

    And the world between them caught fire.His lips found hers with the urgency of a man who had come too close to losing the only thing that had ever made him feel alive. Her fingers slid up his chest, curling into his T-shirt, and he deepened the kiss, cupping her face with both hands like she was something sacred. Something he’d once prayed for but never thought he’d deserve.The spatula forgotten, the food ignored.The only heat that mattered now was the one sparking between them.Fedora gasped against his mouth, and he took it as invitation. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down, pulling him in. Every kiss he gave her was both like an apology and a confession. I’m sorry for falling in love with you. I can't help my feelings. I'm gone too deepBut even as her body leaned into his, her mind screamed, This is a mistake. This breaks the rules. This wasn’t supposed to happen.Still… it was Judah.And he was thinking the same—This shouldn’t happen. This changes everything

  • No Apologies, No Regrets   Chapter 29: The Ex. Must Bleed!

    Seven days after the rescue, Fedora sat in the debriefing room.The room was silent, heavy with the kind of stillness that follows trauma. A chill clung to the air despite the spring sun warming Langley outside. Fedora sat wrapped in a thick gray sweater, her figure still visibly frail. But her gaze—tired, sharp, unflinching—held more strength than most people in the room could bear to meet for long.Judah wasn’t allowed inside.His supervisor, Trenholm, had pulled him aside that morning.“You’re too close,” he said. “We need her mind, Judah—not your heart flooding the room.”Judah clenched his fists but said nothing.He understood—but that didn’t mean it didn’t tear at him.So now, he paced outside the room like a caged animal, catching every muffled word that slipped through the vents.Inside, Agent Mowe sat across from Fedora. Calm. Clinical.“You were in Korben’s custody for four days,” He began. “Anything you remember—voices, names, faces—could matter.”Fedora blinked slowly. “He

  • No Apologies, No Regrets   Chapter 28: Her Voice, His Salvation

    “Stay on the line with me, Fedora,” Judah said, voice trembling, pacing the CIA ops center like a man walking a tightrope between hope and insanity. “Don’t hang up. Please.” “I won’t,” came her faint, exhausted voice. “I promise.” His throat closed, but he forced words out. “Are you safe now? Where are you exactly? Are you inside a building? Are there people with you?” “I’m in a house. A kind farmer brought me in. His family’s kind. They gave me food… a place to sleep. I think it’s somewhere in the outskirts. I—I don’t really know.” Judah turned to the team. “Trace her call. Get satellites aligned. Move now.” “Fedora, look around. Anything you can tell me—street signs, landmarks?” There was shuffling on her end. A moment of silence. “There’s a sign… says ‘Little Haven.’” “Copy that!” shouted one of the techs. “We’re narrowing it down!” Judah’s voice softened again. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?” She was quiet for a moment. “I’ve got cuts. Bruises. But I’m alive,

  • No Apologies, No Regrets   Chapter 27: Where is Fedora?

    The rope was tight, digging into the skin of Fedora’s wrists, but not impossibly so. She’d been still for hours—breathing, counting, watching the patterns of the guard who stood at the door of the dingy fifth-floor room. The old textile factory was a crumbling skeleton of rust and rot, but it gave her something Korben hadn’t counted on: silence. Silence that let her hear every footstep. Every whisper. Every opportunity. Korben had gone out for food. The guard was bored. And Fedora… was ready. She shifted in the chair slowly, careful not to draw attention. Earlier, while Korben ranted about demands and consequences, she’d swiped the tiny piece of jagged metal from the broken vent behind her. Now, she pressed it against the rope, sawing back and forth behind her back. Her wrists bled, but she didn’t stop. Her arms trembled from the strain. Still, she kept cutting. Minutes felt like lifetimes Then—snap. The rope gave. She moved fast. Before the guard could react, she was on him. T

  • No Apologies, No Regrets   Chapter 26: The Release

    “Dammit!” Korben snarled, kicking over a rusted pipe as he stormed into the room. The bowl of street noodles he brought crashed to the floor, splattering the wall. The guard he’d assigned to Fedora lay writhing, bloodied and dazed, clutching his jaw and muttering incoherently. The ropes were on the ground—cut clean through. The window? Shattered.The air was rank with rage and panic.“Where is she?!” Korben bellowed, grabbing the man by the collar, shaking him violently. “You had one job!”He didn’t wait for an answer.Upstairs. Downstairs. Through the stairwell. Behind crates and rotten furniture. He tore through every room in the crumbling warehouse. No Fedora. He charged outside, diving into the dense brush behind the building, gun drawn, scanning for movement. Nothing.She was gone.She’d outmaneuvered him.And the handover to Judah was in just a few hours.He paced, breathing hard. Options flickered in his mind like static. He couldn’t show up empty-handed. That would mean he ca

  • No Apologies, No Regrets   Chapter 25: Kidnapped

    Judah’s knuckles were white on the conference table. The room was dim, tension slicing through the air like a scalpel to the throat.“Confirmed?” he asked.Trenholm’s expression was grim, jaw set. “Confirmed. Korben Lyle isn’t just back—he’s activated. He’s reached out to Rivas' network. He’s offering names, files, ops. Everything.”Judah stood slowly. His voice was a whisper soaked in fury. “He’s selling me out.”Trenholm nodded. “And Fedora.”Judah’s eyes narrowed into slits. “I should’ve ended him in Tel Aviv.”But this wasn’t about failed missions anymore.This was personal.This was Fedora.***Judah knows Korben very well. In fact, he had worked with him on several cases before he went rogue. Before he became the agency’s most hunted asset, he was one of their best.Operative-classified. Special activities division. A handler’s nightmare and a field agent’s legend. He didn’t follow rules—he rewrote them. Missions that should’ve failed became ghost stories whispered in Langley’s

  • No Apologies, No Regrets   Chapter 24: The Shadow That Watched

    The text came through at 2:03 a.m.Unknown Number: “She looked happy with you. Let’s see how long that lasts.”Judah stared at the screen, fingers tightening around his phone. The air in his apartment suddenly felt colder. He rose from the couch, checked the windows. All locked. Still, something didn’t feel right.Someone had seen them. Someone had watched.And that someone wasn’t Rivas.***In her room, Fedora stood in front of her bathroom mirror, brushing her teeth in silence. Her phone buzzed on the counter.Anonymous: “You were always too soft, Fedora. I’m surprised you’re still alive.”She froze, foam drying on her lips. The number was untraceable.Another message followed.Anonymous: “Cynthia said you couldn’t stomach blood.”Her grip on the toothbrush loosened. It clattered into the sink."Cynthia? What does she have to do with this? How did this stalker know she hated the sight of blood?" She quizzed rhetorically.She knew that Cynthia was vengeful, but not to this extent. Or

  • No Apologies, No Regrets   Chapter 23: Jealousy in the Horizon…

    It started as an ordinary Saturday. Fedora and Judah were at the mall, doing something as simple as picking out curtain swatches. They blended into the crowd—Judah in his dark glasses and cap, Fedora in jeans and a cropped sweater—relaxed for the first time in days after what they went through during the first consignment delivery for Rivas.They were laughing at something silly—a pretzel vendor who insisted his snacks had “marriage-saving salt”—when a voice called out, slicing through the peace.“Fedora?”Her smile froze.Fedora turned to see the one face she’d never hoped to see again.Tyler.There he was, in jeans and a button-down, older and clearly worn out. Fedora’s heart stuttered, not because she still felt anything for him—but because she didn’t.“I just need fifteen minutes,” Tyler said, desperation bleeding through his words.“Who is he?” Judah asked.“He is my ex. We broke up about five years ago.” She answered“Fedora, please, can you give me fifteen minutes of time, if y

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