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Chapter 2

Author: Perfect Timing
In the memory, sunlight flooded the training grounds.

Sean knelt on one knee and slipped a ring onto Chelsea's finger. He had crafted it by hand, carefully shaping and polishing the casing of a sniper rifle bullet.

The love in his eyes was enough to drown a person. It was a look he had never once given me.

"Chelsea, I swear on my life that I will protect you for the rest of yours."

Chelsea blushed, then threw herself into his arms.

Applause thundered around them.

Back then, I had been standing a short distance away, clutching my freshly cleaned sniper rifle. Sunlight flashed off the scope's lens, hiding every emotion in my eyes.

A wave of whispers rose from the audience.

"I knew it! General Lawson and Chelsea were always meant to be together."

"Janet must have betrayed her comrades out of jealousy. She was in love with him, and she couldn't stand seeing him choose Chelsea!"

"So that is what happened. What a heartless, vicious woman!"

The accusations swept over me like a rising tide, swallowing me whole.

Sean watched the sweet scene on the screen without a trace of emotion. Then he turned back to me, a cruel smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Janet, do you remember this?" He leaned down and whispered in my ear, though his voice was loud enough for Arthur in the front row to hear. "You made that ring for me with your own hands."

The words struck like an explosion. It felt as if an enormous hand had closed around my heart and squeezed until I could barely breathe. Phantom pain flared across my back, where the branding irons in the black-site prison had burned my skin.

Of course, I remembered.

I had spent three days and three nights melting down and polishing more than a thousand discarded bullet casings, all to make him a one-of-a-kind wedding gift.

Yet he had used that ring to promise my best friend a lifetime of love.

The memory on the screen abruptly changed.

Now it showed the briefing room for the final mission, codenamed Operation Decapitation.

Sean, Chelsea, and I had formed an elite three-person strike team known as the Blade Unit. We were the heart of the operation, and its success depended on us.

In the recording, I looked calm and focused as my fingers moved swiftly across the tactical map, marking three possible sniper positions.

"Position A offers the clearest line of sight, but it leaves us exposed. Position B provides better cover, but the firing angle is limited. I recommend Position C. It carries the lowest overall risk. Wind speed is three meters per second, humidity is 75%, and I've already calculated the necessary adjustments."

The contrast between the highly skilled professional on the screen and the broken woman I had become was almost unbearable.

"Pause it."

Sean's sudden command cut through the courtroom. He pointed at my calm, focused face on the screen and addressed the audience.

"Look at her. That is the face that fooled every single one of us. Who could have guessed that, at the most critical moment, she'd lose her nerve, refuse to take the shot, and stand by while the enemy dragged Chelsea away?"

"Coward!"

"Traitor!"

"Kill her! Avenge Chelsea!"

The crowd's fury erupted again, their shouts crashing through the courtroom like a storm. Arthur trembled with rage. He pointed at me, his lips quivering, but he was too furious to form a single word.

Sean paid no attention to my body shaking violently from the electric shocks. He took a syringe from an assistant and drove the needle into my neck.

"Technician, continue!"

The powerful stimulant sent my already damaged nervous system into a state of extreme agitation, amplifying every ounce of pain.

The world around me began to twist and tear apart. Countless fragments of memory surged into my mind like floodwaters bursting through a broken dam.

"Ahhh!"

At last, I let out a scream I could no longer hold back.

Sean smiled. "That's more like it. Scream louder. Let everyone hear a traitor's cries of agony."

Light and shadow shifted across the screen. At last, the memories reached the dangerous border jungle where the mission had unfolded.

Bang!

The first gunshot rang out.

The mission had begun.

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    Sean's death did not cause much of a stir.The military's internal records contained only one cold, impersonal statement: [Killed in the line of duty.]In the end, he had sought his own way to atone for the sins he had committed. He left behind a final letter and entrusted it to the warden, asking him to deliver it to my parents.The letter contained only one short sentence: [Please have my ashes buried beside Janet's memorial grave.]My parents remained silent for a long time. In the end, they signed the necessary papers.Taking into account Sean's final act of service and his remorse, the military command approved the request.At the Heroes' Memorial Cemetery, a nameless stone appeared beside my headstone. It stood like a silent sentry, keeping watch over me for all eternity.In the women's prison, Chelsea learned of Sean's death through the news. She completely lost her mind."He's come for me! Sean is coming to take my life!"Day and night, she screamed and sobbed in her c

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  • The Memory He Broke   Chapter 7

    I lay motionless in the most advanced sterile ward at the military's central hospital. Tubes and wires covered my body, keeping me alive, while the heart monitor let out its sharp, steady beeps.Sean had been granted special permission to visit me. He wore a prison uniform, and cold steel handcuffs circled his wrists. In just a few days, he had become almost unrecognizable. His cheeks were hollow, his eyes deeply sunken, and stubble covered his face."Janet..."He sat beside my bed and carefully took my cold hand, pressing it against his rough, stubbled cheek. He rubbed it gently over and over, as if that were the only way he could make me feel his presence.Then, he began talking to me."The first time I saw you at the shooting range, you told me my grip on my rifle was all wrong. Later, you secretly modified my Type 92 pistol for me. You adjusted the barrel's balance so perfectly that even the master gunsmiths at the factory could not have done better."That time at the border,

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    On the outskirts of the city, a private jet was preparing to leave the country in secret. Its engines had barely begun to roar when dozens of special forces soldiers descended on the airfield and surrounded the aircraft. Their weapons were trained on the boarding stairs.Chelsea, dressed in a luxurious designer gown, was just about to step onto the stairs with effortless elegance.The moment she saw the soldiers, her smug smile froze. Her face turned deathly pale, but she quickly regained her composure.Lifting the hem of her gown, she strode arrogantly toward the officer in charge. "Do you have any idea who I am? My father is General Arthur Moore!"The commanding officer's expression remained icy and hard, like a statue cast from iron. Without hesitation, he presented the highest-level arrest warrant issued by military command."Chelsea Moore, you are suspected of treason, leaking classified military intelligence, and deliberately framing an innocent service member. By order of m

  • The Memory He Broke   Chapter 5

    On the screen, Chelsea handed the USB drive to the Doctor, then turned and detonated the explosives she had planted in advance.The deafening blast created the illusion that she had been captured and killed in action. The moment I saw her smile, however, I understood everything.I could not let the Doctor escape with the USB drive. Even more importantly, I could not let Sean be crushed by the brutal truth.Hence, I chose to fight the enemy to the bitter end.On the screen, I fired my last bullet, then drew my combat knife and slit an enemy soldier's throat.With the enemy closing in from every direction, I smashed my beloved sniper rifle just seconds before they could capture me. Then I grabbed the enemy commander and threw myself off the cliff with him.The final memory showed me being captured by enemy soldiers at the bottom of the cliff. To force information out of me, they heated an iron rod in a campfire until it glowed red. Then they pressed it hard against my upper back, j

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