"Miss, Xander is just my ex-fiancé," Zeenat sneered, waving a hand dismissively. "He slunk away a while ago. He probably dragged himself back to whatever backward village he came from."
"I see," Audrey said, her eyes narrowing. "And what is the name of this village?"
"We don't know," Zeenat replied flatly.
The admission sent a shockwave of whispers through the high-society crowd. "What? They don't even know?" "That's bizarre. How do you get engaged to someone without knowing where they're from?" "I bet the Averys were harboring a wanted criminal without realizing it." "Exactly. For all we know, the guy was a transient serial killer." "Oh, poor Zeenat. Thank goodness she escaped that monster."
Audrey listened to the mindless chatter, thoroughly disgusted. "Well, I wish you a beautiful marriage," she said dryly, turning on her heel and exiting the luxury venue.
As she walked out into the cool night air, a persistent thought plagued her mind. Why do I care so much about a delivery boy? Am I actually losing my mind?
As she approached the shadows of the parking lot, a figure clad entirely in black materialized from the darkness. "Boss," Black Lizard whispered, stepping forward. "What are our orders? It's as if this man completely vanished off the face of the earth. Could the Averys have quietly gotten rid of him?"
"Drop it," Audrey commanded, her voice turning instantly cold and authoritative. "We have bigger things to worry about. What's the status of Kingdom Z?"
"Everything is stable, Boss. However, the Prime Minister is demanding a meeting. He explicitly stated that if you refuse to show your face this time, you can stop acting as their shadow protector."
Audrey let out a quiet scoff. "Is that so, Black Lizard?"
"Yes, Boss."
Audrey paused, looking out toward the city horizon. "Tell me... do you ever miss your family?"
The question caught the hardened assassin completely off guard. Black Lizard visibly tensed. "Sometimes, Boss, but my loyalty is—"
"Tell the entire unit to take a mandatory vacation," Audrey interrupted smoothly. "They are relieved until duty calls. But give them a warning: any misbehavior during their downtime, and they will spend the rest of their lives working the graveyard shifts."
We practically work twenty-four-seven anyway, Black Lizard thought, though she kept the dry humor to herself. "And what about you, Boss? Where will you go?"
"I'm going home to see my people," Audrey replied easily.
Black Lizard's jaw nearly dropped. In all her years of service, she had never heard even a whisper about the Boss having a family. To the underworld, the ruthless leader of the unit was a phantom. "You... have a family, Boss?"
Audrey caught the utter bewilderment on her subordinate's face and let out a soft, genuine smile. "What? Did you think I was spawned from a tree branch or crawled out of the depths of hell?"
If any of the other high-ranking operatives had been there to witness that smile, they would have dragged Audrey straight to a medical bay for a brain scan. The terrifying, unyielding Boss... smiling? It was a sight Black Lizard never thought she'd live to see.
"Go on," Audrey said, dismissing her with a wave. "Relay the message, and I'll contact you when the recess is over."
With her unit dismissed, Audrey walked toward her private hangar. There's no point in staying in this city if Xander is gone, she reasoned.
As an expert pilot who valued her independence, she prepped her private jet without notifying a single soul and took off into the night sky, charting a direct course for the exclusive, heavily fortified private island of Nation A.
An hour later, the jet glided down onto a massive, immaculately manicured private runway. The estate was breathtakingly vast, spanning nearly the entire island.
Audrey shut down the engines, expecting to slip inside unnoticed as usual. But as the canopy opened, she spotted a figure waiting on the tarmac—her brilliant younger brother, Liam, who happened to be the continent's most celebrated prodigy in medicine and science.
"Princess...?" Liam gasped, rubbing his eyes as if he were seeing a ghost.
Audrey froze on the wing, entirely caught off guard.
"Sister! It's really you! Hahaha!" Liam let out a joyous shout, sprinting across the tarmac. "I can't believe my luck! The universe is finally smiling on me." It had been five long years since they had last shared a room.
"Keep it down, big head," Audrey hissed affectionately, jumping down and wrapping her arms around his neck. "You're going to trip the automated security grid."
Liam pulled back, scanning her stained cleaning uniform with a look of horror. "We have a lot to talk about, but first, my dear royal sister, you are going directly back into that cabin to change into something that doesn't scream 'undercover custodian.' Let's get you looking like the princess you actually are."
It was a well-kept secret that due to her deep-cover operations, not even the elite staff inside the mansion had seen Audrey's grown face; the only portraits hanging in the grand halls were of her as a young girl.
A few minutes later, Audrey stepped out wearing an elegant, casual designer dress.
"See? Much better," Liam teased, walking alongside her toward the grand estate. "It's time you stopped playing ghost, Sister. Keep hiding like this, and you'll miss out on all the handsome bachelors in high society and end up married to some ancient billionaire. Besides, you're starting to carry yourself like a drill sergeant."
Audrey shot him a lethal glare. "Are you actively begging for an early grave, little brother?"
Liam just laughed, slinging an arm over her shoulder. "I'm just saying, you're gorgeous, Audrey. Put on a dress, and you completely outshine even Mommy."