CHAPTER 3 — THE WOMAN WHO WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO EXIST
The first mistake Damian Russo made was firing Hazel Brooks.
The second mistake…
was assuming she would run.
Because Hazel Brooks had never run from danger.
She walked straight toward it.
---
The abandoned warehouse on the west side of Chicago smelled like rust, gasoline, and old rain.
Hazel stood in the middle of the empty building.
No security.
No weapon visible.
No fear on her face.
A man stepped out from the shadows.
Black coat.
Gray hair.
A scar crossing his left eyebrow.
“You look different.”
Hazel didn’t move.
“You look exactly the same.”
The man smiled slightly.
“That’s rude.”
“It’s accurate.”
The man laughed quietly.
Most people were afraid of him.
Hazel wasn’t.
That was why he hated dealing with her.
“You should have left Chicago when you had the chance.”
Hazel looked around the warehouse.
“You called me here to give advice?”
“No.”
The smile disappeared.
“I called you here because Damian Russo knows.”
For the first time, Hazel’s eyes changed.
Barely.
But enough.
The man noticed.
“There it is.”
“What?”
“The part of you that actually cares.”
Hazel looked away.
“Leave him out of this.”
The man stepped closer.
“After everything he did?”
A pause.
“He forgot you existed.”
Hazel stayed silent.
“He treated you like furniture.”
Still nothing.
“He fired you.”
The man leaned closer.
“And you still want to protect him?”
Hazel’s jaw tightened.
Just slightly.
“I’m not protecting Damian.”
The man raised an eyebrow.
“Then what are you doing?”
Hazel looked directly at him.
“Preventing a war.”
---
Two hours later.
Damian Russo stood inside his private investigation room.
The walls were covered with photographs.
Names.
Connections.
Every enemy he had collected over twenty years.
Garrett placed another file on the table.
“Her real name isn’t Hazel Brooks.”
Damian opened the folder.
Inside:
A birth certificate.
A photograph.
A classified report.
He read the first line.
Then stopped.
“Hannah?”
Garrett nodded.
“Hannah Brooks.”
Damian looked confused.
“She changed her name?”
“Years ago.”
“Why?”
Garrett hesitated.
“Because someone wanted her erased.”
Damian flipped through the pages.
The more he read…
the quieter he became.
Hannah Brooks.
Former intelligence operative.
Specialized in threat assessment.
Counter-surveillance.
Close protection.
Hand-to-hand combat.
Weapons training.
Damian stared at the photo.
The woman in the picture was Hazel.
Younger.
Different.
But the same eyes.
The same expression.
“She lied to me.”
Garrett watched him carefully.
“Yes.”
Damian closed the file.
A normal person would have been angry.
Damian was angry.
But something else was underneath.
Something he hated admitting.
Disappointment.
Because a small part of him realized…
he wanted her to have trusted him.
---
The elevator doors opened.
Hazel stepped onto the 72nd floor.
Every security guard raised their hands toward their weapons.
She stopped.
Looked around.
Then sighed.
“Really?”
Garrett walked forward.
“Sorry.”
Hazel looked at him.
“No, you’re not.”
A small smile almost appeared on Garrett’s face.
Almost.
“You’re right.”
Damian’s office door opened.
Hazel looked inside.
Damian stood behind his desk.
The same place where he fired her.
The same place where he thought he knew everything.
“Mr. Russo.”
Her voice was professional.
Too professional.
Damian noticed.
“You came back.”
“You asked me to.”
“I didn’t think you would.”
Hazel looked at him.
“That was your first mistake.”
The words hit harder than Damian expected.
He walked around the desk.
“You lied about who you are.”
“Yes.”
No excuse.
No denial.
That irritated him more.
“Why?”
Hazel looked toward the window.
Rain moved down the glass.
“Because people treat you differently when they know what you can do.”
Damian crossed his arms.
“And what exactly can you do?”
A pause.
Hazel looked back at him.
“Survive.”
The answer was simple.
But it carried years behind it.
---
Damian placed the photo on the desk.
The one showing Hazel beside his old enemy.
“Explain this.”
Hazel’s face changed.
Only for a second.
But Damian saw it.
“That man was supposed to be dead.”
“He was.”
Damian stepped closer.
“Then why are you standing beside him?”
Hazel didn’t answer.
And Damian hated the silence.
Because silence from Hazel was never empty.
It was a warning.
Finally she said:
“Because before he became your enemy…”
She looked at the picture.
“He was my father.”
The room went completely still.
Damian stared.
“No.”
Hazel nodded.
“Yes.”
“That’s impossible.”
A small, tired smile crossed her face.
“You say that a lot.”
Damian looked away.
The same phrase Garrett used.
The same phrase that kept proving him wrong.
---
Before Damian could ask another question…
the lights went out.
The entire 72nd floor became dark.
Emergency alarms started screaming.
Garrett immediately reached for his weapon.
“Everyone down!”
A gunshot exploded.
The bullet shattered the office window.
Glass rained across the floor.
Damian moved too slowly.
For the first time in years…
he froze.
Hazel didn’t.
She grabbed him.
Pulled him behind the desk.
Another bullet hit the wall.
Hazel reached inside her coat.
Damian saw the weapon.
A small suppressed pistol.
The same weapon from the security footage.
She moved toward the darkness.
“Stay here.”
Damian grabbed her arm.
“Where are you going?”
Hazel looked at him.
And for the first time…
he saw something human in her eyes.
Fear.
Not for herself.
For him.
“I’m going to stop them.”
Then she disappeared into the darkness.
---
Outside the office.
Garrett heard footsteps.
Not Hazel’s.
Someone else.
Someone who knew the building.
Someone who knew security patterns.
Someone who had access.
A voice came through the emergency communication system.
Calm.
Confident.
Familiar.
“Damian.”
Everyone froze.
Because they recognized the voice.
Michael Voss.
The man Damian trusted.
The man who tried to kill him.
“I told you, Damian.”
A pause.
“You should have fired her sooner.”
Damian looked toward the dark hallway.
And realized the truth.
Michael didn’t fear Hazel.
Michael knew her.
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