Camille's gloves struck the heavy bag in rapid succession, each hit landing with controlled precision. The dull thud of leather filled the gym, steady, relentless. Sweat traced a slow line down her temple, but she ignored it, shifting her weight as she drove another punch forward.
Her body moved on instinct. Years of discipline had carved the rhythm into her bones.
"Again."
Master Lee's voice cut through the noise.
She pivoted, throwing a clean hook. He stepped aside with ease, his movements still fluid despite his age.
"Not bad," he said.
Camille smirked, feinting before snapping her fist forward. Her glove brushed his shoulder.
"Careful," she said lightly. "You're getting slow."
He snorted. "Experience doesn't make me immune to arrogance."
She laughed under her breath, bouncing back into stance. "I'll take that as a compliment."
They moved again, falling into a familiar pattern, but this time, he was watching her differently.
"You've been gone," he said.
She didn't stop moving. "Busy."
"Distracted," he corrected.
Her next punch hit harder than necessary.
"Maybe I needed the break," she replied, tone easy, almost careless.
Master Lee's gaze didn't waver. "You don't take breaks."
Camille exhaled, stepping back. For a moment, she said nothing.
"Maybe I'll switch careers. Become a professional boxer. Sounds cool, right?" then she smiled. "I feel like I'm evolving."
"Or spiraling, And you know where that leads." he said quietly.
That earned him a sharper look.
"You worry too much."
"And you don't worry enough."
Silence stretched between them for a beat.
Then she rolled her shoulders, shaking it off. "Relax. I'm fine."
Master Lee studied her a moment longer before finally nodding. "We're done."
By the time she peeled off her gloves, her muscles burned in that familiar, satisfying way. She reached for her water bottle, tilting her head back for a long drink when...
"Camille."
She lowered it.
Master Lee stood near the entrance, his expression unreadable.
"Someone's here for you."
Her brows lifted slightly.
"Send them in," she said.
She had been expecting a courier, maybe a visitor, and now she was not prepared for who actually appeared.
Immaculate, poised, and commanding.
Mr Black.
Camille straightened immediately, setting the bottle aside.
"Sir."
"Camille," he replied, voice smooth. "I trust your time away has been productive."
"Enlightening," she said evenly.
His gaze lingered on her for a second too long, as though weighing something unseen. Then he turned to Master Lee.
"We'll need the office."
A brief pause.
Then a nod. "Go ahead."
The office felt smaller the moment he stepped inside.
Camille remained standing as he closed the door behind them. He took his time lighting a cigar, the faint glow briefly illuminating his face before he exhaled slowly.
"I won't waste your time," he said.
A file slid across the desk toward her.
"You have a new assignment."
Camille didn't move immediately.
Then she stepped forward and opened it.
A photograph stared back at her.
Her breath caught as recognition dawned, quick, almost imperceptible.
Impossible.
Not him.
The man whose lips she had walked away from. She could still feel the imprint of his hands on her waist as he guided her round the ballroom. He had never left her thoughts. His cologne still clung to her dress, and she could still picture the cocky smirk on his face as he led her across the ballroom that night.
She knew him.
Not from files.
From memory.
And that complicated everything.
"Kade Wilder," Mr. Black said, exhaling smoke. "His name has surfaced repeatedly in connection with a Russian smuggling network."
Kade Wilder, huh?
She read the bold name on the file, and studied the photo with professional detachment, her face giving nothing away.
CEO of Wilder Nexus. Untouchable. Private. A man the public barely glimpsed, yet one whose influence reached everywhere.
What was he doing on the agency's most watched list? She wondered.
Was he a killer? A scammer?
Her fingers tightened slightly on the edge of the file.
"We have nothing concrete now," Mr Black continued. "But enough to warrant interest."
"What's the objective?" she asked, holding her expression in perfect control.
"Infiltration."
Her eyes lifted to meet his.
"You'll get close to him. His company. His inner circle. You'll find out what he's hiding."
A pause.
"And if he's guilty?"
"We bring him down."
Camille closed the file slowly.
"Why me?"
Mr Black leaned back, studying her.
"That sounds like hesitation."
"It's a question."
A faint smile touched his lips, but it didn't reach his eyes.
"This requires absolute precision, control… and seduction."
He tapped ash into the tray and stared at her intensely.
"You are the best candidate we have."
A chill went down her spine in the silence that issued after.
Then...
"Do you believe you're capable?"
For a fraction of a second, she stiffened as memories of her last mission flickered through her mind, but it was gone just as quickly.
"I am."
"Good."
He gestured toward the file.
"You'll assume a new identity. Camille Devile disappears. Camille De Luca takes her place." He stood up. "Go through the details in the file."
Her pulse ticked faster, not from fear, but anticipation. A challenge like this was rare, sharp enough to cut through the monotony she had been feeling. Her mind was already moving ahead, mapping possibilities, contingencies.
She wondered for a brief moment what expression would cross his face when they met again and suppressed a smile.
Would he remember her?
Faces like his were puzzles. And she had always loved puzzles.
A slow thrill of excitement snaked down her spine. The thought of slipping into his world, navigating it undetected, and learning every secret, made her pulse quicken.
Nodding once, she walked to the door, file in hand.
"And Camille…"
She paused at the door.
"Don't let his face distract you."
A small, almost amused smile curved her lips.
"That won't be a problem."
Outside, the noise of the gym returned, but it felt distant now.
Her world had already shifted.
Kade Wilder.
The name echoed in her mind as she walked away.
Fate had a strange sense of humor.
She had walked away from him once.
This time she wouldn't.
A slow thrill curled beneath her skin.
He wouldn't see her coming.
And if he did?
Even better.