Chapter 8

I barely slept all night.

So, it was no surprise that I woke up late the next day.

The bedsheets were tangled, and the man was no longer beside me.

I got up, then tried to clear my chaotic thoughts, and took a shower.

The deal Julian mentioned was scheduled for midnight tonight at East Harbor.

So I still had time to get ready, but before that, I needed to think about two things.

First, what exactly was Lily Carter to Julian, and what was her motive?

If she truly was Julian’s ‘white moonlight,’ that would be great. Then Julian would have a weakness, and an enemy with a weakness would be far less threatening.

If she wasn’t, then it would be a huge problem.

She was coming for *me*, trying to take me down. Why, I didn’t know. Whether she could become an ally, I also didn’t know.

Second, had my identity been exposed to Julian?

This was my biggest fear.

Julian was utterly unpredictable; no one knew his next move.

Everyone in the game feared him because he’d invite you for tea while he was simultaneously plunging a knife into your back.

As I pondered, my hand instinctively went to the phone card hidden in the inner pocket of my bag.

This was given to me by the department—my last resort.

That year, Chief Jenkins had clapped my shoulder and told me that if there ever came a day when I couldn’t continue my undercover work, I should call this number. The department would do everything to protect me, even if it meant pulling me out of a wolf’s den.

But if I made that call, everything would be for nothing.

Everything I’d sacrificed.

Six years of endurance, the blood of my comrades, every step I’d taken against justice.

I would become a criminal in the eyes of the law, because all those sacrifices would have been for naught.

I dreamed of putting handcuffs on Julian’s wrists, I dreamed of it constantly.

After flipping that phone card countless times, I finally closed my eyes.

And put it back in the inner pocket.