Chapter 6: Betrayal.
The compound felt colder when Lia returned.
She slipped through the reinforced doors, past the checkpoints and watchful cameras, her body moving on instinct while her mind lingered elsewhere. The children in the park, their laughter, their innocence — it clung to her like a scar she couldn't scrub clean.
Raiden barely looked at her when she entered the briefing room. He was always like that — sharp, composed, his face carved from stone. The kind of man who only saw results, never people.
"You're slipping," he said without preamble, tossing a folder onto the table. "You hesitated tonight."
"I completed the mission," Lia replied, her voice even.
"Barely." His eyes met hers, cold and unyielding. "Next time you hesitate, you won't come back."
She felt the threat like a blade to her throat but didn't react. She'd learned early on that weakness was something The Order devoured.
Beside Raiden stood Ash, quiet and expressionless. He'd always been one of the few Lia could rely on — not a friend, not here, no one was a friend, everyone only strive to survive, he was but a shadow she knew wouldn't stab her in the dark. Or so she believed.
Until now.
Later that night, as she made her way down the narrow hallway to her quarters, Ash appeared behind her.
"Lia."
She turned, surprised. He rarely spoke unless necessary.
"What is it?"
For a moment, there was something almost human in his gaze. A flicker of hesitation. And then it vanished.
"I heard what Raiden said." His voice was low, unreadable. "You should watch yourself."
"I can handle myself."
"I don't think you can," he said, taking a step closer. "You've changed."
The words hit harder than any blow. Because they were true, she had changed.
"And you haven't?" she shot back, anger sparking in her chest. "Do you even remember who you were before this place?"
Ash didn't answer. His expression hardened.
"I'm not like you," he said. "I don't make mistakes. And I don't let sentiment get me killed." "The past is past, don't dwell in it. That's the way to survive."
Something shifted in the air. Lia's instincts screamed at her — and too late, she realized why he was here.
A hand clamped around her wrist, twisting. She reacted without thinking, slamming her elbow into his chest, breaking free. The two of them moved like trained predators, strikes fast and merciless in the dim hallway.
But she knew, even as she fought him, that he wasn't trying to kill her.
He was testing her.
Or worse — delivering a message.
Ash pinned her against the wall, his face inches from hers.
"You're a liability now," he said, voice flat. "If you don't get yourself in line… someone else will handle it for you."
Then he was gone, disappearing into the shadows as swiftly as he'd appeared.
Lia stood there, her breath ragged, the sting of betrayal burning sharper than the ache in her wrist.
She had trusted him.
Not as a friend, but as a constant — one of the few faces that didn't turn on her. But now she saw it clearly: in The Order, there was no trust. No loyalty. Only survival.
And Lia had just been marked as a threat.
That night, as she lay in her cot, the image of the children returned. Their laughter. Their freedom.
Though now she was the strongest, but she was alone. She alone couldn't deal with everyone here. Everyone here was a cruel killer. Even... she was.
And a new thought took root alongside the old one.
'I'm going to burn this place to the ground.'
The anger in her was burning. She was thinking of a plan — a plan to get stronger and to destroy this place.
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End of chapter 6
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