Chapter 1

The mayor's son was being held hostage in an abandoned slaughterhouse by a deranged psycho.

I locked my sniper scope dead onto the killer's forehead.

Just as my finger touched the trigger, Sean—my husband and the SWAT tactical commander—cut off my comms.

"Hold your fire! Wait for Chloe to arrive and begin psychological negotiation!"

Just like my past life.

Back then, Chloe, posing as an elite criminal profiler, babbled forty minutes of textbook nonsense at the killer.

She enraged the psycho so badly that he sliced off the hostage's ear on the spot.

Unable to take it anymore, I pulled the trigger and blew the killer's head off.

Chloe puked and passed out cold.

Her humiliating performance went viral on social media, sparking widespread backlash until she had a total mental breakdown.

After that, Sean reassigned me to go undercover inside a brutal organ-trafficking syndicate.

On the night of the bust, he deliberately dialed my phone, blowing my cover to the butchers.

"Loved playing the hero, didn't you? Let's see how heroic you feel when they dissect you alive!"

In my dying moments, I watched him walk in with his arm around Chloe, his face plastered with fake grief.

Now, reborn back to this exact second, the killer's blade was once again pressed against the boy's throat.

I slowly lowered my rifle, a cold smirk touching my lips.

Let's see how your little act plays out this time.

Over the comms, Chloe's voice drifted into all of our earpieces.

Her tone was soft and gentle, as if soothing a throwing-a-tantrum toddler rather than an unstable maniac holding a serrated blade.

"I know you're in pain... I understand you're angry. We hear what you want..."

"Hurtful actions won't solve anything. We can find a better path together..."

"Goddammit!"

Cole, the point man flanking the kill zone, growled under his breath, his voice laced with pure rage.

"What the hell is she babbling about? Can't she see that sick bastard is about to cut the kid's throat?!"

"Command, the target's getting worse! Negotiation failed! Requesting immediate green light to shoot!"

Miller, my spotter, chimed in urgently.

The line went silent for a second before Sean's calm, detached voice broke in.

"Stand down. Chloe is building rapport. Nobody moves without my direct order!"

"Rapport my ass! Keep waiting and the hostage is a corpse!"

Cole dropped his voice, but the fury was unmistakable.

Chloe's voice cut in again, completely unbothered.

"Are your actions right now a reflection of your childhood trauma? We can talk about that..."

"Fuck!"

Someone cursed over the open radio.

The psycho seemed completely triggered by her words. He let out a harsh, gravelly screech.

"Shut up! Who the fuck do you think you are? Say one more word and I'll gut him right now!"

The blade dug half an inch deeper into Jason Adams' trembling neck, drawing a thin line of red.

The mayor's son choked out a muffled whimper, his pupils dilated in pure horror.

Mayor Adams' gravelly roar tore through the command channel, followed by the chaotic sounds of people trying to hold him back.

"Sean Vance! If my boy loses a single hair, you'll never wear that badge again! Shoot him! Save my son!"

After a brief pause, Sean's voice finally came back online.

"Victoria, give me the target's status."

The radio went dead silent.

In my previous life, this was the moment I'd provide the sharpest tactical assessment, handing him the justification he needed while shouldering the blame if things went south.

Not this time.

Through my high-magnification scope, I watched the terrified boy shivering in his own filth.

And I watched the psycho spiraling into pure madness because of Chloe's self-righteous psychobabble.

I keyed my mic, my voice entirely flat.

"My job is pulling the trigger, Commander. I don't read psycho minds."

"That call is yours to make."

Dead silence flooded the channel.

I could practically picture Sean's face.

His cool, calculated mask must have shattered right into stunned disbelief.

"Victoria! Watch your tone! We are in the middle of an active operation!"

His voice carried a sharp reprimand, desperate to reassert control.

I replied instantly, respectful in tone, but hard as steel.

"Understood, Commander. Until you issue the order, my finger won't touch the trigger."

"After all, I can't take the blame for ruining Chloe's rapport."