Chapter 1

My best friend Thea went missing during an undercover operation abroad. I submitted a request to the organization to go in as her backup.

When I found her, she was being tortured at a reservoir, barely recognizable. But thankfully, she hadn't cracked—hadn't exposed her identity. She'd survived.

Over the next few years, the two of us became mistresses to two leaders of the criminal organization. We coordinated seamlessly, working our way closer to the core. Finally, on Thea's 29th birthday, we took them all down and completed the mission!

Looking at the ticket home in my hands, I broke down crying right there, unable to control myself.

"Thea, this nightmare is finally over. We can go home!"

I was about to take out the birthday present I'd prepared for her when Thea suddenly sighed. "Yeah, we haven't been back in so long. I wonder if that persimmon tree at home is still there."

Her expression was wistful, but I stared at her in shock, my heart suddenly gripped with fear.

Both our parents had been killed by drug dealers. Before we even entered the police academy, we knew we'd one day have to face these criminals head-on.

Thea had pointed at that persimmon tree and made a pact with me: "Our parents' ashes are buried beneath it. It's not a persimmon tree—it's a Tree of Vengeance. If one of us ever gets compromised, we'll find a way to send out the code word 'persimmon tree.'"

"It means: I've been exposed. Don't believe a single word I say."

Now, when she was clearly safe, she'd just said those words right in front of me.

She absolutely wasn't my Thea! So where was my real Thea?

Who was this person I'd been working with undercover for years, licking blood off knife-edges, fighting with nothing but conviction and our lives on the line?