They handed Valentina everything: a U.S. passport, a birth certificate with her name printed cleanly in serif font: Valentina Smith, a Social Security card, and an official Certificate of Citizenship processed through emergency protocols. Even a tiny plastic ID with her picture on it, though the woman in the photograph looked like a ghost who hadn’t yet learned how to smile.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhR5HBDPUK5
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It's supposed to mean something; it's her identity, returned to her after twenty years lost in blood and gunpowder. But as Captain Roger Brown placed the folder into her hands, she stared at it with a blank expression, like it was someone else’s life printed on that paper. Not even the weight of the folder brought her back to herself.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVKKOvoI3Oq
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“They’re still alive,” he told her gently, watching her closely. “Your parents. Your siblings. They still live in Texas. Same house. We ran the records twice.” She didn’t blink. Didn’t flinch. The room was cold with silence.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvsTsOHa2lH
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“You want to meet them?” Roger asked cautiously. “We can arrange that.”74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNXodE165vt
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Valentina looked down at the certificate of birth. Her finger traced the line marked “Father’s Name,” then “Mother’s Name.” She tilted her head, reading the names of the people who sold her.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5cIqNeDZ7K
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“I just want to see them,” she said. Her voice was soft but firm. “I don’t need to talk. I just want to remember the faces that threw me away.” There was no rage in her tone. No forgiveness either. Just stillness. A kind of dead calm only someone forged in war could hold for so long.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIhb05kjvdT
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Within six months, she's with the army. The army gave her a new life—one filled with things she had never known she’d missed. They trained her for peace, not war. She learned how to use a smartphone. Learned to scroll, swipe, and tap. She was taught how to Google things, how to watch YouTube videos, how to order food online, and how to use social media.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡou3umf48cw
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Twitter confused her. Instagram seemed like a weapon of mass distraction. TikTok made her raise an eyebrow and say, “Why are they all dancing?”74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡslfoi8KVHZ
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They taught her how to blend in, how to wear jeans, and how to speak without sounding like a commander. She learned the slang. Watched videos about pop culture. Memorized idol group names. “I like her,” she said once, pointing to a female K-pop singer in a music video. “She reminds me of someone in my dream.”74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4d0VX7em6Z
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They taught her how to behave in public—how not to threaten people who bumped into her on the sidewalk. How not to reach for a knife when someone raises their voice. How to smile when someone complimented her hair. But violence, that part was hard.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSoK9yOGdPe
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“I can’t hit them back?” she asked, genuinely confused, after a simulation of a hostile encounter in a civilian setting.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo7k12yXqt1
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Captain Roger Brown exhaled, already tired. “Valentina, those people are civilians. If you use your strength against them, you’ll hurt them. Maybe worse.”74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCEk6KRoQVl
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Valentina frowned. “So… if they’re not civilians, I can shoot?”74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd2rv9Cq7Dw
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“No!” Roger raised a hand. “No shooting. No stabbing. No killing unless they are an immediate threat to you or others. Only self-defense. Understand?”74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVuRSobvXqR
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She paused for a long moment. Then nodded slowly. “I… think yes.”74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt8eteCmJwm
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“And definitely no killing. That’s murder. They’ll put you in jail.” One of the younger soldiers beside them added.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaLXeSjx6tZ
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“Do they give people food in jail?” One of the younger soldiers beside them added,74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy7VvhWCqzA
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Roger’s brow furrowed. “What? Uh—yeah. They do. Why?”74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhG0RlnYeIY
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“At least they feed you,” she said flatly. “Back there, in the war zone, I had to find my own food. Rats. Dogs. Pigs. Or take rations from dead soldiers. If I got caught, they beat me. If I starved, I failed the mission. Jail sounds… better.”74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFd4UY8ajYq
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Her words hit them like a punch to the gut. Roger had seen hardened killers, war survivors, and broken souls with a thousand-yard stare. But Valentina, the young woman isn't broken. She's built from brokenness. A body of shattered glass held together by purpose alone. He turned away, just for a second, to hide the pity in his eyes.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdkMp5jYi60
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Roger knew she needed a purpose—something to keep her tethered to this strange new civilian world. He offered her three paths, each carefully selected: security guard, sports teacher, or chef. But for Valentina, the choice was immediate.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdstvnfPIDY
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“I’ll take the guard,” she said. “It’s easier. I know how to fight.”74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwlScqnxopx
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He took her to the Romano Corporation’s private training facility in lower Manhattan—a slick, high-security complex where the elite of the elite were vetted. She didn’t know who the Romanos were exactly, only that they were powerful enough to move armies with a phone call and could control city policies without ever stepping into the public eye.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5qEOWPYMSc
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The moment Hendrix Peterson, Roger’s old comrade and now the head of security, saw her, he grinned like a wolf. “This the girl?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZnWgtDCbeU
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Roger nodded. “She’ll surprise you.”74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrUPSQ2bOLv
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They threw her into a quick combat test against three of Hendrix’s best men. Trained. Conditioned. Arrogant. And she floored all three within two minutes.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK8u7hI8KKS
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The first took a kick to the solar plexus that sent him into the wall. The second tried to grapple her from behind and ended up on the floor with a dislocated shoulder. The third didn’t even see her coming—just felt the sharp twist of his wrist and the flat crack of her palm against his temple.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv52j0h9N8O
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No blood. No wasted motion. Just precision. Cold, calculated, merciless. The gym fell silent. Hendrix let out a loud, appreciative whistle. “Jesus Christ, Rog. Where the hell did you find her?”74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvoH7ymbtBn
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“In the middle of nowhere,” Roger replied, crossing his arms, proud and a little amused. “She’s got more training hours than all your boys combined. And she’s still learning how not to kill people.”74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbvxkIRNffC
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Hendrix laughed and slapped Roger on the back. “She’s perfect. Pretty and deadly—my favorite combination. I’ll send her straight to headquarters. The boss’s daughter’s been begging for a new bodyguard. She’s more than enough.”74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUd4NGkwUaQ
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Later that day, Roger handed Valentina a plain envelope. Inside: a newly activated bank card, an insurance card, a tax ID, her freshly printed company badge, and five crisp $100 bills.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv9ydm0hkqa
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“Food money. It’s not much, but it’ll last you until your first paycheck,” he said, offering a warm smile. “Romano Corp. will handle your housing. Private room in one of their buildings downtown. You’ll have everything you need.”74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQLKufhyjLO
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Valentina took the envelope carefully, as if it might vanish if she blinked. Then he handed her a folded piece of paper. “This is your family’s address. In case you ever want to see them.”74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAsHclMalDB
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She didn’t say anything right away. She just stared at the address. Her fingers creased the edge of the paper slowly, mechanically. “Thanks.”74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSrreyC4v5Z
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He ruffled her hair affectionately. Her newly grown-out brown waves were silky soft—thanks to Dr. Rebecca’s six-month regimen of scalp treatments, skin care, and full-body recovery protocols.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPSXg65VqYb
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The Valentina that stood before him now barely resembled the wild-eyed soldier he’d met in the desert. Her skin, once burned dark by sun and sand, had returned to its original tone: warm, light, glowing faintly under the afternoon sun that poured in from the window.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIHTLHPqTpU
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“You clean up real nice, kiddo.” Roger said, and she gave him something rare—a smile. Small, but real.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYi4dw1nunT
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Roger chuckled. “Visit sometimes, alright? You’ve got people now.” Valentina nodded.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ91siq215Gg
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Valentina stepped out of the military transport vehicle with the weightless grace of a predator released into unfamiliar territory. Dressed in a sleek, jet-black ensemble—a tight, short-sleeved shirt hugging her toned torso, paired with fitted black jeans that emphasized her long, powerful legs—she cut a figure both arresting and untouchable.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ29kyMSxa4H
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Her matte-black combat boots thudded against the pavement, worn smooth from half a lifetime of battle. The duffel bag slung over her shoulder was the last remnant of the world she'd just left behind.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrnv7lOOdrk
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Six months in the military base had transformed her into something impossible to ignore. She's no longer just the war-forged specter that Roger had found in the desert. Now, she looked like a woman carved from the silence between gunshots—mysterious, poised, lethal.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwUX9lPp7wj
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Inside the Romano Corporation’s Chicago branch, a towering structure of steel and mirrored glass that glinted like a blade, Valentina stepped into the reception lobby. The marble floor echoed beneath her boots. Heads turned immediately.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNx1Hdf5HtL
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The receptionist glanced up from his desk. Young, tall, freckles scattered like dust over porcelain skin, and a red mop of curly hair, he had the kind of face that warmed rooms. He blinked when he saw her, his mouth subtly parting.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiPPQzRhDat
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“Uh, hello—welcome to Romano Security Division. How can I help you?” He asked, professional but clearly thrown off, eyes scanning her from head to toe, then flicking back with slight guilt to meet her eyes.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSsNk2WRn4h
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“I’m here to report for duty. I need to speak with Hendrix Peterson.” Valentina informed him.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd4vuzGR6K6
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“Hendrix?” he repeated, blinking. “You mean the head of security?” She didn’t reply, only raised a brow, her cold green eyes unflinching.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7QyPJGxU39
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“Wait—are you the new recruit from headquarters?” he asked, still staring at her with disbelief. “You're... Valentina?”74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡezg8PAFc2U
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“Yes,” she replied flatly. “Valentina Smith. Please contact Hendrix.”74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡquwqgpALhI
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The young man scrambled to comply, fumbling his radio while trying not to gawk. Moments later, two security personnel arrived to escort her—both seasoned men with holsters and the kind of confidence that came from years in the field.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPxMroBqDUh
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“She’s the new one?” One whispered, half to himself.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHNLJccENm6
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Valentina caught it. She didn’t flinch, but the corner of her mouth twitched in subtle irritation. She became the eye of the storm as they moved through the building—people whispering, watching, some openly skeptical, others simply stunned.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzn02P0c5fi
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Most expected someone with muscles like steel cables and a shaved head, not a lithe, breathtaking woman with smooth skin, silken brown hair, and an air that could freeze a battlefield. When the elevator doors opened on the top floor, Hendrix Peterson was already waiting.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKHfQSOWi23
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A mountain of a man with a rugged, thunderous presence—Hendrix had the look of someone who could level a riot with one hand and cook a steak with the other. His face split into a grin the moment he saw her.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl2jp9Swhg3
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“Valentina! You look even more dangerous than Rog said.” He gave her a once-over, not with lust but admiration—the kind only a warrior gave another. “Come in. We’ve got work to do.”74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8be4J0Fp4p
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“Yes, sir,” she said crisply.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMOdnZd9x3l
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“Come on, relax a little. You’re not on the front lines anymore.” He handed her a clipboard with paperwork. “Flight’s at eight. You’ll be sent straight to New York HQ. However, we must first complete the uniform fitting, HR, shoes, and clearance update. Standard onboarding.”74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC1vIX6zKJM
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She nodded, already scanning the paperwork with swift, precise eyes. Then she paused, glancing at the men who had escorted her in—both of whom were still trying to make sense of what they’d just walked through.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuPfwP3mSoi
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“They don’t believe I have the skills,” she said, voice even. “Permission to fight them?”74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZIQ5zGZFq6
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Hendrix laughed so loud the windowpanes quivered. “Oh, hell yes. Give 'em a show.”74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXgmA9fU0pY
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