CHAPTER 2 part 2
BEING A SPY
Too quiet.
Levi pushed open the door slowly.
The house was dimly lit, a single lamp glowing in the corner. The smell of food lingered—but it had gone cold.
She stepped inside, her movements heavy, controlled… hiding the exhaustion, the bruises.
“You’re late.”
Levi froze.
Her mother stood in the doorway.
Watching her.
Not angry.
Not surprised.
Just… concerned.
“Training ran long,” Levi said casually, avoiding her eyes.
Her mother stepped closer.
“Training doesn’t leave marks like that.”
Levi stayed silent.
A bruise near her wrist. A cut along her arm.
Things a normal life wouldn’t explain.
“Levi…” her mother’s voice softened, but there was fear beneath it.
“What are you getting yourself into?”
Levi clenched her jaw.
“Nothing I can’t handle.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
Silence filled the room.
Her mother reached out, gently holding Levi’s arm.
“You’re chasing something,” she said quietly. “I can see it.”
Levi pulled her arm back.
“I need to know what happened to dad.”
The words hit harder than anything.
Her mother froze.
For a moment—
Her calm expression cracked.
“You don’t,” she said quickly.
Levi frowned.
“What?”
“You don’t need to know,” her mother repeated, her voice firmer now. “Some things are better left buried.”
Levi’s eyes sharpened.
“Buried… or hidden?”
Another silence.
This one heavier.
Her mother looked away.
“That world… the one you’re stepping into,” she said slowly, “it doesn’t give answers.”
“It gives pain.”
Levi stepped forward.
“I’m already in pain.”
Their eyes met.
For the first time—
Levi saw it clearly.
Fear.
Not for herself.
But for her.
Her mother’s voice dropped to a whisper.
“If you go down this path…” she said, struggling with her words,
“you might not come back the same.”
Levi didn’t hesitate.
“Then I’ll become whatever I need to be.”
A tear formed in her mother’s eyes—but she quickly turned away.
As if she had heard those words before.
Years ago.
From someone else.
“Just promise me one thing,” her mother said softly.
Levi paused.
“What?”
Her mother hesitated… then spoke.
“If you ever find the truth…”
A long pause.
“…don’t let it turn you into him.”
Levi’s expression hardened.
“I won’t.”
But deep inside—
Something didn’t feel certain.
As Levi walked toward her room…
Her mother stood still.
Shaking.
Whispering under her breath—
“They’re pulling you into the same darkness…”
A pause.
“…just like they did before.”
To be continued