The day had started as a triumph. I’d made fast cash and walked away with a smug grin after my encounter with Loona, and her amazing blowjob. I felt untouchable.

But as I sat before the monitor a few hours later, that high crashed into a silent, white-hot rage.

My fists shook, knuckles turning white, as veins throbbed against my temples. I stared at the screen, my teeth gritted so hard I thought they might crack.

"I’m sorry, it’s just..." Karen’s voice crackled through the speakers of my walkie talkie. She looked down, like the perfect picture of a grieving, broken widow. "Ever since my husband passed away, things have been... impossible. He left me with a mountain of debt I can’t climb."

I watched her perform. She was feigning sadness for her latest mark—but this time, I knew the victim. It was Tony, one of my oldest friends.

"Alex left you with debt?" Tony echoed, his voice thick with disbelief. "He never mentioned money troubles to us. He seemed... stable."

Karen nodded, a stray tear perfectly timed. "It was his dark secret, Tony. He was desperate. He took a loan from... the Shinigami."

The color drained from Tony’s face. Even through the grainy surveillance feed, I could see his eyes widen with pure, instinctual horror.

The Shinigami?. I knew the name—a notorious syndicate out of Tokyo, dangerous gangsters who dealt in blood and disappeared bodies. To think she was dragging my name into the gutter, associating me with such monsters.

"That can’t be true," Tony stammered. "Alex? With them?"

"I tried to stop him!" Karen cried, rising from the bed. "I begged him to listen, but he wanted the fast life. He wanted the ’quick money.’ He traded his soul for it."

She reached into the wardrobe and pulled out a heavy garment, tossing it onto Tony’s lap. "Here. The proof. His jacket. The one they make all their recruits wear."

’My jacket?’

I leaned closer to the screen. That wasn’t mine. I’d never seen it before in my life. It was a dark, tactical bomber jacket with a massive, haunting reaper embroidered on the back, holding a gleaming scythe in it’s hand.

Tony was practically vibrating with fear, holding the fabric as if it were cursed. Though l couldn’t blame him, these people were known to be merciless.

"They want their money, Tony," Karen whispered, leaning in. "Two hundred million dollars. They told me if I don’t pay, they’ll silence me. And then they’ll go after everyone Alex ever knew. His friends. His associates. No one is safe."

"Are you saying... even me?"

"You. Your mother. Your wife and kids," Karen said, her voice dropping to a chilling monotone. "All because Alex died and left us to rot in his sins."

"No... no, no," Tony whimpered, his head in his hands. "My family... they have nothing to do with this!"

"There is one way out," Karen said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "If we pool our resources... if you help me pay the loan, we can buy our lives back. We can save your children, Tony. What do you say? Will you help me?"

My blood was boiling. It felt like a sick joke, a fever dream. She wasn’t just stealing; she was exhaling poison, destroying the only legacy I had left. Had she ever loved me? Or was I just a long-term investment she was finally cashing in on?

"I’ll help," Tony shrieked, his voice breaking. "I’ll do whatever I have to. I’ll bring what I can tomorrow."

He scrambled toward the door, a broken man. Karen walked him out with a gentle, tragic wave.

The moment the door clicked shut, the mask vanished. A sharp, devilish smirk spread across her face, and her eyes gleamed with the cold light of a predator. She went to bed moments later, falling into a peaceful sleep as if she hadn’t just shattered a man’s soul.

I couldn’t sleep. My mind was a carousel of questions. Where did she get that jacket? Was she actually connected to the Shinigami herself, or was she just that good of a liar?

I realized then that even though I’d been married to her, l never really knew her so much. I’d been practically living with a stranger.

****

The next morning, I woke up to washing and freshening up, wearing my work clothes and took the recording to Akira. When l arrived at his office, and handed him the tap, and also told him about the mouthpieces l installed in Karen’s room, his eyebrows shot up when he realized I’d managed to capture the audio.

"Taking the initiative, I see," Akira said, a small, calculating smile playing on his lips. "I like a man who over-delivers."

"Just doing my job, sir," I replied, keeping my face a mask of professional neutrality.

"Good. There’s a raise in this for you. You’re dismissed."

I lingered for a heartbeat, wanting to see his face when he heard Karen’s lies in the video, but he tucked the drive away, clearly intending to listen in private. I turned and headed outside, closing his office door behind me.

Just before l even reached the elevator, its doors slid open, and Secretary Kim stepped out, the sharp click-clack of her stilettos echoing in the hall.

Her short ginger-tinted hair caught the fluorescent light, and her white dress hugged her curves snugly, stopping right at her mid thighs, literally leaving very little to the imagination. She carried a tea tray and something else, breakfast maybe, likely for the boss.

She caught me staring and curled her lip. "What are you ogling at, loser? Tsk."

I didn’t flinch. I didn’t look away. "7 o’clock tonight," I said, my voice low and steady. "I’m coming to your room. Be there."

She stopped dead, her expression shifting from annoyance to pure shock. "Excuse me?"

"7 o’clock. Sharp," I repeated, stepping into the elevator.

As the doors began to close, I caught the echo of her thoughts: ’What is with this countryside bumpkin today? Does he actually think he can just demand my time? Tsk....the nerve.’

I watched the floor numbers descend.

Kim was the key. As the secretary, she saw the paperwork Akira hid and the secrets Karen whispered. If I wanted to survive this web of lies, I didn’t just need to watch Karen—I needed to own the room. I needed to watch everything! Akira himself too. Even if it means putting secret cameras in his own office!

And for that to pass, I’d have to start by taming his secretary!!

To be continued....